Since the earliest of times of naval boys being trained in the vicinity of Shotley Gate, whether afloat or ashore, deceased boys and training staff whose bodies were not repatriated back to their families for private burial, have been buried in St Mary Churchyard at Shotley, a small village some two miles distant from the training establishment. I am currently working on files showing the names of those who died whilst serving in HMS Ganges (Suffolk). There were many over the years and several were ships company or training staff deaths. I have chosen not to include these names in my lists, which although not yet complete, can be viewed at the bottom of this page. Thus the lists contains boys, juniors or youths only.

  Most of the boys buried there were orphans. In addition, other sailors from ships based on Harwich who were killed in action, died of their wounds or who died from natural causes prior to mid August 1940, are also buried in the Churchyard.

  By early 1940, the Admiralty/IWGC (Imperial War Graves Commission) had used all its allotted places, and fearful of many more deaths in the area from enemy action (Harwich was too close for comfort to Germany) took a decision that is was desirable for them to have their own naval burial ground in consecrated ground as an extension to the Shotley Churchyard. They therefore negotiated with the Bishop of St Edmunsbury (to you and I who are not local people, Bury St Edmunds) to have a plot of land adjacent to the Churchyard consecrated for this purpose. The land of their choice was owned by Oxford University and they were prepared to sell it to the Admiralty. The purchase was successful, the Bishop had no problems with the suggestion, but the local Vicar, the Reverend Arthur John Gill was concerned about the proposal. It transpired that as in all burials (and weddings, baptisms etc) the Vicar was paid a one off fee for his services, and he perhaps rightly, feared that he would miss out on naval funerals which in a war, could easily outnumber local civilian deaths. Sadly for him (after all, such fees are part of his wages) the Admiralty insisted that its new graveyard would be owned and administered outright by the navy, meaning that for all subsequent naval funerals (which could include the NOK of sailors) a naval padre would officiate and that no burial fees would be forthcoming to the clerics of St Mary Church. I have a couple of his letters which do nothing for my story here, but whilst he had to accept the Bishops ruling, he did insist on knowing exactly who had been buried and who was to be buried by the navy. I am not sure whether or not a naval padre is paid fees for conducting naval ceremonial but I would think and hope not, and it could be that the navy had the money to keep a tidy graveyard whereas he might not have had in such a small community, which led to jealousy. However, when the purchase, preparation/layout of site and consecration had been completed, the burials came thick and fast as any naval target between Dover and the Thames Estuary was an easy target in 1940 for the German Air Force. In just over one month, no fewer than twenty souls had been buried and all, as specified in a binding agreement, by naval padres. In late August, the Reverend Gill wrote to the Admiralty asking for a detailed list of all those buried in the naval cemetery. The letter was passed to the Captain of HMS Ganges to answer and this is it:-

Burial List

Finally to finish off the story, here is that important Admiralty/Vicar signed Agreement, set in stone for all time !

Naval (Ganges) Burial Ground

  It is not comprehensively recorded to say how many pre interment services were conducted in St Mary Church Shotley and how many in HMS Ganges' St George's Church within the establishment, but it is known that the Imperial War Graves Commission (which became the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) were hands-on with the documentation and the provision of head stones for the majority of those buried in Shotley's naval cemetery, which no doubt would have further isolated the poor old Vicar.

  Inside the pdf file above there is a sketch of the area showing the new burial ground in red. This has changed now and anybody visiting the area will now see this arrangement.

  Below is a list of the boys, youths or juniors who died whilst at Ganges. Although there are years shown when no boy or junior died, others in the Establishment died reducing the 'deathless years' shown. Note the many deaths during and immediately after WW1 to the end of 1919. Throughout all the years disease and illness were the killers with remarkably few deaths from other causes given the number of boys who passed through this establishment. The common causes of death were due to complications of having some of the following conditions: diphtheria, typhus, cholera, pneumonia, polio, cancer, whooping cough, TB, scarlet fever, measles, mumps, chicken pox, dehydration ailments (diarrhoea, vomiting, dysentery), diabetes, severe allergies (e.g. to nuts - which was not understood), and of course surgical treatments which went wrong, chiefly for the removal of the appendix and tonsils. One of the greatest causes of death immediate post WW1, was Spanish Flu which killed over a million people in Europe - hard to understand today the scale of death ! Notice the complete absence of boys' deaths in WW2. They did die but not in HMS Ganges ! For the war years their training was re-directed to the Isle of Man, to HMS St George and that is out of the scope of this story. The later years and the relatively few deaths do of course reflect the advances in medicine, in antibiotics, in hygiene and clinical care. East Anglia was struck in the early part of the 20th century until approximately 1911 by the dreaded plague; unbelievable but true. Several people in Shotley died of it, and there are several Ganges boys who died from it and are buried in St Mary churchyard with the 1906 date above their head. See this file The Plague

