 Bill Jordan, theNew Zealand High Commissioner, with a group of New Zealand sailors in front of the masthead and figurehead of HMSGanges. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSGanges |
| Commissioned | May 1865 |
| Fate | Closed in October 1976 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Stone frigate |
HMSGanges was atraining ship and laterstone frigate of theRoyal Navy. She was established as a boys' training establishment in 1865, and was based aboard a number of hulks before moving ashore. She was based alternately inFalmouth,Harwich (from 1899) andShotley (from 1905). She remained in service atRNTE Shotley until October 1976.[1]
HMSGanges was also known asShotley Training Establishment.
The increasing professionalism of the Royal Navy and the reform of practices during the mid-nineteenth century led to the need to establish new training centres at which recruits could be inducted into navy life. TheAdmiralty decided to set aside five old laid up hulks in different ports around the country, and use them as bases at which volunteers aged between 15 and 17 could spend a year being educated for future service in the navy.[2] The plan called for an annual intake of 3,500 boys. They were to be trained in seamanship and gunnery, as well as traditional aspects of sea life. One of the hulks chosen to be converted into a school was the old 84-gunsecond-rateship of the lineHMS Ganges. Despite initial objections that her layout made her unsuitable for the task, the decision went ahead.[2]
She put intoDevonport on 5 May 1865 and underwent a refit. She took her first intake of 180 boys on 1 January 1866. They had been transferred from the training shipHMSWellesley, then atChatham.Wellesley's commander, Frederick H. Stevens also came with the boys and becameGanges's commanding officer. Having been refitted to provide accommodation for 500 boys,Ganges was towed toMylor by the paddletugGladiator. She arrived on 20 March 1866 and was anchored in theCarrick Roads.[2]
DuringGanges'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. Captain Tremlett, the senior officer of training ships, was ordered to investigate the situation and reported that Commander Stevens "had given punishments which were not laid down in the Training Regulations and had also prevented his ship's company from taking due leave." Stevens and hisfirst lieutenant were subsequently removed, and were replaced by Commander F. W. Wilson on 24 July 1866. By the end of 1866 there were 478 boys at the establishment.[2]
Ganges was occasionally sailed to Devonport to undergo refits. The establishment had become an important part of local life, as in 1870 a rumour began to circulate thatGanges would not return after one such refit. Themayor was pressured to contact the localMember of Parliament, and also to ask questions of aGovernment minister. The rumour was then disproved.[2] By 1899 the declining number of boys joiningGanges led the Admiralty to decide to move her to a more populated area. Petitions were organised by the local councils, but were unable to sway the Admiralty.Ganges sailed from Mylor on 27 August 1899. She was refitted in Devonport, which involved herkeel being scraped. The boys were quartered atHMS Lion andHMS Impregnable whilst this work was carried out.[2] She then sailed toSheerness in company withHMS Arrogant. She spent two months here before being towed toHarwich by the tugAlligator. She arrived on 11 November 1899.HMS Caroline had arrived shortly beforeGanges and served as a temporaryhospital ship.[1]
Ganges commenced her usual role at Harwich, withCaroline providing medical facilities whilst shore facilities were constructed in the town.[3] Hospital facilities had been completed by 1902 andCaroline was refitted at Chatham to serve as an overflow training ship forGanges, providing accommodation for another 60 boys. Despite these developments, it was decided to moveGanges again, this time toShotley, inSuffolk. Work had already begun there on new Royal Naval Sick Quarters.Ganges left Harwich in 1903 for Shotley. £20,000 had been set aside to build shore-based accommodation, and a further £80,000 had been earmarked to cover the future expansion of the facility.[3]
New building works began in February 1904, and the oldHMS Minotaur arrived.[1] She had already spent time as adepot ship for various establishments. She had been named HMSBoscawen in March 1904 whilst atPortland and now arrived to provide further facilities forGanges. The completion of shore works in 1905 led to the establishment of RNTE Shotley on 4 October. The facility included the buildings onshore and the ships offshore, which were HMSGanges, HMSCaroline and HMSBoscawen II.[1] The focus of the establishment now moved to shore based activities, and thecapstan, bitts andfigureheads were moved from the ships onto the shore. In November the establishment received the exHMS Agincourt, which had been renamed HMSBoscawen III.[1]
