Like lots of other boys I ran away from home when I was 14 yrs old and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Seaman 2nd class. Picture: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS (Image: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS). "Boys came into Ganges at age 15 and went into the navy as men at 16. The greatest fear was of messing up, this meant the whole class was punished. 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. 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. It was hoped that Developers Haylink Ltd would start work early this year, but their plans were scuppered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Coronation Day of George VI. Editors' Code of Practice. It had been HO (Hostilities-only) traing during the war. For breakfast porridge was on offer, that salt-coated gruel I'd been forced to eat every morning of my schoolboy days. HMS Ganges was a training ship and later stone frigate of the Royal Navy. [1] He deserted on numerous occasions and willfully disobeyed orders . This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's inaccuracy or intrusion, then please The skipper was HS McKenzie who went FOSM. Find out more about HMS Ganges at www.hmsgangesmuseum.com, or visit the museum, located at the end of King Edward VII Drive, in Shotley, IP9 1QJ. Captain Tremlett, the Senior Officer of training ships, was ordered to investigate the situation and reported that Commander Stevens 'had given punishments . This site uses cookies. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. ", The honours board from the HMS Ganges, showing the victories of all the Royal Navy ships bearing the name (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). John Garrett. HMS Ganges '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 ' His early life was hard by any standards. 1906. Maybe we boxed each other in the Shotley annexe! As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. The Admiralty decided that the shore base should bear the name of the original training ship, HMS Ganges. 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. There were stories of many similar violations but none ever reported. The showers usually took place at the crack of dawn, summer or winter we ran from the barrack towel around our waist to the showers. contact the editor here. Some 100 boy-sailors were in the canteen, chewing and chattering; clattering knives forks and spoons against plates and bowls. Rumour had it many years ago a boy did fall, bouncing off the safety net and through the Post Office roof. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. He went on to be an SD subby. In 1907, its famous 143ft (44m)-high training . In the first week of January it was snowed even harder and it snowed until March. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. The cinemas would be packed with rows of Ganges boys in uniform and the caf at the corner of St Stephen's Lane would sell them many cups of tea as they waited for their bus back to Shotley. I would like to see the mast and museum moved to the safety of HMS Raleigh though to ensure its upkeep and maintenance. Should one of letters be a millimetre out, you found the lot on the deck when you returned to the mess. 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. CHARGE CHIEF PETTY OFFICER (WEA) Served from 1974 - 1997 Served in HMS Ganges. Roe told me "I don't like you." Every letter, every strip of tape had to be in a perfect line. Ganges Museum is located at Shotley Gate near Ipswich, in what was the Enright Block, on the foreshore of the former H.M.S. She was based alternately in Falmouth, Harwich (from 1899) and Shotley (from 1905). Report abuse. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. HMS Ganges being broken up after training was transferred to the land base at Shotley (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Boys were permitted to march through the streets of Ipswich with bayonets fixed. 1959 and what a bugger Ganges turned out to be. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. ", HMS Ganges as a warship (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). After sewing on a tag and sporting a proud smile as I offered it up for inspection to that gorilla-of-gunner, I was sent scurrying away, ears ringing from slaps and vehement words, asking myself, 'How the hell did I mange to sew the tag on upside-down?'. Didn't like it, there are better ways of teaching than violence, but it hardened me up and made me self disciplined. 1905 - 1976 It closed in 1998 or something. ( Royal Naval Detention Quarters RNDQs Portsmouth), Listen to No Flowers for Geordie on SoundCloud. She remained in service at RNTE Shotley until October 1976. This punishment was something I never witnessed and can only describe from what other boys told me. His early life was hard by any standards. HMS Ganges in Shotley Gate, Suffolk, was a land-based training centre for recruits between 1905 and 1976. 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. HMS Ganges organisation of meals - covering the galley in the Long Covered Way/messdeck dining, and the introduction of the CMG block /communal dining - dated 1952. c. Punishment of Juniors (U) at HMS Ganges dated 1970. d. Restrictions on the caning of boys as a punishment dated 1929-1931. HMS Ganges (1821) This page summarises records created by this Organisation The summary includes a brief description of the collection (s) (usually including the covering dates of the. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to HMS Ganges had a reputation for its harsh discipline. Many spars are believed to have come from this ship too. . Editors' Code of Practice. 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. 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. HMS Ganges was a training ship and later stone frigate of the Royal Navy. Mr Jones also offered reassurance around the historic mast, despite fears about its dilapidated state. Learn how your comment data is processed. 1914. You are using an out of date browser. The association said it had about 3,000 members and at the time of the offences its income from membership fees was about 30,000 a year. 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. We are the largest and fastest growing community of UK forces veterans on the web with over 500,000 members! Finally he withdrew his hand and declared I passed the test. From it came bloodcurdling cries of command, so frightening that I most surely would have obeyed them myself, if had I understood what they meant. He was sitting on a stool and told me to stand in front of him and begin. Picture: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS, Aerial artist's impression of one of the green spaces earmarked for the former HMS Ganges site in Shotley Gate. Helpful. Read about our approach to external linking. 11.00 to 17.00 Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays between Easter and the end of October. Posted on February 5, 2019 by irishroverpei. 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. A Gannett Company. HP10 9TY. 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. Nevertheless, as bad and as cruel as I have describe Ganges, I remain proud to call myself a Ganges Boy. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. 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!! If you cracked on and didn't buckle you were okay, but I wouldn't want to do it again. GANGES was the shore training establishment for boy entrants into the Royal Navy from 1905 until 1976. The culprit was brought before the Commanders table, the punishment was awarded as six or twelve cuts. Maybe we were unlucky with Instructors as one was Court Marshalled, discharged and sent to prison for so called abuse. the top rung of a six foot ladder is about my limit! She was based alternately in Falmouth, Harwich (from 1899) and Shotley (from 1905). Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Former recruit John Youngman said it would be "nice to see it restored to its former glory". The site was closed in 1976 and was used as a maaried quarter estate by the RAF. I wrote this song a long time ago. On his 15th Birthday he was sent, with 2000 other boys, to the notorious HMS Ganges training establishment at Shotley Point where a harsh regime held sway. "The rest of the buildings, including Nelsons Hall and the swimming pool will be converted into flats, shops and a sports centre. 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. Our abuse contact API returns data containing information belonging to the abuse contact of every IP address on the Internet. They looked like what we didn't, sailors. Peter Ohara. Restoration of the historic HMS Ganges Mast is well under way at Barrelmans Point in Shotley. It had been HO (Hostilities-only) traing during the war. She was based alternately in Falmouth, Harwich and Shotley . For more information, please see our Privacy Policy, Please enter a password with 6 characters or more. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. I was at Ganges in 1955 and went to visit Shotley in 2005 and was surprised to see police signs near the old swimming baths.