University Naval Training Divisions

UNTD was a program started in 1943 to produce a pool of university-trained naval officers for the RCN.  Members trained at their university and at the local Naval Reserve Division during the academic year and then underwent full-time naval training during the summer.  The first unit was started at HMCS STAR for the Ontario Agricultural College (University of Guelph) and McMaster University by Professor A.W. “Jack” Baker, who was commissioned a LCdr (Special Branch) for the purpose.  Sixteen colleges and universities had UNT Divisions by the end of 1943 and the bulk of Naval Reserve officers came from the UNTD right up to the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968.

Between 1942 and 1968, there were over eight thousand UNTD cadets across the country, 437 of them at HMCS STAR, of whom seven went on to become Commanding Officers of STAR.

Jack Baker’s tunic, hat and shoulder boards are shown here.  After the war, UNTD cadets wore naval battle dress with a distinctive rank insignia of a white fringed buttonhole, known as the “White Twist” on the collar.  The picture shows UNTD cadets, dressed as seamen, boarding Fairmiles at HMCS STAR for summer training.