SORTED BY SURNAME ORDER
SURNAME	Christian Name	Rate/Class	Official Number	Date of Death	Cause of Death
ADAMS	Albert	Boy 2nd	J96948	23.07.1920	Illness
ALLAN	John	Boy 2nd	J91526	07.11.1918	"
ALLEN	Robert	Boy Sig	J54490	02.01.1917	"
ASH	John	Boy Sig	J52812	24.02.1917	"
ATHROLL	Francis	Boy 1st	-	05.05.1922	"
ATKINSON	Horace	Boy 2nd	JX152770	15.01.1938	"
BACHELOR	Frederick	Boy ?	-	20.09.1910	Not known
BARKER	Frederick	Boy 2nd	J62263	14.03.1917	Illness
BARNSHAW	Sidney	Boy 1st	-	04.04.1930	"
BEAGENT	Alfred	Boy 2nd	J86930	30.10.1918	"
BEAUMONT	Owen	Boy 2nd	JX128867	05.02.1927	"
BELSEY	Clifford	Boy 2nd	JX137631	15.03.1933	"
BENNISON	Frederick	Boy 2nd	-	01.11.1906	Not known
BETTS	Frank	Boy 2nd	J75817	28.01.1918	Illness
BICKLE	Thomas	Youth	-	02.03.1908	Not known
BISHOP	John	Boy 2nd	-	21.02.1926	Illness
BLAKEY	Morrison	Boy 2nd	J33567	20.03.1915	"
BOOTH	Herbert	Boy 2nd	J58530	18.11.1916	"
BOYES	G	Boy ?	-	11.01.1906	Not known
BROUGH	George	Boy 2nd	JX150358	02.03.1937	Illness
BROWN	Ralph	Boy Sig	J89978	28.11.1918	"
BROWN	W.H.	Boy ?	-	31.03.1901	Not known
BUCKNELL	Arthur	Boy ?	-	31.03.1906	Not known
BUMFORD	John	Boy 2nd	J91937	15.11.1918	Illness
BURDEN	Leonard	Boy 1st	J39325	17.08.1915	"
BUTLER	Robert	Boy 1st	JX162148	17.01.1940	"
CAKE	Percy	Boy 2nd	J112646	01.06.1925	"
CANNON	John	Boy Sig	J39655	30.11.1915	"
CLARK	Percy	Boy 2nd	J92931	06.12.1918	"
CLARKE	Wilfred	Boy 1st	JX136868	24.01.1933	"
CRANSWICK	Charles	Boy 2nd	J92932	03.11.1918	"
CRISPIN	Grenville	Boy 2nd	J105978	20.03.1923	"
CRUICKSHANK	David	Boy 2nd	JX129600	03.06.1927	"
DABNOR	Frederick	Boy 2nd	JX159907	05.02.1939	"
DADSWELL	Jessie	Boy 2nd	J53152	16.08.1916	"
DALLIMORE	Kenneth	Boy 2nd	JX140169	08.03.1934	"
DAVENPORT	Harry	Boy Tel	JX149205	02.07.1937	Accident
DAVEY	Robert	Boy 2nd	J51593	21.08.1916	Illness
DAVEY	Sidney	Boy 1st	J98664	22.12.1921	"
DENNY	Allan	Boy 1st	J45497	05.08.1916	"
DIXON	George	Boy 2nd	JX150012	16.02.1937	"
DORE	William	Boy 2nd	J40029	18.06.1915	"
DUNHAM	Bernard	Boy 2nd	JX153295	28.11.1937	"
ELDRED	Leslie	Boy 1st	J96872	07.01.1921	"
EVANS	William	Boy 2nd	J92152	28.01.1919	"
FILEWOOD	Thomas	Boy 2nd	-	01.07.1914	Not known
FOX	Frederick	Boy 2nd	JX129344	02.10.1927	Illness
FRANCIS	Henry	Boy 1st	J45936	07.05.1915	"
FRY	Astley	Boy 2nd	-	15.05.1906	Not known
FUNNELL	Victor	Boy 2nd	J93768	09.03.1919	Illness
GALLOWAY	Trevor	Boy 2nd	JX138934	15.10.1933	"
GARNER	Arthur	Boy 2nd	-	08.09.1913	Not known
GEORGE	Henry	Youth	-	30.06.1910	Not known
GERAGHTY	John	Boy 1st	JX126712	05.02.1927	Illness
GLINN	Samuel	Boy 2nd	J103059	28.09.1921	"
GREENWOOD	Richard	Youth	-	31.08.1906	Not known
GRENHAM	Robert	Boy 1st	-	08.12.1911	Not known
GUEST	Henry	Boy ?	-	26.05.1908	Not known
HALL	John	Boy 2nd	J105097	27.12.1921	Illness
HAYDEN	William	Boy 2nd	-	02.03.1909	Not known
HICKMAN	Alfred	Boy 2nd	JX132367	06.10.1928	Accident on the Mast
HILEY	Walter	Boy 2nd	-	22.06.1913	Not known
HILTON	William	Boy 1st	J53775	23.02.1917	Illness
HOLMES	Alfred	Boy 1st	-	31.01.1932	"
HOLMES	John	Boy 2nd	-	29.11.1913	Not known
HOLMES	Walter	Boy 1st	J100094	28.10.1921	"
HOLT	George	Boy 2nd	J34982	06.03.1915	Illness
HOOPER	Keith	Boy 1st	J941287	16.12.1955	"
HOWLETT	Harold	Boy 2nd	JX145007	31.01.1936	"
HOWLETT	Walter	Boy 2nd	J113957	13.01.1926	"
INSTONE	Frank	Boy ?	-	24.03.1906	Not known
JACKSON	George	Boy ?	-	17.03.1909	Not known
JENNINGS	Frederick	Boy 2nd	J113579	25.06.1925	Illness
JONES	Thomas	Boy 2nd	J92056	23.11.1918	"
JULIAN	Richard	Junior	J983889	06.02.1960	"
KEATS	Marcus Guy	Youth	J16377	16.07.1912	Illness
KING.	Aaron	Boy 1st	-	05.03.1901	Not known
KNIGHTS	Herbert	Boy 2nd	J39235	04.06.1915	Illness
LANGLEY	Edward	Boy 2nd	-	07.05.1912	Not known
LANGRIDGE	William	Boy 2nd	J93003	07.11.1918	Illness
LARAMAN	Garfield	Boy 2nd	-	05.12.1932	"
