Royal Marine recruits at the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, have shown a marked rise in Christian church attendance in the past 18 months, and some have been baptised by full immersion in a water tank used on the base's assault course, according to a magazine article and a Sunday newspaper report.
The Mail on Sunday reported that church attendance at the base now often exceeds the on-site chapel's 150-person capacity and that at least 26 recruits underwent full-immersion baptism earlier this year in the training centre's so-called Regain Tank, a roughly 4-foot-deep tank fitted with ropes suspended above it that recruits normally traverse as part of their assault course training. The details were published in an article titled "The Quiet Revival" in the Royal Marines' Globe and Laurel magazine and authored by a Royal Naval chaplain identified in the piece as Reverend A. Gascoy.
The magazine article describes recruits regularly attending Sunday services at the Lympstone training centre while they attempt to earn the green beret. It says ministers and chaplains at the base have facilitated religious services and baptisms for recruits who request them. The Mail on Sunday report and the Globe and Laurel piece both place the rise in religious participation within the last 18 months.
The shift, the Globe and Laurel article cites, appears to reflect some recruits seeking meaning and direction. The Mail on Sunday also referenced recent studies by the Bible Society suggesting a pattern among younger service members and civilians of turning to faith for personal and moral guidance rather than primarily out of fear of deployment or forthcoming international tensions.
The Regain Tank is part of the assault-course infrastructure at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM), where recruits undergo rigorous physical and mental testing. The tank is ordinarily used in training to test balance and upper-body strength as recruits cross suspended ropes above water. The magazine account says the same tank has been used for full-immersion baptisms when recruits have requested them.
Globe and Laurel is a long-established internal publication for the Royal Marines that covers service life, unit history and personnel matters. The piece in question was authored by a serving chaplain and published this year; the Mail on Sunday subsequently reported on its findings and highlighted the number of baptisms and the apparent increase in attendance at religious services.
A representative for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines did not provide comment for the Globe and Laurel article, and the Mail on Sunday reported details based on the magazine's coverage and interviews conducted for that piece. The Bible Society studies cited in the reporting examined broader trends in faith and spirituality among younger populations and in the armed forces, noting that motivations for religious commitment can include searching for purpose and community.
Religious practice has long been part of military life, with chaplains attached to units to provide pastoral care, spiritual support and sacraments to those who request them. The reporting on baptisms at Lympstone describes an instance of those services taking place in an unconventional setting dictated by the training environment.
The rise in church attendance reported at the Commando Training Centre comes amid wider public debates about the role of faith in modern Britain and the services available to personnel during intensive training. The Royal Marines continue to recruit and train personnel for a range of duties, and chaplaincy support remains one element of welfare provision for recruits undergoing initial training.