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. ", HMS Ganges as a warship (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). His early life was hard by any standards. Statistics for the 1930s indicate some 200 official canings per year in HMS Ganges alone, an average of four per week. Independent Babergh District councillor for Ganges, Derek Davis. View of the iconic mast at the former HMS Ganges site in Shotley Gate. Drake 39 mess At least the cubicles in the heads had doors on this time. 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. I wondered, sewing, perhaps! 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. 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. Allegations of Abuse. Bob Roberts. 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. We had just finished PT before going to supper, so I was in shorts. Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. H.M.S. The boy was made lower his trousers, but kept is underpants on, he was made to bend over a chair. Boys normally signed up to a contract of 12 years, which would leave most of them aged in their late 20s after their tours. He was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court. Joined Ganges Feb '61..went through the same as everyone else. HP10 9TY. Sadists most of them and that's from a 15 year old who was in a council care home before he joined, streetwise to fcuk and kept my head down. 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. GANGES was the shore training establishment for boy entrants into the Royal Navy from 1905 until 1976. It was easy to spot those who had been here the longest. Each of us was required to construct a printing block using letters carved in wood. Some boys failed the initial inspection which only lengthen their time in the freezing conditions. However lessons, culminating in a test, were much more difficult. The site was closed in 1976 and was used as a maaried quarter estate by the RAF. We caught up with Jim Dines, Director of TS Rigging, whose team. Were you a 'button boy'? He was quite good too. It had been HO (Hostilities-only) traing during the war. Roe told me "I don't like you." These were all regular happenings at Ganges. . Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 13 March 1653 - Death of Simon de Vlieger (c. 1601, Rotterdam - buried 13 March 1653, Weesp) Simon de Vlieger (c. 1601, Rotterdam - buried 13 March 1653, Weesp) was a Dutch designer, draughtsman, and painter, most famous for. [1] The Admiralty decided that the shore base should bear the name of the original training ship, HMS Ganges. I had already taught myself to swim. Picture: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS (Image: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS). I came across a clip on youtube that really saddened me and it tells its own story about the UK as it is now and the real fact that such things as pride, standards etc have long been lost and decay and neglect are the order of the day, I do not need to walk very far from my home to see with my own eyes the evidence all around me. H.M.S. Coronation Day of George VI. Each time I let it go off it popped, falling to the deck with a clatter. CEM1 Served from 1972 - 1978 Served in HMS Ganges. A planning application for the site was submitted and outline permission was granted in 2015. 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. 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. 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. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The Cattlemarket area of Ipswich would be busy at weekends with boys in full naval uniform. The greatest fear was of messing up, this meant the whole class was punished. There was one hell to come, the Ganges mast! Real posh supercilious bastard. in the RN with the nickname Doc. 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 . 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 . This punishment was something I never witnessed and can only describe from what other boys told me. Picture: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS, Aerial artist's impression of one of the green spaces earmarked for the former HMS Ganges site in Shotley Gate. For spite I think, because it wasn't compulsory. Ganges training establishment. The training was tough, brutal at times, yet many of those who came through remember HMS Ganges, at Shotley Gate, with a certain fondness. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can 1905. Read about our approach to external linking. Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to The noise was excruciating. Crowned on June 2, 1953, at the age of 25, Elizabeth II went on to have the longest reign for a British queen. Well this seems a good time to see if this site works properly. 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. 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. 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. 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. The facility remained there until its closure in June 1976, Picture: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS (Image: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS). Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. A history of the Royal Navy Training Establishment HMS Ganges. ( Royal Naval Detention Quarters RNDQs Portsmouth), Listen to No Flowers for Geordie on SoundCloud. Engineer commander had been on Amethyst up the Yangtse and was quite sympathetic when he was OOD. . Shotley Marina, Shotley Gate, Ipswich, IP9 1QJ. July 5 The old HMS Ganges sails out of Harwich Harbour. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. "Boys came into Ganges at age 15 and went into the navy as men at 16. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to 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. After such a long time I think it will be a welcome relief for a lot of people. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. Today lots of those instructors (JIs and Badgeboys included) would be in front of the beak for various abuses, harassment and bullying. Indeed, I have never met a shipmate would ever claim otherwise. A historic Grade II listed former Royal Navy training mast has been taken down ahead of restoration work. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please It was at Shotley Point that the wooden ship HMS Ganges was berthed from 1899, and used as a cadet training ship for the Royal Navy. Mast erected using the foremast of HMS Cordelia, which was broken up 1904. Discipline was severe, routine constant and fear of punishment loomed at every turn. This page is dedicated to the memory of Tony whose commitment to the Royal Navy and especially HMS Ganges was unlimited. The HMS Ganges site was initially opened in 1904 acted as a boys training facility for the Royal Navy. 