“I say, how do you like being a Prince?” “What do you do when you’re at home?” “Do you ever get licked?” and so on.
Prince Edward, having recently recovered from a severe illness, and not being really intended for the Navy, was left to do pretty much as he pleased in the matter of study, etc. He was sent to the Britannia principally with the object of benefiting by the change and healthy outdoor life.
Prince George, however, went through all the work, and the impression he produced was that he was a sharp lad, and, though very backward on joining, turned to with a will, and passed out very creditably. He used to tell the seamanship instructors not to bother about his brother, who was not going to sea, but to devote their attention to him.
PRINCE GEORGE.
Photo: Smale & Son, Dartmouth.
In the summer of 1878 the Prince and Princess of Wales visited the Britannia, and distributed the prizes.
During the last year or two of the ’seventies the Britannia owed a good deal to Lieutenant (now Captain, retired) Guy Mainwaring, who joined as first lieutenant in 1878.
It was at his suggestion that the custom was inaugurated of having two photographs taken of each term, on leaving the ship: one of the captains, and the other of the remainder of the term, to be framed and kept on board as a record. This practice has been continued ever since, and an interesting series of groups has now accumulated, some of which are reproduced in this book. In the pioneer group, taken at his instigation, Lieutenant Mainwaring himself figures, seated on the gunwale of one of the gigs, with the passing-out cadet captains round him.