LAWRENCE	Alfred	Boy 2nd	-	10.06.1913	Not known
LAWRENCE	Arthur	Boy 2nd	-	02.05.1906	Not known
LAWRENCE	Frederick	Boy 2nd	J95478	26.03.1920	"
LAWS	John	Junior	96565	29.12.1966	Illness
LINDSEY	Gordon	Boy 2nd	JX839394	08.10.1948	Accident
LODGE	Edgar	Boy 2nd	J106632	22.01.1924	Illness
LOGAN	James	Youth	-	01.10.1909	Not known
LUCAS	George	Boy 1st	J40081	20.06.1915	Illness
MACKINTOSH	Donald	Boy 2nd	J98326	04.03.1921	"
MARTIN	George	Boy 2nd	J97437	11.07.1920	"
MATHER	Charles	Boy 2nd	J101646	12.05.1921	"
MATTHEWS	Sydney	Boy 1st	J137694	13.09.1933	"
MIDDLETON	Charles	Instructor Boy	JX882567	26.02.1951	See below
MITCHELL	Godfrey	Boy 2nd	J90733	25.09.1918	Illness
MOFFAT	Claud	Boy 2nd	-	22.02.1912	Not known
MOODY	Frederick	Boy Tel	J54055	19.01.1917	Illness
NAYLOR	John	Boy ?	-	13.04.1906	Not known
NEW	Herbert	Boy 2nd	J99722	12.12.1920	Illness
NEWTON	George	Boy 2nd	J102912	27.10.1921	"
NOBLE	Leslie	Boy 1st	JX836683	02.07.1948	"
NUNN	Roy	Boy 2nd	JX164222	25.02.1940	"
OKE	Thomas	Boy 2nd	JX158150	10.09.1938	Illness
PARKINGTON	Arthur	Boy 2nd	-	04.05.1912	Not known
PARRY	Arthur	Boy Tel	J51931	21.12.1916	Illness
PATRICK	Kenneth	Boy 2nd	JX150327	17.01.1937	"
PEACOCK	Frederick	Boy 2nd	-	17.03.1909	Not known
PIGEON	Harold	Boy 2nd	J93259	12.11.1918	Illness
PITTMAN	George	Boy 2nd	JX171700	28.11.1939	"
PRATT	Arthur	Boy 2nd	JX153704	27.07.1937	"
PRESTON	Alec	Boy 2nd	J94569	08.03.1919	"
PUTNAM	Pelham	Boy 2nd	J102647	23.12.1921	"
RAVENSCROFT	Joseph	Boy 2nd	JX 129157	21.05.1927	"
REITH	James	Boy 2nd	J76277	31.01.1918	"
REVELL	Charles	Boy 2nd	J50282	15.03.1916	"
RHODES	Robert	Boy 2nd	J93453	28.11.1918	"
RICHARDSON	Charles	Boy 2nd	-	03.05.1907	Not known
RICHARDSON	William	Boy 2	-	09.11.1906	Not known
RICKETTS	Bernard	Instructor Boy	JX865905	26.02.1951	See below
RILEY	George	Boy 1st	J87203	22.10.1918	"
RILEY	Wilfred	Boy 2nd	J104129	05.02.1922	Illness
ROBERTS	Frank	Boy 2nd	J69849	05.07.1917	"
ROLPH	Arthur	Boy 2nd	J47831	17.06.1916	"
ROSE	George	Boy ?	-	19.12.1908	Not known
RYDER	George	Boy 1st	J93224	29.10.1918	Illness
SANDEL	George	Boy 2nd	J94638	10.03.1919	"
SCOBBIE	Kenneth	Junior	58849	05.09.1961	"
SEDDON	George	Boy 2nd	J93267	10.11.1918	"
SHORTER	Leonard	Boy 2nd	J93796	04.03.1919	"
SHRIEVE	G	Boy ?	-	05.12.1905	Not known
SMITH	Arthur	Boy 2nd	J100100	09.08.1921	Illness
SMITH	Joseph	Boy 2nd	-	02.07.1912	Not known
SMITH	Wilfred	Boy Tel	J41944	04.12.1915	"
SPUFFARD	Clarence	Boy 2nd	-	31.03.1908	Not known
STAFFORD	Herbert	Boy 2nd	J93277	04.12.1918	Illness
STEVENS	Albert	Boy 2nd	J43096	09.10.1915	"
STEWART	H.G.	Boy ?	-	24.05.1901	Not known
STRATFORD	Ernest	Boy 2nd	J64456	15.05.1917	Illness
STUDD	Richard	Junior	56410	13.02.1961	"
SULLIVAN	John	Boy 1st	JX899396	08.09.1952	"
SUMNER	Gilbert	Youth	-	06.10.1909	Not known
TATE	Albert	Boy 2nd	-	20.08.1906	Not known
THEOBALD	Thomas	Boy 2nd	-	09.12.1912.	Not known
TIDMAN	Robert	Boy RNR(T)	SBNo 2477	13.11.1918	Illness
TIPARKS	Reginald	Boy 2nd	-	08.04.1913	Not known
TRANTER	E	Boy ?	-	26.01.1906	Not known
TURNBULL	James	Boy Tel	J76823	10.02.1918	Illness
WADDLE	David	Boy 2nd	JX151631	11.01.1937	"
WALLER	Arthur	Boy 2nd	J44756	13.03.1916	"
WARD	George	Boy 2nd	-	13.11.1906	Not known
WATSON	Robert	Boy 2nd	J83466	26.06.1918	Illness
WEBB	Henry	Boy 1st	JX134334	03.03.1931	"
WEIGHTMAN	Leonard	Boy 2nd	J107275	04.06.1923	"
WELCH	W.A.	Boy ?	-	22.02.1904	Not known
WESTAWAY	Lewis	Boy 1st	J44713	28.01.1916	Illness
WILD	Raymond	Junior	109246	11.08.1969	"
WILDERS	Sydney	Boy ?	-	29.01.1909	Not known
WILKINSON	Charles	Boy 2nd	J43447	13.04.1916	Illness
WILLIAMSON	Frederick	Boy 2nd	JX161128	29.03.1940	"
WRIGHT	F.E.	Boy ?	-	23.02.1904	Not known
WRIGHT	Reginald	Boy 2nd	J114301	16.11.1925	"
WYNNE	Douglas	Boy 1st	JX912033	04.04.1953	"

