[The Captain]

Does anybody know if there is any kind of old boys association for King Teds pre-sea college. I have searched the net and found nothing. I was a boarder at the residence in Gloucester Road in 1964. The pre-sea school was the top floor of a primary school in Whitechapel. Any info or contact would be appreciated.

John

 

[Keltic Star]

Does anybody know if there is any kind of old boys association for King Teds pre-sea college. I have searched the net and found nothing. I was a boarder at the residence in Gloucester Road in 1964. The pre-sea school was the top floor of a primary school in Whitechapel. Any info or contact would be appreciated.

John

Don't know of any organization. The closest seems to be the communication between we old boys here on SN.
Bob
King Ted's 58/59

 

[Chris Isaac]

Dont think so!
Chris
king teds 62/63 then mar in 65

 

[non descript]

King Edward VII Old Boys Association

John, as far as I know the King Edward VII Old Boys Association is indeed a thread in "Ships Nostaligia" (Jester)

There are various threads with comments about this fine sea-faring establishment located at opposing social ends of the District Line, and I will try to bring them under one common thread at some stage. For the moment I may, with your permission, take the liberty of re-naming your thread as a starter.

Mark

 

[John Crossland]

John Crossland 1966-1967

 

[The Captain]

Tonga you may take whatever liberties you wish with the thread with my blessing. The pre-sea course was for 12 months only but was the jumping off point, a nexus if you will, between school and adult life for many Merchant Navy Apprentices and Cadets. Most of the pre-sea establishments have an "Old Boys Web Sight" of some description but poor old King Teds seems to have no one to remember it. Blimey, get the kleenex out, can't you hear the violins.

John

 

[Nova Scotian]

Does anybody know if there is any kind of old boys association for King Teds pre-sea college. I have searched the net and found nothing. I was a boarder at the residence in Gloucester Road in 1964. The pre-sea school was the top floor of a primary school in Whitechapel. Any info or contact would be appreciated.

John

Hi John:

There is quite a lot of information on King Teds on this site. I left King Teds in
March of 1964. If I remember correctly the Cadet Captain at the time was a David DeBarr (SPL ?). Like you I travelled the tube from Gloucester Road to Aldgate and attended classes above the school in Redmans Road. I remember occaisional classes at 680 Commercial Road and evening classes somewhere in Fulham. A great experience if you can forget about the tripe and onions every Friday.

In 1964 one of the instructors coordinated a news letter that briefly identified the movement and experiences of the graduates that year. The idea was a good one but difficult to manage and it died after a few postings.

I posted a thumbnail of my class last year...you may recognise some of the faces.

Cheers

 

[Bearwood]

King Ted's

Just for the record, King Edward's was the next step in the education of many ex pupils of the Royal Merchant Navy School who followed their fathers into the Merchant Navy. As Alumni Secretary for the Old Royals Association I am in touch with quite a few of them from the 1940s and 1950s.

 

[John_F]

I did 4 months pre-sea training at King Ted's, September - December 1958, prior to joining BP. This course was held at an annexe (part of a primary school, I think) in Smithy Street, just off the Mile End Rd. Once a week we would go to 680 Commercial Rd & thence to the West India Docks where we would spend the morning rowing whalers.
Principal of the establishment at that time was Captain Ballard. Captain Miller, I think, was Vice Principal & also taught us Seamanship. He gave us one very memorable trip on a powerful motor launch owned by the College called the Magellan. Captain Griffiths was Master of the Wendorian - a lovely man.
I passed by Smithy Street one day last year & took a photo:
http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4430&d=1143056801
Kind regards,
John F.

Try that John
Kris

 

[waiwera]

Memories of King Teds

Thank John_F for the current picture of Smithy Street( Or was it Redmans Road?) Quite spooky seeing it looking just the same in 2007.

I was @ King Teds from Sept 63 to July 64.
Remember the daily tube run from Gloucester Road. I think the Halls of Residence on the corner of Cromwell and Gloucester Road became a Nat West Bank.

Remember Weekends up the West End at the Marquee and 100 club- Two Eyes Coffee Bar and Groups like the Yardbirds & The Animals - We used to climb back in "after hours" through the boot room basement window - Left open by the duty cadet! Great espirit de cour...........

A great year learnt a lot with Engineering/Science @ Poplar Tech, Rowing Whalers @ Millwall Docks, Motor Boating on board the "Cabot"@ HQS Wellington- Embankment and of course sea/river training on board "Glen Strathallen ( Lots of pictures of her on this site & The her engine in the Science Museum now). Remember anchor watches in the Thames Estuary peeling spuds and drinking cocoa in the small hours.

Cannot remember any of the Masters except the Principal Captain Smith ( Wore a Bowler Hat) and Captain Whelan?

Great start to a career at sea with the benefot of 6 months seatime remission............. Good to hear from some of the other students.

