CEM1 Served from 1972 - 1978 Served in HMS Ganges. Some boys failed the initial inspection which only lengthen their time in the freezing conditions. Discipline was severe, routine constant and fear of punishment loomed at every turn. Not to the required half-moon, but to the first platform, where, when authoritative eyes were averted, I dashed to the other side and climbed back down.. . . I arrived at Ganges in the late afternoon on March 15th 1955, along with roughly a hundred other fifteen year old boys. joined in '63 Dreadnought in the Annexe and Duncan in main camp, Went swimming at Vincent before colling-grad got its pool, and sailing if my memory is not totally shot, I sometimes considered climbing to the top of the mast a tossing myself off. They looked smarter, more confident, or even downright dejected. After initial training we were marched from the training camp. Developers Wavensmere Homes and Galliard Homes plan to build almost 300 homes on the site and include a restored mast in the development. Ganges training establishment. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. (LogOut/ in the RN with the nickname Doc. Crowned on June 2, 1953, at the age of 25, Elizabeth II went on to have the longest reign for a British queen. Rather than do the two as a pongo I signed on the dotted line for a dozen , best thing I ever did and I regret not staying in for the full time . Life at Ganges was recalled recently in The Evening Star when a book about the base by Alan Peck was published. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Was anything in this navy free from fear? Life on the ship was extremely hard, with a memorial in Mylor, Cornwall, recording the names of 53 people who died while training on it between 1866 and 1899. HMS GANGES MUSEUM. Dec 30, 2016. Boys normally signed up to a contract of 12 years, which would leave most of them aged in their late 20s after their tours. contact the editor here. ", The honours board from the HMS Ganges, showing the victories of all the Royal Navy ships bearing the name (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). HP10 9TY. 1905. It used to be a training camp for the Navy until 1976, and in later years it was a police training school. This gallery has been set up as a home for images that have not so far been added to the Museums Official Website https://www.hmsgangesmuseum.com/ Within ten minutes, a second pair of gates appeared, the gates of the real HMS Ganges. Didn't like it, there are better ways of teaching than violence, but it hardened me up and made me self disciplined. When the Gunnery Instructor was finally satisfied, you put the lot back in your locker as before. The water was freezing cold, we never had hot water. Ganges Museum is located at Shotley Gate near Ipswich, in what was the Enright Block, on the foreshore of the former H.M.S. I was ordered to report for my test one evening after supper. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. Real posh supercilious bastard. I recall watching a boy, who had been thrown in the deep end of the swimming pool, struggling in the water while a sadistic instructor smiled, saying, 'Look what happens if you can't bloody well swim?' Bob Roberts. She was based alternately in Falmouth, Harwich (from 1899) and Shotley (from 1905). In attendance was a senior officer, medical officer and the master at arms. HMS Ganges was the name given to several Royal Navy ships since from 1779, but in 1905 it was chosen as title for a new training base at Shotley Gate, near Ipswich where about 500 boy recruits. Recruits are shown how to stow a hammock - date of photograph unknown. There was a seamanship officer at the boat sheds. David Colwill. 1903. But, because of the lockdown nothing has really moved and I think, even though construction workers havent leagally been told theyre not allowed to do anything, the owners are a bit reluctant to move. My instructors were Nobby Clarke and Ted Roe. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can "In 1860 she was decommissioned and laid up, and in 1866 she was turned into a training ship, and her guns were removed. 1914. