"Oh, where are you going to, all you Big Steamers, With England's own coal, up and down the salt seas?" "We are going to fetch you your bread and your butter, Your beef, pork, and mutton, eggs, apples, and cheese." "And where will you fetch it from, all you Big Steamers, And where shall I write you when you are away?" "We fetch it from Melbourne, Quebec and Vancouver, Address us at Hobart, Hong-kong, and Bombay." "But if anything happened to all you Big Steamers, And suppose you were wrecked up and down the salt sea?" "Why, you'd have no coffee or bacon for breakfast, And you'd have no muffins or toast for your tea." "Then I'll pray for fine weather for all you Big Steamers, For little blue billows and breezes so soft." "Oh, billows and breezes don't bother Big Steamers, For we're iron below and steel-rigging aloft." "Then I'll build a new lighthouse for all you Big Steamer, With plenty wise pilots to pilot you through." "Oh, the Channel's as bright as a ball-room already, And pilots are thicker than pilchards at Looe." "Then what can I do for you, all you Big Steamers, Oh, what can I do for your comfort and good?" "Send out your big warships to watch your big waters, That no one may stop us from bringing your food." "For the bread that you eat and the biscuits you nibble, The sweets that you suck and the joints that you carve, They are brought to you daily by all us Big Steamers, And if any one hinders our coming you'll starve!" |
H.M.S. GANGES Ipswich Suffolk Tel: - Shotley 244 Dear Sir/Madam Your boy has now arrived safely at Shotley. He will spend the first five weeks among boys who have joined with him in a separate part of the establishment known as the Annexe, in order to get him used to naval routine and give him time to settle down. Here he is put into the class for which he is best suited, is introduced to naval discipline, has a full medical and dental examination, and is vaccinated. When this preliminary period is completed he will join the main establishment, where he will receive instruction in subjects which includes school work, seamanship or communications, gunnery, physical and recreational training, and religious knowledge. He will be able to play games most afternoons. Each term in H.M.S. GANGES normally lasts for fourteen or fifteen weeks, and while your boy is serving here he will be granted 21 days long leave at the end of each term. Local leave is granted from 1.15 p.m. to 8.45 p.m. to a boy when he is visited by his relations. Such visits should be confined to Saturday and Sunday, and should not be made for six weeks after your boy has joined, as this initial period is a particularly busy and important one for him. A self explanatory consent form to the Mantoux Test is enclosed for your completion and return. A sheet giving details of boy's pay is also enclosed. If you are visiting this district you are welcome to come and see the establishment; the afternoon is the most suitable time if you come on a weekday. If you come on a Sunday, any time after 9 a.m. is convenient. Sleeping accommodation for parents is not available in the establishment, although it can be arranged in emergency. Your boy can however always obtain from his divisional officer a list of suitable hotels and boarding houses in Ipswich. Should you find it necessary to write about your boy at any time, your letter should be addressed to the Captain H.M.S. GANGES and not to me by name. Yours faithfully, CAIRNS, (Captain The Earl Cairns, Royal Navy) |
Not marching or doubling (running) properly i.e., SLOVENLY ATTITUDE. Note: Walking was only allowed when not under instruction i.e., a couple of hours per day and on weekend afternoons. | Stopped and stood to attention. Visual inspection of uniform, sports gear, working clothes, best suit, assault course dress, whatever and a check to see that your name was marked on the uniform pieces. Bodily cleanliness inspection including ears, neck, finger nails, beard (if it was showing when so young). An inspection of the shoulder straps of your vest - no vest was a crime - and the blue top inside of the white front was a collector of accumulated dirt. Even if everything was perfect (and it seldom was) you were punished because you had been stopped. "You are a disgrace you dirty little horror. Kit muster. What class are you in and who is your instructor?" If very horrible, two or more kit musters could be ordered. | A kit muster was a nasty punishment because if it was not clean, in good repair and complete, you could win a higher punishment as well as being made to spend that POSB on new kit. It involved laying out the full kit washed, ironed, marked, sewn-in and taped with white one inch tape all in an absolutely perfect line. This would usually take place in ones mess next to ones bed but could be ordered to be shown at a venue some distance away - very inconvenient. The kit had an exact number of pieces so that clean items were shown as above, and dirty items put at one corner of the kit. You had to have a good excuse as to why articles were dirty. Naturally, the kit muster was always in your leisure period. Underwear was picked on the most!!!! We were issued with Navy standard white underwear which was a vest and long'ish underpants. Many boys would keep their Navy issue in tip top condition by not wearing it thereby not having to wash and iron it for times like these. Instead they would wear civilian pants and no vest. If during any inspection the inspecting officer thought your Navy underwear was in too good a condition (especially having had it for many months) you would be ordered to bear all to check your under garments. Tut tut! You didn't stand a chance! |