1906 was a period of considerable changes for the establishment. On 21 June HMSGanges was renamed HMSTenedos III in preparation for her reassignment to become part of the Boy Artificers Establishment at Chatham. She left the establishment on 5 July. Also on 21 June HMSBoscawen (the old HMSMinotaur) was renamed HMSGanges as her replacement. The establishment was further swelled by the merging of the pupils of the establishments ofHMS Boscawen,HMS St Vincent andHMS Caledonia.[1] HMSBoscawen II (the former HMSAgincourt) was renamed HMSGanges II.[1]
In 1907the 143-foot (44 m)-high mast of the old steamcorvetteHMS Cordelia was erected.[3] It would become a major landmark. The old HMSMinotaur had been HMSGanges since 1906, but was renamed HMSGanges II on 25 April 1908. HMSCaroline was renamed HMSGanges that month as her replacement. In 1909 the Signal School was established and three signal masts were erected.[3] In 1910 the old HMSAgincourt had been removed to become a coalhulk, leaving only the old HMSMinotaur asGanges II.[1] By 1912Ganges II was being used as an overflow ship as the number of boys in the establishment increased, and she was duly moved closer inshore. A floating dock was also moored nearby for the use ofdestroyers andsubmarines.[3] In September 1913 HMSGanges (the former HMSCaroline) was renamed HMSPowerful III and left the establishment.[1] HMSGanges II (the former HMSMinotaur) was renamed HMSGanges.[1] She became the base ship of the establishment during theFirst World War. On 8 October 1913 HMSGanges II became an independent command and was based at RNTE Shotley.[1]
From 1914 to 1918, HMSGanges was commanded by Commodore (later Rear-Admiral)G. C. Cayley. In 1916 the establishment was bombed by a GermanZeppelin.[3] Rationing measures nearly produced a mutiny in 1917 but dispersed peacefully. Other wartime activities included the establishment of atrawler base atGanges II, and the completion of 600 miles (966 km) of anti-submarine nets by boys and staff. In 1918 the base suffered outbreaks ofspanish flu anddiphtheria.Armistice Day was celebrated by a display ofmast manning.[3]
By October 1919HMS Blake briefly became the depot ship for the base.[1] Also that year HMSGanges, the former HMSMinotaur, was renamed HMSGanges II, and so joined RNTE Shotley in sharing the name.[1] On 3 August 1921 theHunt-classminesweeperHMS Tring became the establishment'stender.[3] By now so many boys were attending the base that they had to be sent to trainingbattleships to finish their training. These included thePortsmouth-basedHMS Monarch,HMS Courageous andHMS Conqueror. HMSGanges II (the old HMSMinotaur) was towed away in 1922 by theDutch tugSwartezee and wasbroken up. Since only active ships bore names at this time, the name HMSGanges temporarily ceased to exist, but the training establishment at RNTE Shotley continued. HMSTring was paid off intoreserve on 20 October 1925 as an economy measure.[3]
It was decided by 1927 that RNTE Shotley would be renamed after the original training ship and she was recommissioned as HMSGanges that year.[1] In 1930Edward, Prince of Wales visited the establishment.[3] A number of administrative reforms were also carried out this year, including the establishment of eight internal divisions named after famous admirals.[3]
The outbreak of theSecond World War led to the decision to close HMSGanges as a boys' training centre. Training finished on 16 May 1940 and operations were moved toHMS St George.[1] HMSGanges continued in service, being used as a centre for "Hostilities Only New Entry Training". A new overspill centre was commissioned atHighnam Court, nearGloucester on 28 April 1941, and it was defined as a tender to HMSGanges.[1]Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent paid a visit to HMSGanges on 1 October 1941, and on 31 January 1942 operations at Highnam Court were transferred toHMS Cabbala. Another royal visit came on 12 October whenPrince Henry, Duke of Gloucester inspected the establishment. Eventually by the end of the war 60,968ratings had passed throughGanges.[3]
Ganges reopened as a boys' training establishment in October 1945. The establishment soon regained its former size and importance, continuing to expand its facilities. A number ofVIP visits took place,Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited in 1956,First Lord of the AdmiraltyLord Carrington visited in 1960 andQueen Elizabeth II in 1961.[3] In 1968 theHam-class minesweepersHMS Flintham andHMS Dittisham were attached toGanges. In 1973 the last of the boy entrants joined Ganges recruitment 41 .In 1975Ganges was opened to the public for the first time, withAdmiral of the FleetThe Earl Mountbatten of Burma the guest of honour.[3] It was decided by the Admiralty to close HMSGanges, which was done on 6 June 1976. Thewhite ensign was lowered for the last time on 28 October and the establishment's training duties were transferred toHMS Raleigh.[1]
Following closure of HMSGanges the married quarter estate was used byRoyal Air Force (RAF) personnel from nearby RAF facilities. In 1999 a large section of the former non-commissioned officer quarters were acquired by The Welbeck Estate Group.
51°57′25″N1°16′19″E / 51.957°N 1.272°E /51.957; 1.272
