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London nautical school - Woolverstone

72K views 193 replies 25 participants last post by  mozza62 
#1 ·
Any old boys from LNS Woolverstone around?

We are all getting on a bit, but the memories are fresh! the uniforms, the discipline, the fences, the ' liberty bus' and the weekly matches against Ganges in cricket or football - not to forget the boating on the river Orwell.
 
#91 · (Edited)
I recall a lad nicknamed 'Bonce' Chew or Tue
'Blackie' Black a chap with asthma
A very big lad named Salmon who helped us 'out of bounds' gang scare the living daylights out of a group of Pin Mill girls that we regularly hung out with.
Mr Croot - of the large hands (our form master) stands out. I recall him roaming the classroom with a length of 1'' x 3'' timber which he would hold an inch or two above a suspect malingerer's head, to let drop if deserved!
The Head Master was F Langley, who in my final term report 'other activity ' section wrote 'smoker' which because of his writing , I had read for ages as 'snooker'.
My older brother joined T S Exmouth at Grays Essex in 1939. The school was evacuated to Lydney, Glos. at war outbreak. My brother Ken Pearce (age 16) left in 1941 and served as deck boy on SS Newbury which was torpedoed in September 1941. Ken never came home!
After the war Exmouth moved to Bray and then Woolverstone.

Will try to delve back through the old memory bank for some more 'snippets'!

Look forward to reading further posts from the original Woolverstone Hall 'old boys' Cheers Reg Pearce.
 
#92 ·
Mr Langley



Hi Reg,

Great to read your memories....

Grout I remember well with his big scaly hands. He was a bit too fond of using them - he wouldn't last five minutes today in the classroom!

In 1964 I was on watch on the passenger ship (Heysham/Belfast ferries) Duke of Lancaster, when one of the passengers gate crashed the little barrier and came up on to the bridge in the dark. It was around midnight, and we often had drunks turfed off the bridge on passage. Anyway, we got talking and this chap turned out to be Langley on his way to a conference in Belfast. We got to talking about Woolverstone Hall etc but in the end I had to call the QM to do his duty!!
 
#96 ·
sports



Don't remember basketball - all the tall lads presumably?

do remember Mr Young (woodwork teacher) a keen yachty and crewing for him. We accidentally won a race (3 times round the Cork light vessel) in the Harwich regatta 1951. The race was cancelled halfway through due to rough weather but we were declared the winner for leading after 2 circuits. Got into trouble just outside Felixstowe entrance on a patch of rough shallow ground called - I believe, ' The Rolling Stones'. ?

Also crewed at weekends for Commander Smethwick and his mates , and remember spending hours stuck on the Orwell mud with him when he misjudged the tide!
 
#98 ·
As far as I recall a piece of music played whilst the inspection was going on at divisions was La Paloma (I believe THE DOVE in Spanish) and the march we always played going around the quadrangle in front of the house was Imperial Echo's as it made a might sound bouncing back off the building.
I remember Black the lad with the Asthma as he was in the same dorm as me and it was not good when he got an attack during the night. It has always amazed me that there let him join.
Lou Armstrong was another, I still have his hair brushes he lent me!!!
I can't not remember the sports master but a teacher who taught English, Edwards was avery good rugby player and Cout was reputted to have kept goal for the R.N. with hands that size, no wonder!! The cricket ground was first class and that is where Alex Loveday and myself spent a lot of time. The pavilion is still there but I don't thoink the girls are using the square much. I last visit there 4 years ago and what a change in the facilitites available. The old stable block was in a mess and not being used for much, not a sign of a nisen hut!!
 
#99 ·
Memories



Ah, the memories come flooding back!

Yes, La Paloma, and as mentioned the band regularly played ' By Land and Sea' to a slow march arrangement. I enjoyed those days.

The stable block brings back a lot of memories too . The showers, ( I still stand under the shower pulling an imaginary chain over my shoulder, a la Woolverstone). ( No jokes, please!). Then there was the tray of purple ? that stained your feet and ankles with a purple band - anti-foot rot grunge, wasn't it. Also the sick bay - the less said the better.

Tony, any chance of seeing the photo you mentioned earlier?

Best wishes/Al
 
#102 ·
Pictures show the band being led by me; the Quadrangle showing the dolphin fittings for the ship's bell and the entire school parading on the grass. Enjoy !! Tony B.
If my memory serves me right the dolphins were presented and carved by the lads at HMS GANGES,stood by them frequently with my bugle blowing colours ,never had far to run as I was in dorm 1 Fox'sle div,

jim
 
#104 ·
Lns 619

The photo of the 3 of us was taken in Ipswich ( date not known)

This photo is the last in my collection. It is taken at HMS Fisgard on top of the shower block adjacent to Anson Division living quarters. I don't remember all the names or why we are up there but the chap on the left is Watkins ( I have reason to believe he was also at Woolverstone) The gentleman holding the ball is Jim Tribe, I am behind him and the chap on the right is Lou Armstrong. I would date it 1950.
For useful info, early in 1948 the London CC offered Middlesex CC 12 places at Woolverstone and I came 13 out the 12 but one failed the medical and I got in( it was certainly lucky, I have the number on my lotto but it has as yet to pay up) I never did find out who the 12 were but Alex and Lou came from Midddlesex.
 