Being late for almost anything except for things like sick quarters muster. | Depended upon how late you were and your excuse for being late. Every possible excuse was known to these instructors and it wasn't worth trying it on with them. First time lateness or lateness involving 5 minutes or so would be dealt with by the instructor. More severe cases would involve you being punished officially by the Divisional Officer. | The instructor's punishment would involved the latecomer in doubling around the parade ground, up and down a road, or better still a road with a hill, in all weathers, until the instructor remembers that he sent you away for a punishment and ordered you back to instruction. Apart from the fatigue you suffered, you also had to catch up on missed instructions by asking your class mates for their notes to copy. |
Being continually dirty and unkempt. | This would be obvious from the state of your bedding, the lack of presence in the washroom (showers were always group events), the smell of your body etc. The punishment nearly always came from your peers with a nod from the instructor first. | Your punishment would involve you being forcibly stripped and put in something that holds water - usually a dustbin with all your dirty clothes( those you had been wearing and those in your locker). Your body would be washed with deck scrubbing brushes and long handled yard brushes, both of which could cut your skin and certainly cause much pain. On completion, you would be paraded through your own mess and possibly other messes within your own Division. This poor soul would almost certainly be back-classed and the news as to why, would be jungle-drummed to his new classmates quicker than you could say Jack Frost! |
Fighting. | Fighting was not common, but when it occurred you naturally took sides. It resulted in bruising and sometimes cuts. The fighters would never reveal to authority the co fighter's name, nor indeed that a fight had taken place. However, were the fight made known to the authorities and subsequently judged 'personal' (e.g. you hadn't beaten somebody up because you caught them stealing from your locker) a case was made to resolve the issues leading up to the punch- up. Your punishment - a witnessed 'grudge' fight. | The pair would be referred to the gymnasium and to the Divisional Physical Training Instructor (PTI) - you can see him in the Rodney photograph wearing a white cricket style top. He would organise a boxing match usually of 3 one minute rounds which would take place in the gym with the class or the classes of the pugilist's acting as an audience. There the PTI would encourage the adversaries to 'clear the air' once and for all, although the rules of boxing would be upheld and brawling was out. |
Crimes punishable by the Divisional Officer which 'broke the rules, written and unwritten" and which were outside the scope of instructor punishment. A visit to the Divisional Officer of more that three times on petty charges was an automatic referral to the Captains DEFAULTERS. | The tradition in the Navy is that there is a multi tiered structure through which one must go to be 'praised' or 'punished'. The praise part is called REQUESTMEN and the punish part is called DEFAULTERS, and each officer in the structure can grant wishes or punish up to his level. In the Fleet, you first see the First Lieutenant (Jimmy) or in a large ship, the Commander, and if the reason for seeing them is beyond their powers, they will pass the case to the Captain of the ship. Likewise, if the Captain cannot deal with the case (it would have to be very serious indeed) he would pass it on to an Admiral. If necessary (though rarely if ever done) a non commissioned officer can go all the way to seek a judgment from the Minister of Defence, and a commissioned officer, all the way to The Queen. However, in Ganges, the Divisional Officer was the first stage of authority and he could handle most of the cases brought before him. He would order a so-called punishment to fit the crime which would be (guess what?) a numbered punishment, either No 14's, No 10's or No 11's. The D.O., would bark " 5 days No10's" or " 1 day No14's". I was once punished with 3 days No14's for using the back of my training journal to conduct a noughts and crosses competition. The charge - defacing a Crown document in contradiction of rule....................of the Naval discipline Act. | All of these numbered punishments, which unlike instructor punishments, were recorded on your record. Each involved getting up very early in the morning (without an associated bugle call - you were woken up personally!!) dressing in the ordered uniform and mustering to have your name checked. For lesser punishments, No14's for example, you would then report to the galley to be employed on washing dishes or preparing food for an hour before returning to your mess to prepare for the day of instructions. This would be repeated in the evening et seq until your number of days had expired. For more severe punishments like No10's and 11's you would be given a rifle, a back pack and your very own personal punishment