Outbreak of World War One. "They had a hard life, but they were fed and looked after. It closed in 1998 or something. 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. The overall height is 143 feet 10 inches, with the button being 11 inches diameter and 3 inches thick. 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?'. It had to be a joke! . So as I have said already, we kept our heads down aiming for that final day when wed be drafted to a ship. I did climb that mast. The pipe (whistle) was used aboard ship for passing orders and instructions. Shotley Marina, Shotley Gate, Ipswich, IP9 1QJ. She was established as a boys' training establishment in 1865, and was based aboard a number of hulks before moving ashore. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. 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. they said. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. However lessons, culminating in a test, were much more difficult. However, in the meantime we were still at the mercy of our instructors. The skipper was HS McKenzie who went FOSM. 1905 to 1976 saw 150,000 recruits pass through HMS Ganges. Boys were permitted to march through the streets of Ipswich with bayonets fixed. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Network 157.90../16 Abuse Contact API. My heart sank and my elation evaporated as I desperately tried to quash all fears of my body falling from the Devil's Elbow. Ken said: It was a dreadful winter. HMS Ganges in Shotley Gate, Suffolk, was a land-based training centre for recruits between 1905 and 1976. Drake 39 mess At least the cubicles in the heads had doors on this time. 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. 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 . Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. 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. 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. I had thought that our group were the only sailors, if we dared call ourselves that, in this annexe, but I was soon to discover there was a continuous rotation of faces, each at various stages of initiation, a small factory taking in baby civilians at one end and throwing out almost sailors into the real HMS Ganges at the other. (LogOut/ 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. It was hoped that Developers Haylink Ltd would start work early this year, but their plans were scuppered by the Covid-19 pandemic. 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.. They looked like what we didn't, sailors. Today lots of those instructors (JIs and Badgeboys included) would be in front of the beak for various abuses, harassment and bullying. They looked smarter, more confident, or even downright dejected. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. When the Gunnery Instructor was finally satisfied, you put the lot back in your locker as before. 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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. Used to have chats with old Tick-Tock and RPO Salmon gave me my 1 postal order when the max was really ten bob. "I remember another of the Ganges boys, they were talking to a visitor at the museum, and she said 'it was quite brutal, wasn't it? 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. Such a tragedy that this historical place has been left to rot. Ganges training establishment. 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 former treasurer of a naval veterans' organisation has been jailed for 18 months after nearly 80,000 was withdrawn from its accounts. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. "It's very high - you get a good view though.". The boy was made lower his trousers, but kept is underpants on, he was made to bend over a chair. 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. Martin Foster, 54, of Haig Road, Uxbridge, had already admitted two charges of fraud by abuse of position. LRO (G) Served from 1975 - 1998 Served in HMS Ganges. 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. Coronation Day of George VI. Realizing his mistake he fought back and with no way out he had no choice but to work his ticket. First Royal Navy ship to visit Eire, post independence? If you cracked on and didn't buckle you were okay, but I wouldn't want to do it again. It may not display this or other websites correctly. According to the HMS Ganges Museum, her timbers were used to make objects including a grand staircase on an estate, and a cocktail bar in a small hotel, both in Devon. 2023 BBC. 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. HMS Ganges was a training ship and later stone frigate of the Royal Navy. 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 took a bowl and ate the lot. 1927. This page is dedicated to the memory of Tony whose commitment to the Royal Navy and especially HMS Ganges was unlimited. Hetzner Online GmbH, Industriestrasse 25, D-91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany +49 9831 505-0 abuse@hetzner.com. HMS Ganges was also known as Shotley Training Establishment . These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Did my intro to Pusser at HMS Raleigh in ' 52 . The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Nevertheless, as bad and as cruel as I have describe Ganges, I remain proud to call myself a Ganges Boy. David Colwill. Click here to remove banner ads from this forum. There was a seamanship officer at the boat sheds. 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 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. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. At Gagnes they spent 12 months training, and they learned everything you need to do to run a ship. Babergh District councillor Ganges, Derek Davis, said: From my own personal perspective I have seen how closely our officers and our planning team have worked with the owners of the site and I can imagine that once the lockdown is over and the guys get started, progress will be made very quickly. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. At 14 he ran away to join the Royal Navy and signed on for 12 years. Discipline was severe, routine constant and fear of punishment loomed at every turn. Thanks again, D. R. WALTON the only O.E.M. 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 stationed. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to 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?' It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Picture: CLAGUE ARCHITECTS, Independent Babergh District councillor for Ganges, Derek Davis. A question of Religion?Maybe MaybeNot???? Every letter, every strip of tape had to be in a perfect line. We were ushered in as a group of naked boys and told to wash thoroughly. 