  In this list of 162 deaths of boys at Ganges, 95 are buried here, 58.7%. On my lists above you will see the entry "Youth" in several places. In 1900 the navy had twelve training ships plus several support sea training old cruisers. Both 'boys' and 'youths' were recruited into the navy. I elaborate on this period in other pages on my site. I also mention first class boys who were borne as PUPIL TEACHERS and Boy 1st Class A.A. King, mentioned below, was one of them.

In the list above, I have highlighted in blue the names of boys who are buried in St Mary churchyard.

  This Memorial stands in the Eastern section of St Mary graveyard and acts as a separator between the civilian burial area and the naval/military burial area. When it was first erected just the seven names shown had died whilst on the books of HMS Ganges. However, there is more to it than meets the eye, because some of the named have graves immediately in front and below the Memorial, whilst others are not buried at Shotley. The first two named, DEACON and SMITH have no known grave at this cemetery. They both died in 1900. I have now concluded my research on these first named persons. with the following confirmed observations - see Death details of Deacon and Smith. The next name is to me, of the greatest interest because his grave is here and it is unique. He died on the 5th March 1901. It is unique for two different reasons, the first being that his is the very first HMS Ganges grave at Shotley, and secondly, his father, at his own expense, erected a traditional gravestone on his grave which is made from sandstone and stands high and wide. In its day, with its elaborate carving, it would have looked grand, and since every other HMS Ganges grave thereafter was paid for by the navy and they are all identical, it would have been a 'signpost' marking the start of the final resting places of so many who were to follow. This gravestone for AARON ALFRED KING is now in such bad repair that in just a couple of years time it will be unreadable and lost for ever to our eyes. I have filmed the head stone (see below) and I have written to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (who maintain and administer the cemetery) asking them whether they would allow me to replace the stone with an identical style stone, and if so, what would be the cost. Some of the words are already lost and the sandstone is splitting and crumbling to dust. Please see this page for the outcome on this very special grave enquiries The grave of Boy First Class A.A. King d.1901 and this file shows a short video I took of the failing tomb stone BOY 1st Class King's grave stone.

  * The grave head stones were made to an Admiralty pattern first used in the 19th century. I first came across these in large numbers in the lovely and well maintained naval burial ground at Clayhall in Gosport just a short walk from the RNH Haslar. The scene I viewed was astonishing and one I will always vividly remember. Imagine a field, full to the brim with the graves or deceased sailors and marines, akin in many ways to the Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries one sees in northern Europe for the victims of world wars, and this little picture gives one some idea of the vista though not of the experience of a personal visit.

  Just below where the Memorial stands and to the left are the graves of BROWN, STEWART, WRIGHT and WELCH. Whilst the Memorial pre-dates the 1905 start of the shore training establishment at Shotley, the very word GANGES should be revered despite the earlier dates. It is therefore of some importance that KING's gravestone should be replaced, like with like, as a mark of respect to all who lay in this cemetery.

  The last GANGES boy to be buried in this cemetery was Robert BUTLER Boy 1st JX 162148 who died 17th January 1940 of illness, just before the boy's moved away to train on the Isle of Man and Shotley became a training camp for adults, the majority joining as HO's (hostilities only) for war service. Groups of men came to Ganges from Commonwealth countries specifically from New Zealand. This is a picture of his grave which is close to the submarine memorial.

  Note that he was a BOY (and not a Junior or a Youth) and yet he had attained the age of 17 years. Many 18 year olds + in the fleet were BOY'S! That was the pre-WW2 way of doing things. Post war Boy's were of the age of fifteen to sixteen and a half depending upon the time they joined.

