chatham dockyard old apprentices
Below the terrace lay the parade ground and its adjacent drill hall and other amenities. A good many were engaged in manning the defences, but some had other duties; others were accommodated there for convenience prior to embarking on ships for duties overseas, or following their disembarkation. The Black Yarn House to store the tarred yarn. Saw HMS Jamaica of Bismarck fame and I believe we saw HMS Manxman too in which a friend's uncle had served during WW2. In 1832 the Navy Board was abolished and all yards and establishments, except gun wharves, were amalgamated under a single authority. The Dockyard led to large numbers of military personnel being garrisoned in Chatham and the surrounding area. This was a somewhat unusual apprenticeship as we were required to sign on with the Royal Navy for twelve years from the age of eighteen, part of which was to complete a 4 year apprenticeship in Chatham Dockyard. Collections at The Historic Dockyard Chatham Also Grade II* listed. Most of us went on to get good, highly-paid jobs.". v3.0, Coopers and Labourers, 1797-1816, yard unknown, Caulkers, Coopers and Ropemakers, 1798-1831, Registers of protections from being pressed, 1794-1815, Civil Establishment of Admiralty and Navy Board (including yard officers), 1694-1832, clerk of cheque and storekeeper responsible for finance and administration, master shipwright responsible for building and repairs, master attendants and boatswain supervised yard craft and boats in ordinary (on reserve), master ropemaker responsible for the ropeyard, the agent victualler (in larger establishments only), Plymouth from 1824 known as Devonport Dockyard (1690-present), Pembroke Dockyard at Pembroke (1815-1947), Jamaica Dockyard also known as Port Royal (c.1675-1905), Kingston Dockyard on Lake Ontario, Canada (1788-1853), Penang Island part of modern day Malaysia also known as Prince of Wales Island (1800s), Port Mahon Dockyard on Minorca (1708-1802). South Staffordshire Regiment who died 01/05/1920 KRANJI MILITARY CEMETERY Singapore ' I spent a couple of nights in the dormitory blocks, before joining Diamond and had a lot of laughs. We decided not to go, which I am glad about as all my family and friends are here and MY family now take advantage of the Dockyard." Accommodating some 1,800 men, Chatham was one of the first large-scale Army barracks in England. Three decades after the last tradesmen laid down their tools, three ex-workers tell their story. We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. "It was all about companionship and camaraderie really," added Keith. seaJane. var dailyinfo= new Array(31) Visit Veterans UK to find out how to request a summary of a service record. seaJane. //-->, By We were all in the same boat together and struck up an instant friendship, which we still have.. Sheerness remained operational as a royal dockyard until 1959, but it was never considered a major shore establishment and in several respects it operated as a subsidiary yard to Chatham. However, it was not unusual for officers to move between the the Navy Board and the Board of Admiralty over the course of their career. In 1782, an, 18701892 A number of forts built at a greater distance from the dockyard: Forts, Resident Commissioner, Cadiz Yard, (1694), This page was last edited on 18 March 2023, at 23:48. Australian Field Artillery who died 14/04/1917 GREVILLERS BRITISH CEMETERY France ' Chatham Historic Dockyard | Historic England By 1611 Chatham had been chosen as its location (in preference to Deptford, which at the time was the nation's principal naval shipbuilding yard; this led to speculation that Deptford was going to be sold off). var year=mydate.getYear() The indenture was a contract signed by the apprentice, the parent / guardian and the Admirality on satisfactory completion of a 3 month probation period. 10,499 / mo*. The surviving records for dockyard workers tend to be various kinds of records of pay, including muster books (but not after the mid-19th century) and pension records. And the men remember they had quite a strict deadline on a Friday afternoon. Trying to find the right nursery, school, college, university or training provider in Kent or Medway? It was somewhat unfortunate that, on the one occasion when it was required for actionthe Raid on the Medway, 1667the Dutch fleet were able to sail right past it to attack the English fleet and carry off the pride of the fleet, HMS Royal Charles, back to the Netherlands. dailyinfo[25]=' 1720 Private Sidney ORDERS 1st Bn. [132], A Royal Commission of 1861 (set up in the wake of the Crimean War to improve the sanitary condition of Britain's Army barracks and Hospitals)[133] was scathing in its judgement of facilities at Chatham; in the years that followed several alterations were made to Chatham Barracks (which had changed little over the preceding century): an additional storey was added to several of the barrack blocks to help alleviate overcrowding, and new buildings