HMS King Alfred (Portsmouth)

The first HMS King Alfred was a World War 1 Cruiser, during WW2, the name was associated with Naval Reservists. Then in 1939 HMS King Alfred was established in Brighton and Hove.

By 1945, nearly 88% of the Royal Navy’s commissioned strength had trained at HMS King Alfred, with over 20,000 Reservist Officers having passed out of the establishment.

King Alfred moved from Hove to Exbury House, in the New Forest, before King Alfred was decommissioned and Exbury House became HMS Hawke.

The present King Alfred was commissioned as an RNR training centre following the closure of the RNR establishments in Southampton, Brighton and on Portsdown Hill in Portsmouth.

There has always been a strong Royal Naval Reserve presence in Portsmouth, and this was formally recognised in 2003 when HMS King Alfred was awarded Freedom of the City.

Eight years after being granted the Freedom of the City of Portsmouth, reservists finally had the chance to celebrate that honour. Sailors from HMS King Alfred marched through the City.

HMS KING ALFRED moved from Whale Island to Portsmouth Naval Base where parts of historic Semaphore Tower and adjacent buildings had been specifically refurbished for Reserve training, including a virtual reality suite for sea boat and RN vessel acquaints.