SORTED BY DEATH DATE ORDER
SURNAME	Christian Name	Rate/Class	Official Number	Date of Death	Cause of Death
KING.	Aaron	Boy 1st	-	05.03.1901	Not known
BROWN	W.H.	Boy ?	-	31.03.1901	"
STEWART	H.G.	Boy ?	-	24.05.1901	"
WELCH	W.A.	Boy ?	-	22.02.1904	"
WRIGHT	F.E.	Boy ?	-	23.02.1904	"
SHRIEVE	G	Boy ?	-	05.12.1905	"
BOYES	G	Boy ?	-	11.01.1906	"
TRANTER	E	Boy ?	-	26.01.1906	"
INSTONE	Frank	Boy ?	-	24.03.1906	"
BUCKNELL	Arthur	Boy ?	-	31.03.1906	"
NAYLOR	John	Boy ?	-	13.04.1906	"
LAWRENCE	Arthur	Boy 2nd	-	02.05.1906	"
FRY	Astley	Boy 2nd	-	15.05.1906	"
TATE	Albert	Boy 2nd	-	20.08.1906	"
GREENWOOD	Richard	Youth	-	31.08.1906	"
BENNISON	Frederick	Boy 2nd	-	01.11.1906	"
RICHARDSON	William	Boy 2nd	-	09.11.1906	"
WARD	George	Boy 2nd	-	13.11.1906	"
RICHARDSON	Charles	Boy 2nd	-	03.05.1907	"
BICKLE	Thomas	Youth	-	02.03.1908	"
SPUFFARD	Clarence	Boy 2nd	-	31.03.1908	"
GUEST	Henry	Boy ?	-	26.05.1908	"
ROSE	George	Boy ?	-	19.12.1908	"
WILDERS	Sydney	Boy ?	-	29.01.1909	"
HAYDEN	William	Boy 2nd	-	02.03.1909	"
JACKSON	George	Boy ?	-	17.03.1909	"
PEACOCK	Frederick	Boy 2nd	-	17.03.1909	"
LOGAN	James	Youth	-	01.10.1909	"
SUMNER	Gilbert	Youth	-	06.10.1909	"
GEORGE	Henry	Youth	-	30.06.1910	"
BACHELOR	Frederick	Boy ?	-	20.09.1910	"
GRENHAM	Robert	Boy 1st	-	08.12.1911	"
MOFFAT	Claud	Boy 2nd	-	22.02.1912	"
PARKINGTON	Arthur	Boy 2nd	-	04.05.1912	"
LANGLEY	Edward	Boy 2nd	-	07.05.1912	"
SMITH	Joseph	Boy 2nd	-	02.07.1912	"
KEATS	Marcus Guy	Youth	J16377	16.07.1912	Illness
THEOBALD	Thomas	Boy 2nd	-	09.12.1912	Not known
TIPARKS	Reginald	Boy 2nd	-	08.04.1913	"
LAWRENCE	Alfred	Boy 2nd	-	10.06.1913	"
HILEY	Walter	Boy 2nd	-	22.06.1913	"
GARNER	Arthur	Boy 2nd	-	08.09.1913	"
HOLMES	John	Boy 2nd	-	29.11.1913	"
FILEWOOD	Thomas	Boy 2nd	-	01.07.1914	"
HOLT	George	Boy 2nd	J34982	06.03.1915	"
BLAKEY	Morrison	Boy 2nd	J33567	20.03.1915	"
FRANCIS	Henry	Boy 1st	J45936	07.05.1915	"
KNIGHTS	Herbert	Boy 2nd	J39235	04.06.1915	"
DORE	William	Boy 2nd	J40029	18.06.1915	"
LUCAS	George	Boy 1st	J40081	20.06.1915	"
BURDEN	Leonard	Boy 1st	J39325	17.08.1915	"
STEVENS	Albert	Boy 2nd	J43096	09.10.1915	"
CANNON	John	Boy Sig	J39655	30.11.1915	"
SMITH	Wilfred	Boy Tel	J41944	04.12.1915	"
WESTAWAY	Lewis	Boy 1st	J44713	28.01.1916	"
WALLER	Arthur	Boy 2nd	J44756	13.03.1916	"
REVELL	Charles	Boy 2nd	J50282	15.03.1916	"
WILKINSON	Charles	Boy 2nd	J43447	13.04.1916	"
ROLPH	Arthur	Boy 2nd	J47831	17.06.1916	"
DENNY	Allan	Boy 1st	J45497	05.08.1916	"
DADSWELL	Jessie	Boy 2nd	J53152	16.08.1916	"
DAVEY	Robert	Boy 2nd	J51593	21.08.1916	"
BOOTH	Herbert	Boy 2nd	J58530	18.11.1916	"
PARRY	Arthur	Boy Tel	J51931	21.12.1916	"
ALLEN	Robert	Boy Sig	J54490	02.01.1917	"
MOODY	Frederick	Boy Tel	J54055	19.01.1917	"
HILTON	William	Boy 1st	J53775	23.02.1917	"
ASH	John	Boy Sig	J52812	24.02.1917	"
BARKER	Frederick	Boy 2nd	J62263	14.03.1917	"
STRATFORD	Ernest	Boy 2nd	J64456	15.05.1917	"
ROBERTS	Frank	Boy 2nd	J69849	05.07.1917	"
BETTS	Frank	Boy 2nd	J75817	28.01.1918	"
REITH	James	Boy 2nd	J76277	31.01.1918	"
TURNBULL	James	Boy Tel	J76823	10.02.1918	"
WATSON	Robert	Boy 2nd	J83466	26.06.1918	"
MITCHELL	Godfrey	Boy 2nd	J90733	25.09.1918	"
RILEY	George	Boy 1st	J87203	22.10.1918	"
RYDER	George	Boy 1st	J93224	29.10.1918	"
BEAGENT	Alfred	Boy 2nd	J86930	30.10.1918	"
CRANSWICK	Charles	Boy 2nd	J92932	03.11.1918	"
ALLAN	John	Boy 2nd	J91526	07.11.1918	"
LANGRIDGE	William	Boy 2nd	J93003	07.11.1918	"
SEDDON	George	Boy 2nd	J93267	10.11.1918	"
PIGEON	Harold	Boy 2nd	J93259	12.11.1918	"
TIDMAN	Robert	Boy RNR(T)	SBNo 2477	13.11.1918	"
BUMFORD	John	Boy 2nd	J91937	15.11.1918	"
JONES	Thomas	Boy 2nd	J92056	23.11.1918	"
BROWN	Ralph	Boy Sig	J89978	28.11.1918	"
RHODES	Robert	Boy 2nd	J93453	28.11.1918	"
STAFFORD	Herbert	Boy 2nd	J93277	04.12.1918	"
CLARK	Percy	Boy 2nd	J92931	06.12.1918	"
EVANS	William	Boy 2nd	J92152	28.01.1919	"
SHORTER	Leonard	Boy 2nd	J93796	04.03.1919	"
PRESTON	Alec	Boy 2nd	J94569	08.03.1919	"
FUNNELL	Victor	Boy 2nd	J93768	09.03.1919	"
SANDEL	George	Boy 2nd	J94638	10.03.1919	"
LAWRENCE	Frederick	Boy 2nd	J95478	26.03.1920	"
MARTIN	George	Boy 2nd	J97437	11.07.1920	"
ADAMS	Albert	Boy 2nd	J96948	23.07.1920	"
NEW	Herbert	Boy 2nd	J99722	12.12.1920	"
ELDRED	Leslie	Boy 1st	J96872	07.01.1921	"
MACKINTOSH	Donald	Boy 2nd	J98326	04.03.1921	"
MATHER	Charles	Boy 2nd	J101646	12.05.1921	"
SMITH	Arthur	Boy 2nd	J100100	09.08.1921	"
GLINN	Samuel	Boy 2nd	J103059	28.09.1921	"
NEWTON	George	Boy 2nd	J102912	27.10.1921	"
HOLMES	Walter	Boy 1st	J100094	28.10.1921	"
DAVEY	Sidney	Boy 1st	J98664	22.12.1921	"
PUTNAM	Pelham	Boy 2nd	J102647	23.12.1921	"
HALL	John	Boy 2nd	J105097	27.12.1921	"
RILEY	Wilfred	Boy 2nd	J104129	05.02.1922	"
ATHROLL	Francis	Boy 1st	-	05.05.1922	"
CRISPIN	Grenville	Boy 2nd	J105978	20.03.1923	"
WEIGHTMAN	Leonard	Boy 2nd	J107275	04.06.1923	"
LODGE	Edgar	Boy 2nd	J106632	22.01.1924	"
CAKE	Percy	Boy 2nd	J112646	01.06.1925	"
JENNINGS	Frederick	Boy 2nd	J113579	25.06.1925	"
WRIGHT	Reginald	Boy 2nd	J114301	16.11.1925	"
HOWLETT	Walter	Boy 2nd	J113957	13.01.1926	"
BISHOP	John	Boy 2nd	-	21.02.1926	"
BEAUMONT	Owen	Boy 2nd	JX128867	05.02.1927	"
GERAGHTY	John	Boy 1st	JX126712	05.02.1927	"
RAVENSCROFT	Joseph	Boy 2nd	JX 129157	21.05.1927	"
CRUICKSHANK	David	Boy 2nd	JX129600	03.06.1927	"
FOX	Frederick	Boy 2nd	JX129344	02.10.1927	"
HICKMAN	Alfred	Boy 2nd	JX132367	06.10.1928	Accident on the Mast
BARNSHAW	Sidney	Boy 1st	-	04.04.1930	Illness
WEBB	Henry	Boy 1st	JX134334	03.03.1931	"
HOLMES	Alfred	Boy 1st	-	31.01.1932	"
LARAMAN	Garfield	Boy 2nd	-	05.12.1932	"
CLARKE	Wilfred	Boy 1st	JX136868	24.01.1933	"
BELSEY	Clifford	Boy 2nd	JX137631	15.03.1933	"
MATTHEWS	Sydney	Boy 1st	J137694	13.09.1933	"
GALLOWAY	Trevor	Boy 2nd	JX138934	15.10.1933	"
DALLIMORE	Kenneth	Boy 2nd	JX140169	08.03.1934	"
HOWLETT	Harold	Boy 2nd	JX145007	31.01.1936	"
WADDLE	David	Boy 2nd	JX151631	11.01.1937	"
PATRICK	Kenneth	Boy 2nd	JX150327	17.01.1937	"
DIXON	George	Boy 2nd	JX150012	16.02.1937	"
BROUGH	George	Boy 2nd	JX150358	02.03.1937	"
DAVENPORT	Harry	Boy Tel	JX149205	02.07.1937	Accident
PRATT	Arthur	Boy 2nd	JX153704	27.07.1937	Illness
DUNHAM	Bernard	Boy 2nd	JX153295	28.11.1937	"
ATKINSON	Horace	Boy 2nd	JX152770	15.01.1938	"
OKE	Thomas	Boy 2nd	JX158150	10.09.1938	"
DABNOR	Frederick	Boy 2nd	JX159907	05.02.1939	"
PITTMAN	George	Boy 2nd	JX171700	28.11.1939	"
BUTLER	Robert	Boy 1st	JX162148	17.01.1940	"
NUNN	Roy	Boy 2nd	JX164222	25.02.1940	"
WILLIAMSON	Frederick	Boy 2nd	JX161128	29.03.1940	"
NOBLE	Leslie	Boy 1st	JX836683	02.07.1948	"
LINDSEY	Gordon	Boy 2nd	JX839394	08.10.1948	Accident
MIDDLETON	Charles	Instructor Boy	JX882567	26.02.1951	See below
RICKETTS	Bernard	Instructor Boy	JX865905	26.02.1951	See below
SULLIVAN	John	Boy 1st	JX899396	08.09.1952	Illness
WYNNE	Douglas	Boy 1st	JX912033	04.04.1953	"
HOOPER	Keith	Boy 1st	J941287	16.12.1955	"
JULIAN	Richard	Junior	J983889	06.02.1960	"
STUDD	Richard	Junior	56410	13.02.1961	"
SCOBBIE	Kenneth	Junior	58849	05.09.1961	"
LAWS	John	Junior	96565	29.12.1966	"
WILD	Raymond	Junior	109246	11.08.1969	"

