RNTE Shotley
Encyclopedia
RNTE 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 it closed in 1976, following the raising of the school leaving age
from 15 to 16. 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 feet (43.6 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.
During the 1990s RNTE Shotley was used as a residential training centre for the civil police where new officers completed their basic training. Forces which used this centre were Thames Valley, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and South Wales police.
's children's novel
s We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea
and Secret Water
, the character Commander Walker is an officer stationed at Shotley.
HMS Ganges (shore establishment)
HMS Ganges was a training ship and later stone frigate of the Royal 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 in Falmouth, Harwich and Shotley...
, was a naval training establishment at Shotley
Shotley, Suffolk
Shotley is the parish giving its name to the peninsula between the River Orwell and the River Stour in Suffolk. The village of the same name is located about a mile northwest from the tip of the peninsula where the larger Shotley Gate village is...
, near Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. Starting in 1905, it trained boys for naval service until it closed in 1976, following the raising of the school leaving age
Raising of school leaving age
The raising of school leaving age is an act brought into force when the legal age a child is allowed to leave compulsory education increases...
from 15 to 16. It had a mixed reputation in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, 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 feet (43.6 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.
During the 1990s RNTE Shotley was used as a residential training centre for the civil police where new officers completed their basic training. Forces which used this centre were Thames Valley, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and South Wales police.
In fiction
In Arthur RansomeArthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
's children's novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea
We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea
We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea is the seventh book in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. It was published in 1937. In this book, the Swallows are the only recurring characters...
and Secret Water
Secret Water
Secret Water is the eighth book in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. It was published in 1939.This book is set in and around Hamford Water in Essex, close to the resort town of Walton-on-the-Naze. It brings the Swallows and the Amazons together and introduces a new...
, the character Commander Walker is an officer stationed at Shotley.