 

[Dave437]

R594580. See previous thread! Did 2nd Mates at King Teds 1957-8. Great fun, passed everything except signals......bloody semaphore!!! Hated it.
Dave.

 

[The Captain]

John (Nova Scotian), this would appear to be a popular name. I had a look at your "thumb nail" and lo and behold a face from the past but not at King Teds but Bank Line 1966 one Mr. Cobham, I never even realised he'd been to King Teds so thank you for that. The other faces I'm afraid I don't recognise, they all look so young of course when I started the seniors all looked older and more mature. I was put way up on the top floor away from almost everybody in a room for 3 and my room mates that first term were 2 Iranian cadets who were sent to the pre sea course by their company and government, the company name has slipped my mind. I do know they were quite a bit older than the rest of us and not adverse to the odd tipple. Their destiny was to get their 2nd Mates and then go as pilots back at home, I don't think they liked that idea but by being at sea they avoided conscription into the army so that seemed a pretty good reason to go to sea from my point of view. DeBarr, yes, head boy as far as I can remember. The head boy for the Sept to Dec 1964 term was yours truely. The head of department was a man called Smith no other names come to mind. The chap who took English decided that we knew it all (or knew nothing and it wasn't worth trying to teach us) and decided that we would be better of learning how to take care of our selves, sewing buttons on, dressing properly, eating properly etc. We attendend a course at the London School of Tailoring (6 weeks) and a course at a college where budding waiters trained both these courses were excellant and stood me in good stead for an apprenticeship with the Bank Line. The only other boys I remember was Bond (I don't think it was James) but he used to play on it and a chap called Smith, Ian I think who came from up North but lived in Brighton, we went to his place the weekend of the Mods and Rockers do, he joined BP in January/February 1965.

John

 

[Nova Scotian]

Hi Captain:

I believe Mr Cobham is a member of SN and has contributed to a number of threads concerning Bank Line.

Cheers

 

[Nova Scotian]

King Edward VII Correspondence Course

All of us that completed the pre-sea course at King Teds joined their first ship armed with a correspondence course from the college. I would imagine that very few apprentices and cadets completed the full four-year course. There were so many distractions! I think I abandoned mine somewhere into the third year of my time.

Thinking back, it was a good program with well thought out learning activities and information material. Taken seriously it probably took some of the sting out of the studies required for Second mates.

I have attached a thumbnail of a marking report I found among some old papers I was sorting.

Cheers.

 

[Treboat]

King Ted's

Around 1967/8 I attended King Edward VII Nautical College, Commercial Road London to commence the struggle for Second Mate Foreign Going Certificate. I have to say that it was a reasonably wild time, with a number of lunch time sessions and making a lot of friends, though of course we all disappeared across the globe subsequently.

Somehow we managed to cram into about 3 months what we were supposed to have been studying over the last 4 years or so.

The classes were always full, must have been about 30 or more in each class and never any shortage of personnel. Some of you must have been there.

I would love to hear any memories you have. Can you remember the Coopers Arms across the road, with its collection of nautical bits and pieces from around the world; or of course the river pubs like the Prospect of Whitby? But what about the instructors? I struggle to remember them, but we owe them a lot I think I recall the chap that did signals, probably because we had to spend long periods staring at him. I won't go on long now, but look forward to hearing anyone's recollections. Treboat.

 

[Nova Scotian]

I attended King Teds for Second Mates in 1968 too. The number of candidates writing, I think it was about 70, was so large that a second examination venue was identified in addition to the Dock Street office. I stayed at the residence in the college at 680 and attended classes across the road.

The signals instructor would hold a special pre-examination session on morse and semaphore on the evening before the examination. We showed our appreciation by dropping a half-crown into a hat, he would leave by the door, as we left.

Managed to get a ticket to see Man U beat Benfica in the European Cup Final at Wembly just before I went up for my orals.

Good times.

 

[Treboat]

Ah! The Orals! Captain Piggot comes to mind and the smell of fear on the stairs at Dock Street.

When you said "680" a lot more came back, because I did the King Ted's correspondence course, or rather I was supposed to. Along with other Hain's apprentices in those days we were not known for our studying. The address of 680 Commercial Road must have been locked away in the depths of my memory.

Wife is calling me out in the sunshine now, so must go. They tell me that summer does sometimes have sun.

Good to hear from you Nova Scotia.

Treboat

 

[Keltic Star]

Picture of 680 Commercial Road attached circa 50's. Not sure who sent this to me but credit to the donor.

Went by there last year, now an apartment building.

 

[Treboat]

Thanks for that Keltic Star. I recall sitting behind those ground floor windows with the lorries from the docks thundering past, so loud it was hard to hear what the lecturer was saying. Or that was my excuse anyway.

 

[The Captain]

Whilst I did not attend King Teds to do "tickets", I did go to the pre-sea in '64. The residence on Commercial Road was known as the "Stack of Bricks". We used to visit the college as pre-sea students for seamanship instruction and look on with envy at the blokes doing their "tickets".

John