Ex-servicemen Reunite 60 Years On at Former HMS Ganges on Shotley Peninsula
Veterans who undertook basic training at HMS Ganges Royal Navy Training Establishment on the Shotley Peninsula from 24th August 1964 to 21st July 1965 returned to the historic 58-acre site, 60 years to the day they first arrived.
Bernard Harrison, Nigel Guilfoyle, Jeff Fox, David Carter, Mick Hudson, and Jim Creasy, are the six servicemen from Drake 39 Mess who reunited at the famous coastal landmark, which saw more than 160,000 recruits passed through, until its closure in June 1976. The site is in the process of being reanimated by Wavensmere Homes and Galliard Homes, with 303 energy-efficient houses and apartments enabling people to live there again for the first time in nearly five decades. There are also detailed plans to preserve and reanimate three of the HMS Ganges listed structures, two scheduled ancient monuments, and two further non-designated heritage assets.
Now known as Barrelman’s Point, the scenic £130m development site is located off the B1456 in the Shotley Gate Conservation Area, at the southern end of the Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB. Over half of the 81 homes within phase one are built and occupied, comprising two-, three-, four-, and five-bedroom houses.
Mr Harrison – the organiser of the reunion – retired as a Chief Communications Yeoman, after a 25-year career with the Royal Navy, including assignments to Singapore (HMS Loch Fada) and the Falkland Islands (HMS Hermes).
I have been planning this very special reunion trip with Wavensmere Homes for 12 months. For six of us who walked through those imposing Ganges iron gates together on 24th August 1964, to have the opportunity to meet up and walk through them again 60 years to the day has been one of the greatest highlights of my retirement.
Mr Harrison – the organiser of the reunion – retired as a Chief Communications Yeoman, after a 25-year career with the Royal Navy, including assignments to Singapore (HMS Loch Fada) and the Falkland Islands (HMS Hermes).
We were all 15 when we left home to commence our naval training. At Ganges, we learnt the basics of seamanship, a solid grounding in our different trades, while also cramming in school lessons in maths, English, navigation and naval history. The swimming and sports training was intensive and being able to step back inside the now Grade II listed swimming pool brought memories flooding back.
We are all so grateful to the team at Wavensmere Homes for making our dreams come true with this trip down memory lane, while most of the abandoned training base is still out of bounds and awaiting redevelopment. I am especially thrilled that their passion and knowledge of the living history here is meticulously shaping their redevelopment strategy. The six of us are all very motivated to stay fit and healthy, so that we can return in years to come when all the restoration work is complete.
The six veterans were the first to take hold of the newly restored symbolic 142ft tall mast – the best-known landmark across the entire Shotley Peninsula. Made of iron, steel, and timber, it dates back to 1865, and was erected in 1907 where HMS Ganges, a 74-gun 18th Century ship had stood, before retiring to Chatham Dockyard in Kent two years prior. All sections of the mast were taken down by specialist restorers and painstakingly refurbished on site.
In addition to the swimming and diving pool, the veterans also inspected the historic Nelson Hall – a former drill hall – which is set to be restored and redeveloped to create a potential public library facility, meeting hall, and large café space. They then walked through the location of Barrelman’s Point’s future amenity provision, which will provide much-needed daily conveniences to the new residents and those already living in Shotley. There will also be several landscaped public open spaces, new biodiverse meadow planting, tree lined avenues, and children’s play areas.
My appointment turned out to be rather painful. Having been to my local dentist prior to joining, I thought that I was all clear and needed no treatment. Unfortunately not! My civvy street fillings did not reach the service standards, so the dentist then proceeded to remove and replace them. As my appointment was late afternoon, they had run out of cocaine so this was done without any anaesthetic. I was only 15.
Nigel Guilfoyle, who left the Navy in 1972, recalled the first time he had a dental check-up at the naval training base.
It was compulsory that all recruits had to climb the mast as far as the half-moon, which is about 120 feet up. All those that were scared were given a little help of a hard broom up your backside. All of us here for the Drake 39 Mess reunion took part in the filmed ceremonial manning of the mast in 1965, with Bernard trained as a reserve ‘button boy’.
The name for the development – Barrelman’s Point – gives affirmation to the person who would be stationed in the barrel of the foremast to aid navigation of the vessel. HMS Ganges Museum and Shotley Marina are both only a few minutes’ walk from the new development. The village of Shotley also includes a primary school and local facilities.
The B1456 leads to the A137, with the A120, A12, and A14 also easily accessible, providing convenient travel across the county and beyond. The historic city of Ipswich is five miles away, which includes a host of town centre amenities and visitor attractions. There are frequent services from Ipswich train station to London Liverpool Street, which take an hour.
The Barrelman’s Point show homes are open Monday to Saturday from 10am – 5pm, located off Nelson Avenue, Shotley, Ipswich, IP9 1FF. For further information, or to book a viewing, call 01473 233 966, or email info@wavensmere.co.uk