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#105 ·
Entry

The photo of the 3 of us was taken in Ipswich ( date not known)

This photo is the last in my collection. It is taken at HMS Fisgard on top of the shower block adjacent to Anson Division living quarters. I don't remember all the names or why we are up there but the chap on the left is Watkins ( I have reason to believe he was also at Woolverstone) The gentleman holding the ball is Jim Tribe, I am behind him and the chap on the right is Lou Armstrong. I would date it 1950.
For useful info, early in 1948 the London CC offered Middlesex CC 12 places at Woolverstone and I came 13 out the 12 but one failed the medical and I got in( it was certainly lucky, I have the number on my lotto but it has as yet to pay up) I never did find out who the 12 were but Alex and Lou came from Midddlesex.

Tony,

I arrived in 1948 and came from Stanmore in Middlx, so presumably I was one of the 12. Can still recall the tests and interview. Didn't do well at either, so don't know what happened. I recently found a monthly receipt for Woolverstone Hall contribution in my dead parents papers, and it was for £5.10 which was a significant % of their earnings in those days!

I remember Tribe who was a very big lad. He had an arranged punch up in 12 dorm with another lad whose name escapes me - was it Hepworth or similar? Blood everywhere.

There are a few not very good quality pics still in my collection. Here is the silverware and prize table at sports day 1950, I believe.
 

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#109 ·
Exmouth bell and other items

In 2007 Patrick J Jones of the Exmouth Assn. kindly sent me a load of papers (copies) relating to Woolverstone and the old Exmouth, including copies from the punishment book. Some lad got 8 strokes of the cane for ' throwing the post boy overboard'!

The bell was inaugurated on Empire day 1959 as shown.
 

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#123 ·
We were both at Woolverstone for the first term 1948, prior to you leaving. Do you have any recollections of Mick Mann or a lad called Keenan, both in 12 Dorm for that term? Later saw Mick Mann in Colombo in 1951 when we were berthed fore and aft in line in the harbour, Hazelbank and another one of the old timers - name not sure.
 
#122 ·
Lns

In case anyone is interested there is a Facebook Group: T.S. Exmouth LNTS at - https://www.facebook.com/groups/98085012092/
Exo

Thanks for that - very interesting facebook page with. some new info and fascinating detail. Slightly at a tangent, there is an interesting (free) ebook on Amazon called ' Ganges Boy'. A good account and worth a read.

Dave Harrington was ex LNS and Bank Line. Not many of us left.

very best wishes to you. / Alan R
 
#127 ·
T.s. Exmouth.

Battle of Jutland.
Today's service in Orkney featured the song below.
When I located it on Y.T. its video contained a photo of 'our' ship.
I thought that some of you might like to see it:

Lonely Scapa Flow
Song composed by Allie Windwick of Kirkwall about the scuttling og the German fleet in
Scapa Flow in the Orkney Isles of Scotland. The song was originally sung by the late Angus Findlater
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VU8NGfMURg
 

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#128 · (Edited)
T.S. Exmouth.

Battle of Jutland.
Today's service in Orkney featured the song below.
When I located it on Y.T. its video contained a photo of 'our' ship.
I thought that some of you might like to see it:

Lonely Scapa Flow
Song composed by Allie Windwick of Kirkwall about the scuttling og the German fleet in
Scapa Flow in the Orkney Isles of Scotland. The song was originally sung by the late Angus Findlater
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VU8NGfMURg
 

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#134 ·
Woolverstone Hall plus

Some might this of interest - http://gcaptain.com/****-school-ships-uk/ - plenty of scrolling.
The site has changed characters in the link so try Googling this - Maritime Monday for October 22nd, 2010: Take Yer **** to School (Ships).uk
Ok so the **** is alfa romeo sierra echo
Hi Exo

Thanks for that - an interesting link, worth exploring...

Reading back through the posts, I see that you left Woolverstone just one term after I joined in Sept. 48. There were a couple of old timers in 12 Dorm on my arrival who also left soon after. They were lads called Mick Mann and Keenan. Do you remember the names or the have any recall? I bumped into Mick Mann 6 months later in Colombo when I was on the coal burning Hazelbank and he was on a Bank Line ship adjacent on the buoys. We took a picture which I still have.
 
#137 ·
Please find attached the programme.
'Fitz' - Fitz-Costa is still with us.
We both went to Ganges from Exmouth so hence a couple of pre-war post cards also attached.
I remember the swimming pool we used to go down to ganges on a regular basis for a dip.

Alan,on the woolverstone hall web site they mention thatLNS was for the poor of the east end, well when i moved down from Scotland we moved in with our grandparents up in highbury and i went to st.Aloyiseus college ,I thought that i went to LNS because I wanted to go to sea,
 
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