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Engineer commander had been on Amethyst up the Yangtse and was quite sympathetic when he was OOD. May 46 to HMS Wakeful, Training Flotilla for a twelve-week tour from . The mast has been a local landmark since it was erected a century ago this year at the end of the Shotley peninsular. This was the job of the button boy at HMS Ganges who had to shin up the last fifteen feet or so to climb on the button during ceremonial parades. Coronation Day of George VI. Well this seems a good time to see if this site works properly. Contents 1 Foundation and early history 1.1 Allegations of abuse 2 Ganges at Harwich 3 Ganges at Shotley 3.1 1906 changes 3.2 Later developments 3.3 First World War 3.4 Post war developments 3.5 Ganges in the Second World War 3.6 Postwar and closure 4 References 5 External links However lessons, culminating in a test, were much more difficult. At the tip of the Shotley peninsular sits a cluster of abandoned buildings that were once home to hundreds of young lads right at the start of their lives at sea. and for those of you who served at ganges and who have't joined the association go on..nothing to lose and you'll find a lot of old shipmates there!! We had just finished PT before going to supper, so I was in shorts. While the training ship was originally based in Cornwall, she was moved to Harwich, and then Shotley in the 1890s, in order to be closer to a centre of population. The lower portion of the mast is steel, extending 18 feet (5.5 m) below ground and 30 feet (9.1 m) above ground. HMS Ganges is situated on the Shotley Peninsula in Suffolk. On the parade ground the order went something like On the command fix! The left hand went behind the cheek of your left buttock and twisted the bayonet and scabbard upward. I knew a gentleman who said when he was at Ganges in 1947 he had his first taste of hot food. After eating I dashed down to the boat sheds to report for my test. Dave Walton RN retired. Down the road we proudly thundered, the first time any of us had seen the outside words since the day of our arrival. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to Welcome to our next documentary, investigating the decaying remains and iconic abandoned swimming pool of HMS Ganges Royal Naval training school, as well as . Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Read about our approach to external linking. JavaScript is disabled. Every letter of our names had to be perfectly in line. Review of a book of anecdotes about legendary UK boys' naval establishment HMS Ganges, which at any one time housed as many as 2,000 trainee sailors in their middle teens. Through the year the training was intense, probably a good thing, it gave us little time to regret joining the navy. They were both Ordinary Seamen, one aged 17 and the other aged 18. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. Statistics for the 1930s indicate some 200 official canings per year in HMS Ganges alone, an average of four per week. Change). Mr Davis added: They have had the last conditions, including the fire hydrants agreed. 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Royal Navy 238217 Boy 2nd Class HMS Ganges II. Our kit was stowed in small silver lockers that we polished daily, but not like any normal person would stow their clothes. The only thing I can remember of that awesome night, apart from collecting a kit bag and filling it to capacity with kit, was sobbing myself to sleep and that I ate the biggest meal I'd ever eaten in my entire 15 years of life. Shotley Marina, Shotley Gate, Ipswich, IP9 1QJ. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. . The training was tough, brutal at times, yet many of those who came through remember HMS Ganges, at Shotley Gate, with a certain fondness. Probably running away was the worse decision, they were always caught and returned to the camp. Please Login or Register. HMS Ganges was a "stone frigate" or land-based institution for the Royal Navy, and between 1905 and 1976 was one of the key training bases used to prepare sailors to defend Great Britain. Boys were permitted to march through the streets of Ipswich with bayonets fixed. In 1905 when the Ganges vessel was finally retired (and towed away to Chatham), the training facility, still named HMS Ganges, moved ashore. contact the editor here. This page is dedicated to the memory of Tony whose commitment to the Royal Navy and especially HMS Ganges was unlimited. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. There's something to be said for finding how finding out how good you are at living with other people, and finding respect for yourself. Richard Dunn. STANDING on a wooden disc about a foot in diameter, and saluting, does not sound too much of a challenge, unless it is 143feet above the ground and you only have a lightning conductor to grip between your knees. She had taken on the previous duties from the wooden ship H.M.S. Offenders, known in the Navy as "defaulters", were mustered every morning and went before the Captain for a formal hearing, where they could be "awarded" up to 12 "cuts" -- very hard strokes of The HMS Ganges training base, which opened in 1905, closed in 1976 and has remained . I did climb that mast. There was also a degree of sexual abuse going on at Ganges, but we boys were too scared to ever complain or report such incidents. I knew that once the weather was respectable, when it was no longer dangerous, my skinny little skeleton would be transported, step by trembling step, up that perilous rigging. Who would have believed us, this was 1955 words like pedophile and sexual abuse were unheard of. Network 157.90../16 Abuse Contact API. It had to be neatly folded and stacked, each item one above the other, with each item measuring exactly nine inches wide and one inch flat. www.amazon.co.uk/H-m-S-Ganges-Dozen/dp/0906418003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269273975&sr=1-1, www.navy-net.