Image: NormalEntryCommissionRoute

Description: From bottom to top, in 1810, a boy would enter the Navy either at the Royal Naval Academy, or directly as a Volunteer 1st class and serve at least 3 years prior to promotion to midshipman. A potential officer would have to serve as a midshipman, or a master's mate for 3 years prior to taking the examination for lieutenant. A midshipman who passed the examination was not automatically promoted to lieutenant, but would either stay as a midshipman, titled passed midshipman, or take an appointment as a master's mate, styled passed master's mate, while awaiting promotion to lieutenant. Some midshipmen who failed the examination took appointments as master's mates. After 1861, candidates who passed the examination were promoted to sub-lieutenant.
Title: NormalEntryCommissionRoute
Credit: I created this work entirely by myself; based on Lavery, Brian (1989). Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organization. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 92. ISBN 0870212583. OCLC 20997619. Retrieved 2009-05-19. 
Author: Kirk (talk)
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Attribution Required?: Yes