instructor (who had to get out of his bed at some awful god damn hour to punish you) and he would keep you doubling for a full hour in the early morning and again in the evening. At lunch time you could be told to lay your kit out or join up with the pig-swill party filling and loading dustbins with our food (sorry, out left over food - same thing) and then lifting them on to lorries for the local farms. Whatever, you were kept at it for 24 hours a day (minus your few hours in bed) and it was very stressful. I experienced just 2 days of this barbaric treatment when, after a day's sailing/rowing (or pulling as it is known in the Navy) in terrible weather, cold wet through and with blistered hands, I accidentally let an oar slip off it rowlock (often pronounced rollock which rhymed with bollock) which went into the sea and was carried away on a flood tide deep into Suffolk. My charge revolved around being disobedient, mitigated by the adverse sea conditions. Soon afterwards, I had blisters on my shoulders as well, when the .303 rifle I was carrying at the slope whilst doubling bounced off my body hundreds of times during those two dreadful days. |
Crimes punishable by the Commander or the Captain. As explained, seeing these GOD's (they were held in great awe and fear) as a REQUESTMEN was good news because it usually meant you was near the end of your training and you were being promoted from Boy 1st Class to Boy Telegraphist, or, that you had achieved some outstanding sporting goal and you were been given a cup in recognition. To see them as a DEFAULTER was unimaginable, though several did. Naturally the top management controlled the lives of erring boys, but they were also the sole judges on severe remedial group punishments. | The ultimate crime whilst at Ganges was to run away - desert, and it was not uncommon though I know of nobody who attempted it. Once the boy was declared as having 'done a bunk' the wheels were set in motion to inform parents/next of kin (Dr Barnardo boys for example) and the local area authorities to be on the look out. Although we hadn't signed-on for service in the Navy (as adult men did) it was implicit that being there amounted to the same thing. When the boys were captured or returned voluntarily with their 'tails between their legs', they were treated harshly and kept away from other boys incarcerated in the administration block. Boys who had had enough or who were unable to cope with the harsh discipline had ample opportunity to consult the Padre, and if their situation was genuine (albeit, it took a long time to assess that) they would be treated with compassion and discharged to civil life as not suited. Therefore, to circumvent that procedure and desert was a heinous crime. Other heinous crimes were repeat thieving cases, recalcitrance, and striking a superior Officer (that is anybody who is senior to you notwithstanding their rank vis a vis yours - a fellow boy who is given some level of authority above you, is your superior Officer. The usual punishment for such crimes was to be caned (a type of birching) and the Captain would order "6 cuts" or a number commensurate to the crime he was trying. For other severe crimes a dishonourable discharge was a rather nasty tag to have. It is the practice in the Navy that when a rating has been found guilty of a serious offence and his punishment confirmed, all the lower deck ship's company gathers to witness the public reading of the charge and the punishment to be given: in years gone by, they witnessed the actual punishment as well. The reason for this is not macabre for its own sake, but to forewarn against crime per se, so that all present are aware of their own fate should they too 'rock the boat'. | The cane, which was colloquially known as 'cuts' was in keeping with the way seniors punished juniors at all walks of life whether civil or military. Every member of my class had been brought up where a parental good hiding was always a possibility, and a good smack common place. We didn't like it, of course, but we expected it when we knew that we had pushed our luck just that little bit too far. Parents were not bad because they smacked their children. Every parent did. Moreover, the Headmaster of a school caned erring students (with parents knowledge), and it was even known for a policeman to give you a clout around the ears for transgressing. Other punishments like standing in the corner as a dunce, being kept behind after school in detention and writing out lines a hundred times that 'I must listen to teacher' were the norm in the 40's and 50's - perhaps longer. So to cane a boy in the Navy was not the Dickensian maltreatment of latter day work-house orphans, but an extension of the punishment policy of the country. Roughly, the procedure was as follows. The boy would be given a medical and upon a satisfactory completion, he would dress in white duck trousers (no underpants) and a loose top (not tucked into trouser top). He would then be stretched over the back of a chair and witnessed by a Medical Officer, an Executive Officer representing the Captain and possibly the Padre, the Master at Arms (the Navy's chief of police) would then administer one heavy stroke of the cane/rod across the boys buttocks. The boys buttocks would then be inspected to ascertain damage, and all the while the doctor is satisfied, one by one the cuts are delivered. Necessary medication is applied and the boy is rested. If he stayed in the Navy, back-classing would be automatic as would his fame but his newly erected pedestal would soon be crushed by the new instructor who would see him as an undesirable and misfit. Subsequent poor behaviour would result in being discharged SNLR - the dishonourable tag mentioned in the middle column. |