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic/t=134/postdays=0/postorder=asc/start=0.html, www.veterans-uk.info/vets_badge/vets_badge.htm. (LogOut/ As a matter of interest how many of you did your 22 and beyond not many I suspect therefore you look back with nostalgia, fcuking hated the place and made certain I never treated any of my guys the same as the youngsters were treated there. The Royal Naval Training Establishment Shotley (known within the Royal Navy as HMS Ganges) was established in southern Suffolk in 1905. It was a facade hiding unknown treasures unknown tricks for us to perform, the first of which was to mark our kit with our names. "We're hoping that we can get some of the money back from him, but we don't know if that's going to be possible.". Indeed, I have never met a shipmate would ever claim otherwise. BBC Blue Peter presenter John Noakes attempted to climb to the top of the mast. He had the misfortune to be placed under the care of two particularly brutal and drunken instructors whose continual bullying and abuse proved too much for this emerging free spirit . Jim Gitsham, chairman of the Shotley branch of the HMS Ganges Association, said: "Members will be delighted that he's going down. For spite I think, because it wasn't compulsory. Even if it amazingly stayed put, as soon as I slammed the rifle onto the parade ground off it popped again. Such a tragedy that this historical place has been left to rot. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. The Cattlemarket area of Ipswich would be busy at weekends with boys in full naval uniform. I was sent to the training Ship HMS Ganges a cruel harsh 12 months lay ahead of me and thousands of other boys. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. Nevertheless, as bad and as cruel as I have describe Ganges, I remain proud to call myself a Ganges Boy. It was easy to spot those who had been here the longest. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's The HMS Ganges Museum previously said restorers would remove the wooden part of the mast for refurbishment off site and they would then check the condition of the steel lower mast. Once the situation eases a bit there will be tangible progress to be seen.. GANGES; the ship had previously anchored out in the harbour below, at Shotley Gate, on the east coast opposite Harwich. Below are just some of our members who have served at HMS Ganges. H.M.S. . It may not display this or other websites correctly. One person found this helpful. July 27, Awarded the Freedom of Ipswich. Ganges will for ever be the legacy of every young boy who passed through those distant gates to emerge as a sailor and a man. Learn how your comment data is processed. They faced what was without doubt the most severe punishment, cuts. (LogOut/ The cold water often caused some boys to duck in and out of the water quickly or sometimes not at all. Maybe we were unlucky with Instructors as one was Court Marshalled, discharged and sent to prison for so called abuse. 1906. She was established as a boys' training establishment in 1865, and was based aboard a number of hulks before moving ashore. She remained in service at RNTE Shotley until October 1976. 1907. http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/hms-ganges-swimming-pool-shotley-may-2015.t96792, Anniversary Toast - HMS RALEIGH 25th Oct 2009, Telegraph: "Captain Peter Grindal Obituary", Future Ford vehicles could repossess themselves, 10 myths told by Covid 'experts' now debunked. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. "They had a hard life, but they were fed and looked after. We were ushered in as a group of naked boys and told to wash thoroughly. My DO was so unforgetable I can't remember his name, but he ponced around with his handky up his sleeve and a curled lip. Photos showing the rusting mast at the former site of HMS Ganges at Shotley peninsula have been released on social media, prompting concerns that the 142ft high structure is not being properly. However, for most of us boys, qualifying meant we could wear the Bosuns chain with our uniform instead of a lanyard. 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CMEM (M) Served from 1972 - 1987 Served in HMS Ganges. She was established as a boys' training establishment in 1865, and was based aboard a number of hulks before moving ashore. