Royal Marines Association Poole & District (RMA)

The Poole and District Branch of the Royal Marines Association

Is a branch of The Royal Marines Charity. We meet every 3rd Thursday of the month with the aim to connect and foster Esprit de Corps and to support to wider Royal Marines Family. See below for information on the location of our monthly meeting and how to join.

Our Branch has one of the largest memberships (200) in the south and is located in the historic port town of Poole.  Its membership has a strong leaning toward the Landing Craft (LC) and Driver (D) Specialist Qualification (SQ), reflecting the history of Royal Marines Poole, being the Corps' Amphibious Training Unit and Technical Training School. 

Other SQ's are represented in the membership and all of the Royal Marine’s family are welcome.

Support - We support our veteran members and their families through our Royal Marine Association Support Volunteers (RMASV), who are trained to provide both practical help and emotional support to the RM veteran community.

Remembrance - Obituaries, If you know of an oppo who has crossed the bar and you have the family's consent, email an obituary to enquiries@rma-trmc.org.

For those who have served as a Royal Marine or Royal Marines Reservist to full service or received a campaign medal, they may be eligible to have a serving Royal Marine Bugler attend their funeral service.

Esprit de Corps - "Once a Royal Marine Always a Royal Marine"

​Join in with supporting the aims of the RMA-TRMC - the RM Family in fundraising, celebration, and providing lifelong support to all Royal Marine Commandos and those who have earned the right to wear the green beret.

Find Us

RV @ - The Centenary Hall and Club

22 Wimborne Road, Poole, BH15 2BU

We meet on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 19🕛

Royal Marine Commando - Capability & Clarification

Within NATO, the UK's Royal Marines are classified as a highly elite, special operations-capable commando force. This places them above conventional infantry units in training and capability, though they are not formally a "Tier 1" special forces unit like the UK's Special Boat Service (SBS) or Special Air Service (SAS).

Here is a breakdown of the Royal Marines' classification in the context of NATO:

• Special Operations Capable: The Royal Marines' commando training is highly regarded and widely considered to be among the most rigorous infantry courses in NATO. This enables them to perform many complex missions and integrate closely with special forces, even though they are considered an elite conventional force.

  
  

• Amphibious Specialists: The Corps is trained in amphibious warfare, allowing them to be deployed from the sea without host-nation support for operations on land. This specialization is highly valued by NATO, particularly for crisis response and maintaining security in regions like the High North, where the Royal Marines frequently train.

  
  

• NATO Integration: The Royal Marines actively participate in large-scale NATO exercises, such as "Cold Response" and "Nordic Response," often spearheading multinational forces. Units like 42 Commando have been validated as a NATO Special Operations Maritime Task Group.

  
  

• Tier 2 Force (informal): The "tier" system is an informal classification, more common in the US, but is useful for illustrating the Royal Marines' standing. In this system, they are often considered a "Tier 2" special operations force, placing them below the "Tier 1" forces (SAS and SBS), but above standard conventional forces.

  
  

• Contributor to Tier 1: The Royal Marines are an important source of recruits for the UK's Special Forces, with a significant number of personnel successfully passing selection for the Special Boat Service.