were inserted among the old, containing improved facilities for cooking, washing and recreation. The records do not cover every yard in every year. There was an annual intake of some 300 boys between 15 and 16 years old in two intakes September and January. Diners evacuated from busy Plymouth restaurant and bar, The venue thanked customers for their patience, Plymouth Argyle Home Park attendance figures this season second highest in 60 years, Steven Schumacher has paid tribute to the fans after the Pilgrims won 20 of their 23 League One games at the Theatre of Greens, Seven changes Plymouth Argyle and their fans will notice in the Championship, Steven Schumacher's Pilgrims have booked a place in the second tier of English football for the first time since 2010, Heartbroken family pay tribute to man killed outside Cornwall nightclub, Police have been allowed more time to question a man arrested on suspicion of murder. [119], Chatham Infantry Barracks was opened in 1757 to house troops manning the fortifications which had recently been built to defend the Dockyard. Bob Chalmers, from Warminster, Wiltshire, was part of the September 1964 intake and he is hoping to organise a reunion. Not long afterwards a large new single-storey Carriage Store, with a long frontage parallel to the river, was constructed, adjoining the Storekeeper's House to the south. [138], A barracks was built in Brompton from 1804 to 1806 for the Royal Artillery gunners serving on the defensive Lines (previously they had been accommodated in the Infantry Barracks). Undoubtedly there are countless memories and stories from the dockyard, particularly 'the bygone era' of the 1950s and 1960s, when times were very different, but many of them don't get recorded or spoken about. [10], From the very start of the 18th century, however, Chatham began to be superseded in both size and importance, first by Portsmouth, then Plymouth, when the main naval enemy became France, and the Western approaches the chief theatre of operations. Visit Of 26th Sub LT Tech (LOG) Course of SriLankan Navy on 22 . [20], Dockyards have always required shore defences. dailyinfo[12]=' Brigadier General Henry Buchanan KIRK Four times Mentioned in Despatches Cdg. [24] By 1861, No 1 Dock had been filled in and a machine shop constructed in its place for heating, bending and planing armour plate for HMS Achilles which was being built alongside. Mr Elgar, 66, who lives in Hoo St Werburgh, was transferred to the naval base at Devenport after the Chatham closure in March 1984. In 1812 the Royal Engineers Establishment was founded within the barracks to provide instruction in military engineering. But he likes to remember the time he bet a colleague 1 to jump in the water wearing the sacks. *Denotes starting price exclusive of GST. He said: "It was traditional in my day, if your father was in the dockyard, you'd follow your father into the dockyard.". Our Collections Team has recently begun the process of digitising our collection and we are gradually adding new objects to our digital resources. The group would welcome any recorder from the Dockyard who would like to join the group. Deep in the woods, the hidden remnants of a D-Day army, Fine German engineering was'captured' for Portsmouth after First World War 'Nostalgia, This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, This website and its associated newspaper are members of Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). This was a somewhat unusual . The Dock would be filled with all types of Naval ships, decked out with flags & crew dressed in their dress uniforms. The principal records and how to search for them, A guide to the naval records in The National Archives of the UK, Friends of The National Do you have an LGBTQ+ story or experience linked to the Dockyard, the Navy or the Medway Towns that you feel comfortable sharing with us? v3.0, except where otherwise stated, 3. 'Everything had to be done by 4pm on Fridays', which made Fridays quite manic and stressful at times, they said. "If you were in trouble, if you had a problem, there was always someone there to support you," recalled Joe. My grandad was an electrician working on the submarines and my dad was an engineer. Apprenticeships in HM Royal Naval Dockyard, Chatham. Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent.Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, two-thirds of the dockyard lay in Gillingham, one-third in Chatham).. We, as a family, would travel up from East Kent to attend the dockyard when they had a 'Navy Days' event. The oldest surviving naval storehouse in any Royal Dockyard. 