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. Speaking about the current state of the site, Mr Jones said: "All of the messes have been demolished, as have the laundry and the generators. He was sitting on a stool and told me to stand in front of him and begin. Maybe we were unlucky with Instructors as one was Court Marshalled, discharged and sent to prison for so called abuse. Boys normally signed up to a contract of 12 years, which would leave most of them aged in their late 20s after their tours. Im here as my Son (15) wants to join the RN - Wellbeck route AIB soon. AboutPressCopyrightContact. 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. in the RN with the nickname Doc. Artist's impression showing the view across a residential street at the redeveloped HMS Ganges site in Shotley Gate. Welcome to our next documentary, investigating the decaying remains and iconic abandoned swimming pool of HMS Ganges Royal Naval training school, as well as . I would imagine it will be a number of years before we see the final product but Ive seen first hand how quickly they can actually make progress once the builders get going. Helpful. Name Hetzner Online GmbH - Contact Role. The training was tough, brutal at times, yet many of those who came through remember HMS Ganges, at Shotley Gate, with a certain fondness. 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. GANGES was the shore training establishment for boy entrants into the Royal Navy from 1905 until 1976. 4 reviews When Peter Broadbent entered HMS Ganges, the toughest training establishment for young recruits to the Royal Navy, he was a naive 15-year-old Yorkshire schoolboy, entranced with the idea of seeing the world, proud of his drainpipe trousers and DA hairstyle, and eager to meet girls. 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. Allegations of Abuse. 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. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy, Please enter a password with 6 characters or more. It began snowing on Boxing Day. 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. A Gannett Company. HMS Ganges was a training ship and later stone frigate of the Royal Navy. 1937. Looking pretty in candy-striped pyjama bottoms and naked chests, we were ordered across the parade ground, through the snow and ice, to the 'heads', that grown-up potty land, which had neither doors nor partitions around the bowls for privacy, to partake in our morning ablutions, a most embarrassing experience. H.M.S. Some 100 boy-sailors were in the canteen, chewing and chattering; clattering knives forks and spoons against plates and bowls. Richard Dunn. Read about our approach to external linking. This site uses cookies. The Duke of Edinburgh visiting HMS Ganges in June 1973 Picture: ARCHANT (Image: Archant). 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. In 1905 when the Ganges vessel was finally retired (and towed away to Chatham), the training facility, still named HMS Ganges, moved ashore. During Ganges's time in Cornwall allegations of harsh and brutal treatment were reported to the Admiralty.One wardroom steward shot himself over the matter, and the reports aroused indignation in the local community. 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. Welcome to Forces Reunited the place where you can find information and friends from HMS Ganges. 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. HMS GANGES AT HIGHNAM COURT, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, 1940 - 1942. In the first week of January it was snowed even harder and it snowed until March. 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. Charles Dickens might have penned it the best of times and the worst of times. Commander was Trick and a good egg. Aerial artist's impression of one of the green spaces earmarked for the former HMS. Aerial artist's impression of one of the green spaces earmarked for the former HMS Ganges site in Shotley Gate. 1976. Crowds of boys from HMS Ganges would visit Ipswich when they were given a day off from the harsh naval discipline at Shotley. 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. 1905. A planning application for the site was submitted and outline permission was granted in 2015. Our kit was stowed in small silver lockers that we polished daily, but not like any normal person would stow their clothes. 5.0 out of 5 stars A real trip down memory lane. 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. July 27, Awarded the Freedom of Ipswich. But this was Ganges, we never got away with anything. I had already taught myself to swim. Observer career path/ real life experience. I knew only when it was over would I then be able to call myself a true Ganges Boy and, some years later, a real sailor. Mast erected using the foremast of HMS Cordelia, which was broken up 1904. 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. 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. Each time I let it go off it popped, falling to the deck with a clatter. Sad to see such an establishment close as it was so full of history and meant so much to so many. HMS Ganges as a training ship in the 1900s (Image: HMS Ganges Museum). By creating an account you agree to us emailing you with newsletters and discounts, which you can switch off in your account at any time. She remained in service at RNTE Shotley until October 1976. George Douglas Blake HMS Warspite. Tony Hayden. Frederick "Ben" Rodgers author of "Lily & Me", "The Royal Navy & Me" and collector of Rover automobiles, Review from Newfoundland CraigChurchill. She was based alternately in Falmouth, Harwich (from 1899) and Shotley (from 1905). HMS Ganges had a reputation for its harsh discipline. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. "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.". She was based alternately in Falmouth, Harwich (from 1899) and Shotley (from 1905). It was hard, often . 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. Probably running away was the worse decision, they were always caught and returned to the camp. HMS Ganges is situated on the Shotley Peninsula in Suffolk. Former recruit John Youngman said it would be "nice to see it restored to its former glory". Dec 30, 2016. CLICK ABOVE TO OPEN GALLERY. When I say there was sexual abuse Im speaking from personal experience. Change). 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 As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Editors' Code of Practice. 1907. HP10 9TY. HMS Ganges closed on June 6. For breakfast porridge was on offer, that salt-coated gruel I'd been forced to eat every morning of my schoolboy days. H.M.S. Peter Cook. Old men on the HMS Ganges Facebook page and it helps keep alive my time spent there. He would lay on the number of cuts prescribed, each cut raised a welt on the boys buttocks. 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 . 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