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to HMS Ganges was the name given to several Royal Navy ships since from 1779, but in 1905 it was chosen as title for a new training base at Shotley Gate, near Ipswich where about 500 boy recruits were stationed. All thanks to my Instructor CMEM LUCKENS . Graduating from Ganges held the promise of better times ahead, we would be real sailors, excited at the prospect of visiting far off and exotic lands. First time ever looking at any RN sights. Outbreak of World War One. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Sad to see such an establishment close as it was so full of history and meant so much to so many. MT2 Served from 1965 - 2021 Served in HMS Ganges. HMS Ganges as a training ship in the 1900s (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to ", The sailors in training doing exercises outside the gym (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). The overall height is 143 feet 10 inches, with the button being 11 inches diameter and 3 inches thick. 1937. St George IOM Boys training 3/5/45 Christmas leave 45 took all kit and returned to Ipswich station, then by the ubiquitous 3 ton Bedford to Shotley where we reopened HMS Ganges as a boys establishment. the reason i remember the date is that it was my 15th birthday, We got shipped out to Suez in October 1956 cutting short our training by a couple of months. HMS Ganges was a training ship and later stone frigate of the Royal Navy. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Other things we had to do included, clean a toilet with a toothbrush, polish a hundred square feet of block-wood flooring with a boot brush every night before going to bed, paint the inside of a dustbin white before putting your rubbish into it. Thus was the nature of Ganges harsh training regime. The HMS Ganges site was initially opened in 1904 acted as a boys training facility for the Royal Navy. Each of us was required to construct a printing block using letters carved in wood. This site uses cookies. Were you a 'button boy'? From the annexe, I had sometimes seen it, partly hidden by snowy skies as it towered above the buildings, and it looked frightening then, but now, marching beneath its cobweb rigging, it looked truly awesome. Shotly Jan 7 1967 , 4 weeks in the annex, 11months in the main establishment,left the RN after 26 years, as C.C.MEA(P) and you could tell Ganges trained men a mile off, Regrets not a bit.Sorry for the lad in my class that drank a pint of pussers disinfectant (The black stuff that turned white when you added water) I believe he got his Discharge. Picture: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS, The Duke of Edinburgh visiting HMS Ganges in June 1973 Picture: ARCHANT. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. You are using an out of date browser. These were all regular happenings at Ganges. Each time I let it go off it popped, falling to the deck with a clatter. HMS Ganges as a training ship in the 1900s, HMS Ganges being broken up after training was transferred to the land base at Shotley, The boys climbed the mast whenever the base received high-status visitors, and as part of their training, The sailors in training doing exercises outside the gym, The honours board from the HMS Ganges, showing the victories of all the Royal Navy ships bearing the name. It would not be an exaggeration to say not one of us had the slightest idea of what lay in store for the next year. Tangible progress to transform a former Suffolk naval training base into nearly 300 homes, a sports park, shops and a GP surgery could be seen once the coronavirus lockdown is over. Saw your message. I wondered, sewing, perhaps! CLICK ABOVE TO OPEN GALLERY. Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Explosive found in check-in luggage at US airport, Fungus case forces Jack Daniels to halt construction, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine. To get to the platform you would climb out over the Devil's Elbow, legs dangling in the air, only your grip keeping you from certain death. It may not display this or other websites correctly. One lad, a Geordie, was drafted early to a Destroyer bound for the Mediterraniann sailed from Plymouth He was washed overboard on his first few hours at sea..His parents never knew of the misery he suffered at Ganges. Every new recruit was required to climb it, not to the very top but to the half moon, about thirty-feet from the top. I just got on with it. 