09:00 to 17:00. The Trust is preparing an application for the Dockyard and its Defences to become a World Heritage Site. [55], The Captain of the Dockyard's House and flagstaff, Double Ropewalk and Black Yarn House to right, The Victorian Steam Yard was built around three large Basins (wet docks), constructed between 1865 and 1885 along the line of St Mary's Creek (separating St Mary's Island from the mainland). [37] (In the event, the barracks were reprieved and repurposed rather than being closed at this stage. If you have a specific enquiry relating to an object in our collections and cannot find the information you need online, please contact collections@chdt.org.uk. North Mast Pond, 1702. dailyinfo[27]=' Flight Sub-Lieutenant Andrew John BODDY H.M.S. Also in 1686 a 'Great Long Store-house' was built, alongside the ropery on what is now Anchor Wharf;[10] and two new mast ponds were constructed, in what was then the northernmost part of the yard, in 1697 and 1702. [20], By the late 17th century a number of prestigious new buildings were erected (including the officers' residences, the clocktower storehouse and the main gatehouse), several of which are still in place. Chatham's yard was split in two, the area south of the Storekeeper's House becoming an Army Ordnance Store, and the rest a Navy Ordnance Store. var daym=mydate.getDate() Back in the day, the gentlemen, who are aged between 79 and 86, were pranksters! Terry Hoare at home in 1963 during his apprenticeship at Chatham Dockyard. The senior officers of a victualling yard were: The victualling yards reported to a Victualling Board, which in turn reported to the Navy Board. I remember being in awe of the sheer size of it and the amount of hustle and bustle that was all about. Now, around ten 'old boys' meet every six weeks in the Union Street Wetherspoon to laugh about the old times. [122] A few later buildings have survived: a long brick shed of 1805, southwest of the Command House, which once housed carpenters, wheelwrights and other workers as well as stores of various kinds,[123] the adjacent building (machine shop, late-19th century) which now serves as a public library, and the building known as the White House (built as the Clerk of the Cheque's residence in 1816). The military hospital at Chatham at Fort Pitt. Brian and John remember their Devonport Dockyard wage: 2 6s 2d a week (about 2.32), with no overtime for apprentices, but said at the time they were well looked after. In 1665, the Navy Board approved Sheerness as a site for a new dockyard, and building work began; but in 1667 the still-incomplete Sheerness Dockyard was captured by the Dutch Navy and used as the base for an attack on the English fleet at anchor in the Medway itself. 307th Bde. I remember arriving at Chatham Dockyard in the Spring of 1954 to join H.M.S. Its one areaof my Grandfathers medical evacuation from Gallipoli via Malta that I cannot find anywhere. The following year a forge was built for anchor-making. The senior official of a Royal Navy dockyard was the commissioner, who was supported by other senior officers including: . Chatham dockyard closed in 1984, and 84 acres (34ha) of the Georgian dockyard is now managed as the Chatham Historic Dockyard visitor attraction by the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. Discover some of the amazing objects found at the Dockyard. Camaraderie and companionship was important to all Dockyard employees, the boys say. dailyinfo[20]=' 3/1423 Private John QUINN 2nd Bn. The Dockyard apprenticeships were some of the best in the UK. I was on board HMS Hermoine when she left the yard for the last time, I was one of the guests of honour, a great experience for a young lad of 15. " Chatham's establishment as a naval dockyard was precipitated by the use of the Medway as a safe anchorage by the ships of what became (under King Henry VIII) England's permanent Royal Navy. "Ted was living in the Maidstone area at the time and I know he joined the fire service after leaving the dockyard.". There were 75 bays erected at Chatham Dockyard, to hold three years worth of timber. From projects focused on Dockyard workers to the tragedies suffered during the First World War, we are building up a picture of the role and impact the Dockyard has had over four hundred years. n There was a great reaction to my picture here of some of the old Radio Victory presenters. In almost all cases you can only search by yard or ships name, not by a persons names. The 'old boys' who were recorders in the Dockyard and still meet up for a pint. The victualling yards, however, continued to be practically independent. ), electric & acetylene welding and the Blacksmiths shop.In travelling along Dock Road my memories go back to the check-in booths where we were checked against our photo and a recent trip along Luton Road recalled the many hours spent at the Dockyard Apprentices Club.At one stage in my Naval career, I served as a Shipwright Training Instructor at H.M.S Caledonia at Rosyth in Scotland where the Naval Shipwright training was subsequently transferred I have many more memories, too many to relate here but I hope these will be sufficient to remind others reading this of happy times spent in the Dockyard. Chatham Dockyard (Apprentices) - Hansard - UK ParliamentGarlic Smells Bad After Covid, Nicole Miller Eight Days Of Highlighting, Articles C