in the RN with the nickname Doc. Our abuse contact API returns data containing information belonging to the abuse contact of every IP address on the Internet. Boys normally signed up to a contract of 12 years, which would leave most of them aged in their late 20s after their tours. (LogOut/ Charles Dickens might have penned it the best of times and the worst of times. The noise was excruciating. He would lay on the number of cuts prescribed, each cut raised a welt on the boys buttocks. No way would the Royal Navy let the opportunity to instill fear into a young boy pass them by, So began another nine months of laughter and tears, disaster and joy. BBC Blue Peter presenter John Noakes attempted to climb to the top of the mast. Mr Jones also offered reassurance around the historic mast, despite fears about its dilapidated state. This punishment was something I never witnessed and can only describe from what other boys told me. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN, Artist's impression showing the view across a residential street at the redeveloped HMS Ganges site in Shotley Gate. Read about our approach to external linking. She was established as a boys' training establishment in 1865, and was based aboard a number of hulks before moving ashore. 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. I wrote this song a long time ago. 2023 BBC. Read about our approach to external linking. later times). 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. We had no one to confide in, our instructors would more than likely told us not to tell tales. To get out of the showers we had to stand before our instructor legs apart arms raised for inspection. Royal Navy 238217 Boy 1st Class HMS Ganges II. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. 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. Im quite sure few if any boys receiving cuts ever thought to run away again. The one chippy bugger who thought it good fun to make you spar with him in the wash room (Annexe) I met up with in the Far Flung and gave him more than he gave me. We can reunite you with your friends who served at HMS Ganges and we have a wealth of information on different units, bases and ships in the site. "Boys came into Ganges at age 15 and went into the navy as men at 16. The next six years passed with regular naval detentions, ( Royal Naval Detention Quarters RNDQs Portsmouth) exhausting punishments, solitary confinements, ending with a twelve month sentence in the infamous HMP Corradino, Malta. From the top of the mast, its a long way to come ! During the third disastrous week, it spent so much time on the deck I thought I might as well leave it there! 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. Observer career path/ real life experience. Some boys were home sick, some just tried to stay out of trouble, one or two ran away. I knew a gentleman who said when he was at Ganges in 1947 he had his first taste of hot food. Several tales about bullying and the harsh regime generally, not so much about the famous and frequent official canings. Martin Foster was treasurer for veterans who served at HMS Ganges training base in Sufffolk. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to HMS Ganges Museum is dedicated to the 160,000 boys who went through the gates as boys and marched out as men, from its inception as a Royal Navy Training Establishment in 1905 to its closure in 1976. 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. We caught up with Jim Dines, Director of TS Rigging, whose team. I allowed my head to tilt backward, sending my gaze to the very top, to the lightning conductor where the Button Boy stood on ceremonial occasions. Realizing his mistake he fought back and with no way out he had no choice but to work his ticket. At 14 he ran away to join the Royal Navy and 'signed on' for 12 years. 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. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Justin I saw the mast fully manned three times and it was a wonderful sight to see as it was so well choreographed and I was always amazed how the button boy could even get onto the button, when there was a breeze the mast moved a few good feet at the top of it and as I said all he had to hold onto was a knee high lighting conductor. It closed in 1998 or something. 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/ HMS GANGES MUSEUM. I joined Ganges 30th June 1955 also as a boy telegraphist. GANGES was the shore training establishment for boy entrants into the Royal Navy from 1905 until 1976. HMS Ganges was also known as Shotley Training Establishment . You are using an out of date browser. 1959 and what a bugger Ganges turned out to be. Commander was Trick and a good egg. 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. Welcome to our next documentary, investigating the decaying remains and iconic abandoned swimming pool of HMS Ganges Royal Naval training school, as well as . AboutPressCopyrightContact. The pipe (whistle) was used aboard ship for passing orders and instructions. Download Citation | On Feb 1, 2023, Olivier Champagne and others published Future change in amplitude and timing of high-flow events in a Canadian subarctic watershed | Find, read and cite all the . I arrived at Ganges in the late afternoon on March 15th 1955, along with roughly a hundred other fifteen year old boys. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Picture: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS (Image: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS). I did climb that mast. My instructors were Nobby Clarke and Ted Roe. 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. The greatest fear was of messing up, this meant the whole class was punished. 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?' She was established as a boys' training establishment in 1865, and was based aboard a number of hulks before moving ashore. Developers Wavensmere Homes and Galliard Homes plan to build almost 300 homes on the site and include a restored mast in the development. Richard Dunn. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. CLICK ABOVE TO OPEN GALLERY. Life at Ganges was recalled recently in The Evening Star when a book about the base by Alan Peck was published. First Royal Navy ship to visit Eire, post independence? they said. 1914. Network 157.90../16 Abuse Contact API. 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. On the remainder of the command 'Bayonets' the left hand pulled the bayonet from the scabbard, placed it on the barrel of the rifle and, with a quick twist of the wrist, secured it in place. 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 may not display this or other websites correctly. 1937. HMS Ganges being broken up after training was transferred to the land base at Shotley (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). The HMS Ganges training base, which opened in 1905, closed in 1976 and has remained . HMS Ganges as a training ship in the 1900s (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). HMS Ganges was a training ship and later stone frigate of the Royal Navy. The previous evening I'd arrived at HMS Ganges training annexe, with an assortment of other would-be-sailors, and was placed in the capable hands of a spotty-faced junior instructor and a bullet-proof gunnery instructor who wore crossed guns on both lapels. July 27, Awarded the Freedom of Ipswich. LEADING SEAMAN Served from 1961 - 1970 Served in HMS Ganges. Discipline was severe, routine constant and fear of punishment loomed at every turn. 10/01/36- 08/02/36 HMS Pembroke. Editors' Code of Practice. Ganges Tales of the T.R.O.G.s Paperback - 22 Nov. 1995 by John Douglas (Author), John Wheatley (Illustrator) 6 ratings Paperback 12.00 8 Used from 8.90 H.M.S. There was a seamanship officer at the boat sheds. The kindly chef asked me whether I intended to eat the mountain of food I'd heaped on my plate or climb it! Heard so much about HMS Ganges though and it sounded very good for developing 'real sailors ' but as much as I hate to admit it I suspect it would have been too much for me . Some boys failed the initial inspection which only lengthen their time in the freezing conditions. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. . 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. 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. 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 . This portion was taken from the foremast of the corvette Cordelia which was paid off . If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can The Royal Navy training mast in Shotley Gate, pictured in 1936, was erected in 1907, A photograph of the base taken sometime in the 1950s (left), with recruits on the mast in 1937, with one recruit just about visible near the very top, John Youngman said his training at the site stood him in good stead for the rest of his life, Warning: Third party content may contain adverts, A pupil band from The Royal Hospital School performed at the event, It is expected to take at least a year to restore the mast at the tip of the Shotley peninsula, across the water from Felixstowe and Harwich. Ship to visit Eire, post independence the greatest fear was of messing up, meant. 238217 boy 1st Class HMS Ganges hms ganges abuse this meant the whole Class was punished year old boys Rigging whose... A bugger Ganges turned out to be address on the site and include a restored mast in the development 12! 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