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. HMS Ganges was a training ship and later stone frigate of the Royal Navy. I knew a gentleman who said when he was at Ganges in 1947 he had his first taste of hot food. Yes indeed, they were the best of times and the worst of times. I was sent to the training Ship HMS Ganges a cruel harsh 12 months lay ahead of me and thousands of other boys. Back in the mess, this safe haven shielding us from those torturous sounds, the junior instructors' suspiciously cheerful faces greeted us. 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!! It may not display this or other websites correctly. 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. HMS Ganges was the name given to several Royal Navy ships from 1779 onwards, but in 1905 it was chosen for a new training base at Shotley Gate, near Ipswich, where about 500 boy recruits were. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. JavaScript is disabled. This was where the roped rigging jutted out some ten feet - above it, the platform. First Royal Navy ship to visit Eire, post independence? The HMS Ganges training base, which opened in 1905, closed in 1976 and has remained . I heard many boys saying things like , dont bend over in front of the seamanship officer, or always face him dont turn around. Initially, training continued to be carried out on the vessel, but after the completion of a shore-based facility at Shotley, the ship was sent to be broken up. 10/01/36- 08/02/36 HMS Pembroke. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. One not only suffered the punishment such as doubling up and down the steps of laundry hill with a 303 rifle held high. In attendance was a senior officer, medical officer and the master at arms. She was established as a boys' training establishment in 1865, and was based aboard a number of hulks before moving ashore. 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 would like to see the mast and museum moved to the safety of HMS Raleigh though to ensure its upkeep and maintenance. Observer career path/ real life experience. She was based alternately in Falmouth, Harwich (from 1899) and Shotley (from 1905). HMS Ganges is a little bit different though, because they have to get the spine road in first and do some prep work. last entry 16.30 We are also please to welcome visitors at any other time by prior appointment - please telephone 01473 788315 or 01473 788723 to arrange this. If you cracked on and didn't buckle you were okay, but I wouldn't want to do it again. Please Login or Register. HMS Ganges - part of front gate Having completed the New Entry training over at the Annex (I think it took six weeks), we then marched over to Drake 39 mess over in the Main Establishment. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. It may not display this or other websites correctly. BBC Blue Peter presenter John Noakes attempted to climb to the top of the mast. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please After eating I dashed down to the boat sheds to report for my test. JavaScript is disabled. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's She remained in service at RNTE Shotley until October 1976. 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. HP10 9TY. Dec 30, 2016. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. 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. ", The sailors in training doing exercises outside the gym (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). First Royal Navy ship to visit Eire, post independence? Mr Jones also offered reassurance around the historic mast, despite fears about its dilapidated state. A question of Religion?Maybe MaybeNot???? Researched and compiled by A. S. Grimmer (Solent Division) who sadly crossed the bar 6th January 2007. 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. 1905 - 1976 First time ever looking at any RN sights. 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. I joined Ganges 30th June 1955 also as a boy telegraphist. 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, . The mast has been a local landmark since it was erected a century ago this year at the end of the Shotley peninsular. I was ordered to report for my test one evening after supper. The Duke of Edinburgh visiting HMS Ganges in June 1973 Picture: ARCHANT (Image: Archant). 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. Name Hetzner Online GmbH - Contact Role. While I was going through the various calls I felt his hand slipping up the back of my shorts. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. So as I have said already, we kept our heads down aiming for that final day when wed be drafted to a ship. 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. #42. 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. and I got seven days 9s. 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.. Probably running away was the worse decision, they were always caught and returned to the camp. Was anything in this navy free from fear? 1971. 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. Ganges Museum is located at Shotley Gate near Ipswich, in what was the Enright Block, on the foreshore of the former H.M.S. CMEM (M) Served from 1972 - 1987 Served in HMS Ganges. Standing at 143ft, the mast is made up of three main parts; the main 75ft mast came from HMS Cordelia, a steam corvette built in Portsmouth, the top mast of 47.5 ft wooden ruffle box from HMS Agincourt, which was renamed HMS Boscawen, and then Ganges II. they said. Recruits used to climb the 143ft (44m)-high mast in formation, with the "button boy" standing on a small, circular platform at the very top, hands-free, but with his legs resting against a metal supporting bar. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Royal Navy 238217 Ordinary Seaman HMS Niobe . Welcome to Forces Reunited the place where you can find information and friends from HMS Ganges. the top rung of a six foot ladder is about my limit! 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. Didn't like it, there are better ways of teaching than violence, but it hardened me up and made me self disciplined. 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. They were both Ordinary Seamen, one aged 17 and the other aged 18. 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. 5.0 out of 5 stars A real trip down memory lane. CLICK ABOVE TO OPEN GALLERY. Mr Jones said: "There is a lot of truth to the statement that you entered as a boy, but left as a man. 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. Who would have believed us, this was 1955 words like pedophile and sexual abuse were unheard of. When I say there was sexual abuse Im speaking from personal experience. 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. Frederick "Ben" Rodgers author of "Lily & Me", "The Royal Navy & Me" and collector of Rover automobiles, Review from Newfoundland CraigChurchill. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy, Please enter a password with 6 characters or more. (LogOut/ 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. 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. A Gannett Company. In 1907, its famous training mast was erected on the parade ground. Royal Navy 238217 Boy 1st Class HMS Ganges II. 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