WARSHIPS
HMS Berwick
HMS Lowestoft
HMS Apollo
HMS Jupiter
HMS Arrow
HMS Minerva
HMS Andromeda
HMS Andromeda
RFA Argus
SHORE BASES
HMS Ganges
HMS Dryad
HMS Sultan
HMS Collingwood
Kyle of Lochalsh
































TOP


I joined the Royal Navy on the 31st August 1971. HMS Ganges is situated about 10 miles east of ipswich , I'd left my parents looking very worried on Chesterfield railway station about 5 hours earlier, and arrived in Ipswich with
a train load of young, very green looking, soon to be Matelots.
Talk about stranger in a strange land, this was all very weird. A chap (looking like a bottle of Matey) met us and ushered us all onto a coach, we were driven to Stalag HMS Ganges.

We were herded around various buildings, the first being the barbers shop
(I swear they were having a shearing competition) we all came out about 2lb lighter with ears like a taxi with it's doors open. Next stop, the clothing store. Within minutes we were all kitted out with our new uniform, none of which fitted of course.
Everything was one size, it was up to you to either grow or shrink accordingly! We were ordered to write home to tell the folks what a good time we were having. I don't know about writing, I wished I was home.

I was assigned to Ashanti mess, Blake division, at the top of the" long covered way". (Anyone who went to Ganges will know it well). The deck was made out of unpolished wood and every Friday night we would do what was called a "Friday night routine". This involved a lot of cleaning, specially the wooden floor, which we scrubbed with wire wool until you had no fingers left. It was like some kind of mediaeval torture.

After a while the routine began to get a little better, We'd do lots of fitness training lots of Seamanship stuff and loads of Drill. Before we knew it we'd become Humanoid. March here clean this, march there clean that, yes sir, no sir and so on. Oh what fun we had. Still I believe the strict discipline turned me into a better person.

Divisions were always good fun, 2000 matelots would gather at the bottom of the parade ground, when everything was ready the parade commander would shout "Divisions fall in" The whole lot of us would then charge across the parade ground looking for our division. When it all settled down there would always be a couple of poor chaps wandering around lost getting shouted at by various G.I.s

There was a mast at Ganges, 147' high. You didn't have to go up it, but it was a choice if you didn't want to play rugby. I never wanted to play rugby so I spent quite a bit of time up the mast. To get to the first platform was fairly easy, the second platform a little more difficult,, then the next platform was just a small metal half moon shape, It took a few nerves to get up to here(about 115' ). Then there was the next bit, the cowhorns, this was just a metal bar (135' high) with a rope ladder going up to it. This was as far as I ever manager to get. To get to the top you had to scrawm up the top 12' and limb onto a 11" round disc with just a lighting conductor to hold between your legs when you stand up

All together I did 10 months at HMS Ganges, 6 months training and 4 months ships company. What a difference being ships company makes, new joiners call you sir, you strut around as if you own the place. Putting up with 6 months of crap seemed more worthwhile now.