Royal Naval Training Establishment Shotley, known in the Royal Navy as HMS Ganges, was a naval training establishment at Shotley, near Ipswich in Suffolk. Starting in 1905, it trained boys for naval service until 1973 (The school-leaving age was raised to 16 so ended the recruitment of 15-year-old boy sailors). In September 1973, HMS Ganges admitted adult entrants to the Royal Navy who only underwent 6 weeks training (6-week wonders) (the same as at HMS Raleigh near Plymouth) It finally closed in 1976. It had a mixed reputation in the Royal Navy, both for its reputed harsh methods of training boys in order to turn out professionally able, self-reliant ratings and for the professionalism of its former trainees. It is particularly famous for its 143-foot (44 m)-high mast which all boys under training were required to ascend, at least to the half-moon and for the mast manning ceremonies held whenever a dignitary visited the establishment.
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During the later 1980s and until 1999 RNTE Shotley was used as a residential centre for civilian police officers to complete their basic training. Forces which used this centre included Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Thames Valley and South Wales.[1] The Suffolk and Essex police forces used the site on an ad hoc basis in 2007.[2]
In fiction edit
In Arthur Ransome's children's novels We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea and Secret Water, the character Commander Walker is an officer stationed at Shotley.
References edit
- ^ "New talent to be given showcase in charity gala" (PDF). The Law (277): 2. November 1996. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Police training returns to HMS Ganges". East Anglian Daily Times. 1 March 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
External links edit
- "British Pathé Search: Shotley - britishpathe.com". Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- "Anglia News: Queen's Visit to Suffolk (21 July 1961) - eafa.org.uk". Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- RNTE Shotley Pictures and information Summer 2007
- HMS Ganges Association Web site
- Site photos taken between 2006 and 2009
- HMS GANGES (RNTE Shotley) Books Historical books and DVDs of HMS GANGES.
51°57′25″N 1°16′19″E / 51.957°N 1.272°E
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