Remember to see the two major causes of death files at the end of the page which covers the period 1893 to 1945.

  I am currently awaiting the details of how RILEY was killed and what accident caused the death of DAVENPORT. Also I am awaiting details of how or why Petty Officer Telegraphist Victor. A. HILL 223042 was drowned at Ganges on the 26th March 1919. In the meantime, this is a photograph of his grave in St Mary Churchyard. P.S. added shortly after this entry - all now resolved!

  With reference to the above three deaths, I have now concluded my researches and have come to the following conclusion.

  Sadly, virtually all of the records concerning HMS Ganges were destroyed long ago. Quite simply, had these boys been officer cadets, this would not have been the case !

  In the absence of this documentation, many myths and yarns were spread by the boys themselves, endeavouring to talk-up the establishment where in truth, there was little to talk about.

  This situation was compounded by the corruption of data as quasi official sources printed data which wasn't, and never has been, verified officially. A point in question is the website Naval History Net which covers pan Royal Navy deaths throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. Although an excellent reference site, it nevertheless has mistakes, and readers should be wary of reproducing its data without first confirming it to be correct.

  Further ambiguities occur from official sources of data, and they of course are serious.

  I start my story with one such event where the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) differ from the equally august and authoritative body, namely the Coroner who is a Crown Appointed medical person acting within the UK Courts of Law organisation. It is the job of a Coroner to investigate unnatural deaths to ascertain the cause of death and the reason for the death. Evidence is collected in the normal manner (police investigation), witnesses are called, and above all else, the identity of the deceased is meticulously sought, often involving family or friends to view the body with all the trauma and anxiety that causes loved ones and pals. If the identity is not known (even from dental records) because of the condition of the body at post mortem/inquest time, the identity is not guessed at, and the case remains sub judice.

  On the 27th March 1919, one day after the death of a man who died in RNH Shotley (for our purposes HMS Ganges), the Coroner for Suffolk, a B. PRETTY, held an inquest on Victor Alexander HILL who died at HMS Ganges on the 26th. The death was registered the day after the inquest (27th March). The Government, then as now, who run the birth, death and marriage registries, recorded the man as being an ELECTRICIAN aged 32 who was residing in the Shotley Post Office and working in the "SHOTLEY BARRACK" (again, HMS Ganges) power generating station. Whilst working, this poor man died of SHOCK resulting from BURNS accidentally received. This is his death certificate. His death in the link above is shown as 'drowning'.