Severe remedial group punishments (see above). A 'shake-up' in the Navy means roughly the same as 'pull your finger out'. The US Armed Forces use the expression shape-up . It can apply to an individual and any of the above punishments could be said to be a 'shake-up'. A class of boys is the sum of it's members, and if, as occasionally happened, a class had a high proportion of 'skates' (an idle slouch) and the class performed badly, letting down the Division and the Ganges modus operandi personified by John Cornwell, Victoria Cross, an ex HMS Vivid [Devonport Barracks] trained boy John, known as Jack, Cornwell, held by all boys and all boys establishment as a hero to emulate, was severely injured in WW1 as part of HMS Chester’s gun crew when all around him men laid dead. His claim to fame was that he stayed at his action station in the terrible heat of the Battle of Jutland and subsequently died in Grimsby hospital of his wounds later on. | There was only one punishment for a class as a whole and that was SHOTLEY ROUTINE. It was aptly called a routine because the normal time table for instructions, geared to a conveyor belt designed to churn boy's out to fill sea billets had to be put on hold for a week and be replaced by something else. Shotley Routine had a fixed time frame - one week - nothing more and nothing less. Fortunately, my class was never punished in this way although the threat was ever present. However, everybody in Ganges witnessed their punishment when going about their daily routine. | Shotley Routine was designed to deliver the ultimate shake-up. From day one they went and moved everywhere as a group and always at the full double (a gallop). They changed uniforms several times a day and spent as little time as deemed necessary in their beds. Where we cleaned our mess twice a day, they did theirs four times a day. Their mail and parcel slips were stopped. They ate their meals in double quick time and alone. They laid out their kits every day. No recreation or relaxation was allowed, and any boy who failed the routine was subjected to many more days of personal No 10 or No 11 punishment. Freezing cold showers were ordered daily at 5.30am. When not interfering with normal boys training, they would run around the Ganges roads and playing fields, not just in a forward direction, but backwards as well, double marking time for 10 minutes at a time followed by 25 press-up's in mud. When inconvenient, they returned to a venue where most of their time was spent on laundry hill - the infamous punishment area. The hill was quite steep and at the top was an instructional block and the bottom, the sea. With a broom stick across their backs poking out left and right through their arms positioned like mug- handles, they were made to bunny-hop up and down this hill forwards the backwards, bunny-hopping on the spot, and in all weathers. The broom stick would be replaced for the heavy .303 rifle with which they would perform all kinds of torturous movements. Every now and again, a Senior Officer would visit the class to observe their routine. He would stand on the pavement and give his implicit approval that the aim was being achieved...."Carry on Petty Officer". "Aye aye sir" and the seal of approval had been given to keep the pressure on until the boys were broken. As a change of venue, they were taken to a less infamous place but nonetheless a place of torture, to Faith, Hope and Charity. These were three flight of stone/brick steps on a slope of perhaps 1 in 5. Here, one boy, a boy known to be fit and macho, would be ordered from bottom to top timed on a stop watch. One by one the other boys followed and as they arrived at the top of these 66 or so steps they were made to do press-up's if they had not met or bettered the first boy. The cycle continued to the point of exhaustion, but since John Cornwell had done it to the point of death, they had some way to go! That week must have seemed like eternity and at the end of it, those boys were broken. No class ever had a repeat Shotley Routine. On a less severe matter, laundry hill/faith hope and charity were temporary punishment areas for all boys |
Girls won't and don't do it and that is clear to see,They are saving themselves for a day yet to be,For the man who they corner and get to agree,That marriage is first before a sex spree.(Poet Laureate - watch your back!) |
1. IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; | 3. If you can make one heap of all your winnings, And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings, And never breathe a word about your loss: If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!" |
2. If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master; If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same: If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools; | 4. If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings -- nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much: If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son! |