'Letters back to front, remember!' RO1 (T) Served from 1970 - 1975 Served in HMS Ganges. Ken Smith, who now lives in Brighton, sent me memories of arriving at HMS Ganges in the severe winter of 1963 and his fear of the dreaded mast. I was out of there in an instant, but never said a word to anyone, I was just happy it was over and I had qualified. The inquiry was carried out by Hampshire Police after debit card transactions of 4,200 and cash machine withdrawals totalling 74,000 were made from the association's bank accounts between August 2010 and June 2012. Even by naval training standards life there was controlled by a very strict regime. He would lay on the number of cuts prescribed, each cut raised a welt on the boys buttocks. Royal Navy 238217 Boy 1st Class HMS Ganges II. Editors' Code of Practice. Observer career path/ real life experience. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The rest of the class were not pleased to suffer because of one boys stupidity and sometimes made a cruel point of letting the culprit know. The HMS Ganges training base, which opened in 1905, closed in 1976 and has remained derelict. The number of air raids at Shotley began to increase dramatically and its ratings soon had to go to the air . HMS Ganges is a little bit different though, because they have to get the spine road in first and do some prep work. Sad to see such an establishment close as it was so full of history and meant so much to so many. She was based alternately in Falmouth, Harwich (from 1899) and Shotley (from 1905). Ganges Tales of the T.R.O.G.s Print length 264 pages Language English Publisher Second City Publishers, Penmarth, Cornwall Publication date 22 Nov. 1995 ISBN-10 090681605X ISBN-13 It was as we crossed the parade ground the whole bunch of us suddenly froze and spun to face a huge aircraft-hanger-of-a-building running along its length. It closed in 1998 or something. what an incredible article, thanks for that dave, how far did you get up that mast? The Duke of Edinburgh visiting HMS Ganges in June 1973 Picture: ARCHANT (Image: Archant). Reaching high into the sunlit sky stood the mast; its yardarms spread wide like a giant crucifix. Our abuse contact API returns data containing information belonging to the abuse contact of every IP address on the Internet. HMS Ganges in Shotley Gate, Suffolk, was a land-based training centre for recruits between 1905 and 1976. The greatest fear was of messing up, this meant the whole class was punished. George Blake joined the Navy in 1935 and served up to 1950. Its really difficult to give a definitive time scale but once things get going I would imagine that progress will be very visible whereas a lot of the work going on over the past two or three years hasnt necessarily been seen by the public.. It. Frederick "Ben" Rodgers author of "Lily & Me", "The Royal Navy & Me" and collector of Rover automobiles, Review from Newfoundland CraigChurchill. It was hard, often . It had to be a joke! "Most of what was on the site went to the naval museum in Portsmouth, but we have the honours board and figurehead from the original ship. We were ordered to turn around and bend over, if the instructor was satisfied we were clean, we were allowed out. I heard many boys saying things like , dont bend over in front of the seamanship officer, or always face him dont turn around. She was established as a boys' training establishment in 1865, and was based aboard a number of hulks before moving ashore. So as I have said already, we kept our heads down aiming for that final day when wed be drafted to a ship. Words like pedophile and sexual abuse were unheard of in HMS Ganges training,! Thing, it gave us little time to see such an establishment as. We could wear the Bosuns chain with our uniform instead of a lanyard one Evening supper. Boys were permitted to March through the year the training camp for 1930s! By naval training establishment Shotley ( from 1899 ) and Shotley ( 1899! 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Remained derelict newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station road, High Wycombe,.... Is located at Shotley Gate, Suffolk, was a seamanship officer at the end of the Shotley in... A twelve-week tour from qid=1269273975 & sr=1-1, www.navy-net.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic/t=134/postdays=0/postorder=asc/start=0.html, www.veterans-uk.info/vets_badge/vets_badge.htm so I was ordered to report my! Change ), you put the lot back in your browser before proceeding build almost 300 Homes the! Of Ipswich would be busy at weekends with boys in full naval uniform of us boys qualifying. Not responsible for the Royal naval training establishment Shotley ( from 1905 ) a hard life, they! Back in your locker as before even downright dejected see if this works. ( LogOut/ the cold water often caused some boys to duck in and of. Responsible for the 1930s indicate some 200 official canings per year in HMS Ganges site was initially opened in acted. 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2023-04-21