  Important note. I was told on more than one occasion that showing death certificates was distasteful and unnecessary. I show them because they substantiate my stories (and each procured at a cost of £8.00) and bring history to life, pardon the expression before I get more comments. So to appease these people, all of whom I could name here, but nay, sod 'em I say, I have withdrawn some of the certificates but left the original entry as I wrote them back at the very beginning of the 21st century.

A.V. HILL DEATH CERTIFICATE (withdrawn)

  Normally, the case would end there, sad though it is, but some strange, almost bizarre thing happened next. He was buried in St Mary Churchyard, and although he died as a civilian he is buried as a sailor of the Royal Navy. This is a picture of his grave stone.

  The dates of WW1 as far as the CWGC is concerned, are from the 4th August 1914 to the 31 August 1921, and clearly Victor had served in the RN as a Petty Officer Telegraphist, so upon his death still well within the war years, he was honoured with a naval grave and headstone. A lovely story, but confusing during the research period. He wasn't, as first thought, a Ganges Instructor, as well he might have been recorded for posterity were it not for this research. In honouring Victor they could well have put his last ship on his tomb instead of HMS Ganges: this was HMS Pembroke.

  Next we come to BOY TELEGRAPHIST Harry DAVENPORT. Harry is correctly recorded as dying from an accident which befell him. He didn't die in HMS Ganges but at the East Suffolk Hospital in Ipswich on the 2nd July 1937. He was just 17. An inquest was held on the same day by the Coroner of the County Borough of Ipswich on the same day as the death occurred. He is not buried at Shotley and since he came from Manchester we can assume that his grave is there. Of all things he was struck on the head with a cricket ball and died as a result. Here is his death certificate.

H. DAVENPORT DEATH CERTIFICATE

  Finally, we come to BOY 1st CLASS George William RILEY, who died in RNH Shotley and is buried in Shotley's St Mary Churchyard. George is listed as being 'killed' in the link shown above, but this is far from the truth. He died of illness (as did so many other boys), from Diphtheria and Laryngeal Obstruction. Here is his death certificate.

G.W. RILEY DEATH CERTIFICATE (withdrawn)

  The picture below is of the British MTB 5518 (Formerly known as a Fast Patrol Boat) - note her four torpedo tubes aft

and this is a picture of the Danish MTB 559 also called the "Raagen"

This article comes from the TIMES Newspaper of February 28th 1951

  In the case of Middleton and Ricketts above, they were embarked in a Royal Navy MTB, MTB 5518 in a rare opportunity for sea experience/adventure before being properly drafted from Ganges to their first proper sea drafts. They had embarked off Harwich and had ventured into the North Sea where she carried out high speed manoeuvres with a Danish Navy MTB, the P559 also called the RAAGEN. The two vessels collided and the RAAGEN sank. It was salvaged many months later in 1951. These two RN sailors were missing. They were posted as missing presumed drowned.

  It is reported by the Ganges Museum that these boys were sea sick and had gone below to get their heads down. The bow of the British MTB (in which the boys slept) was sliced-off allowing the sea to wash away the contents of that section of the ship. Again, the Museum says that the remains of Boy Middleton were recovered. However, I can find no confirmation of that story.

  What I can tell you for sure, is that on Sunday 11th March 1951, HMS Ganges held a memorial service in St Georges, an occasion when every seat was occupied, leaving many standing and mourning these two dear boys. The card above is shown in the Shotley Magazine.

Other boys buried in Shotley (St Mary) Churchyard.

  There are 201 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-1918 war here, 8 of which are unidentified, and there are 34 of the 1939-1945 war, 2 of which are unidentified Royal Navy seamen and 2 of which are Merchant Navy seamen from the S.S. Skagerak. There are also 13 German Foreign National burials of the 1914-18 war, 1 of which is unidentified; a total of 235 identified casualties. It is the common practices that anybody who dies in uniform during a period when our country is at war, irrespective of the cause of death and where, is buried in a war cemetery or in an area adopted by and subsequently maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. However, and justly, there are many boys sharing that privilege who died between the Ganges start-up and the start of WW1, i.e., out of war status.

  Recently, on a beautiful May Day 2009, when everything was peaceful and the gardens looking and smelling beautiful, I visited the St Mary CWGC graveyard to do a filming shoot. I stopped by every grave without exception and paid homage with my 'silent salute' (without the camera of course), checking the names on the Memorial Plates noting all those who were boys at their date of death noting their names as I passed in my research book. I didn't speak to give a commentary of what I was filming and left it to the country noises of birds, distant farm machinery and a little wind noise in the microphone of my movie camera for which I apologise. For all ex Ganges boys who have never had the privilege to visit this cemetery, or, because of age or distance cannot visit, I have published some of my film as individual cameos. They are of raw data and un-edited. I hope that you find them useful and that they bring a good image of what this beautiful place represents to all who served their country in the bad years of WW1 and WW2 and the in-between years either before or after. In this table below, I have published fourteen takes. I figured that over-kill would be better than under-kill and put together, they paint a picture of peacefulness from all angles and view points. Use your scroll bars to see the movie show on my multi screen cinema !

  The following picture comes from the Harwich and Dovercourt excellent website who owns the full copyright to the work. I acknowledge that work, and I am grateful for the use of this data. Thank you.

  This is indeed a rare picture of a full ceremonial funeral being conducted in the Shotley and Ganges burial ground. The hut-type building upper left has a cross on top and is the shrine to the Harwich submarines lost on patrol. You can see that well in my rotating picture gallery below. Just behind the firing squad is the grave of a boy, the last Ganges boy to be buried here in 1940 before the boys left for the Irish Sea. The burial site was never again used when the boys returned in 1946.

  In the earliest days of 1939 (3rd January) Lieutenant Commander Nigel Crossley RN was appointed as the CO to the destroyer HMS Gipsy at that time based on the Mediterranean Station. Towards the back end of 1939 she was relocated to be based on Harwich. In late November 1939 (less than a month on this new base for Gipsy) he was making for the harbour from the North Sea when his look out spotted three people in the water. He hove to and rescued these people who turned out to be Germans. He returned to harbour immediately and turned the POW's over the the army garrisoned in Harwich. Later that same day he returned to the North sea searching for UBoats believed to be mine laying. Just outside the harbour but now in deep water, he hit a magnetic mine believed to have been dropped by a German seaplane. It was established that the three German survivors were airmen and that having dropped their magnetic mines had ditched into the sea. The ship was badly damage in the blast and thirty one of the crew were killed instantly. The CO was badly injured and he was taken to the RNSQ in HMS Ganges. He received surgery to what became a fatal head wound and he passed away the following day. He was 35. On the 29th November 1939 he was buried with full naval honours with Ganges boys taking part, their final act before being relocated to HMS St George on the Isle of Man for the duration of the war returning to continue training in 1946. Their places were taken by adult men called up for the war to receive their basic training before going off to sea.

  The destroyer HMS Gipsy which wasn't allowed to see WW2 service. Note the symmetry of a 'G' Class destroyer with two 4.7" turrets for'ard and two aft. Note also her black band on her after funnel denoting that the ship was the half leader of the squadron, second in command. Were she the leader (Captain 'D') the band would be twice as thick. The ship has taken way off and is stationary and we know that because there is no bow wave/turbulence, no wake, no Union Jack hoisted for'ard on the Jack Staff, no anchor/buoy cable down, the white ensign aft, is almost limp, just fluttering, and finally, there is no steam or smoke coming from either of the funnels. However, if you look close enough you can just about see a trail of thin black smoke coming out of her auxiliary stove-pipe exhaust on her for'ard funnel shaped like a stumpy TV aerial, probably coming up from the galley. She's having her picture taken and wants to look her best!

A selection of short videos taken on a visit to the Shotley/Ganges burial ground.

Click on image to play, click outside image to stop

          

          

  Whilst all death is sad, especially when the deceased is young, I feel doubly so when they are children or youths. The list above is enough to depress anybody, but when boys/youths died fighting in wars, it is hard to accept. In this cemetery, according to the CWGC, four more boys lay and they too were ex Ganges boys. They were:-

  Boy 1st class Frederick BYFLEET J34165, of HMS Vivid who died 14th December 1915. HMS Vivid was the RN Barracks at Devonport which was renamed to HMS Drake. However, I couldn't find this boys grave in this cemetery !

  Boy Tel John DENISON J44783, of HM Submarine E4 who died 15th August 1916. On 15 August 1916, she collided with sister ship HM Submarine E41 during exercises off Harwich. Both ships sank and there were only 14 survivors, all from E41. Both boats were raised, repaired and re-commissioned.

  Boy 1st class William LAWTON J36403, of HMS Pembroke who died 23rd November 1916. HMS Pembroke was the RN Barracks in Chatham. John doesn't have a personal grave here and is recorded by name on the Submarine Memorial.

  Boy Tel Frederick LUDBROOK J55160 of HMS Scott who died 13th November 1918. HMS Scott was a WW1 destroyer. She was completed in 1917, but her career with the Royal Navy was short-lived, as she was torpedoed on August 15 1918, probably by the submarine UC-17, in the North Sea off the Danish coast.

  There are no boys buried in the Shotley Naval Cemetery on the West side of the church.

  During the 1939-1945 War, Shotley Gate was the Royal Naval Training Establishment H.M.S. Ganges for HO's, men called up for the war years only. There are 99 Commonwealth burials of the 1939-45 war here, including 3 unidentified sailors of the Royal Navy and 1 unidentified seaman of the Merchant Navy. There are 5 Dutch Navy burials here. In all, there are 101 known casualties. It is a place of peace, dignity and tranquillity befitting the men and women (a Ganges QARNNS Sister and several Wrens) who rest here. Although a dedicated war cemetery it is also first and foremost a Royal Naval Cemetery and any ex RN'er can be buried here. It is beautifully maintained like all such cemeteries and when my turn comes, I would like to rest there.

  Shotley church is a lonely area frequented by a few locals and worshippers. To say the least, it is off the beaten track. It is an area one should visit on a sunny and warm day and not on a cold and wet day. The outward appearance of the church (which is odd and most unattractive) belies what one will find inside the church which is traditional and lovely. The traditional grave yard surrounding the church, which is largely on the flat and well maintained where the graves can be seen by visitors and worshippers but not so where the graves are out of sight out of mind, leads down to a lower area of a more precipitous landscape. There, in this lower area, one enters a beautifully maintained military/naval cemetery which is enough to take ones breath away and to stimulate a lump in ones throat and the proverbial wetted eye. To be amongst all these boys, youths and young men is humbling, to say the least, and here, I am going to use some of the words written by SIMON KNOTT about the area. Simon knows the place well and his scholarly prose needs no assistance from me.

He says

In winter this is a wild place, the gales from the great German Ocean flattening the hedgerows, the windows of the Bristol Arms rattling in the gusts along the empty streets, the ghosts of HMS Ganges, the Royal Navy Training College, silent now above the mudflats when the tide is out. But this was once a busy place, full of the chatter of young sailors, and during the First World War it was a famous place. Today it has lost its way: it is still one of Suffolk's biggest villages, but its remoteness ill-serves the housing estates which sprawl back towards Erwarton and Chelmondiston. Shotley is a strange place.

The setting of this church is also most curious. It is further from the village it serves than any other Suffolk church. Erwarton parish church is closer to Shotley village than Shotley church is. St Mary stands in a tiny, tightly-packed hamlet in the low hills towards Chelmondiston. In fact, this was the original village. The place we now call Shotley was once an outlying fishing hamlet, Shotley Gate. You reach St Mary along one of two narrow lanes.

The stubby tower of the church hugs a later raised clerestory, quite out of keeping with each other. If I come here on a hot Summer's day, and climb the steep hill leading up to it, I am always reminded more of the Dordogne than of East Anglia. The graveyard is set on a steep hillside, the huge cranes of Trimley Dock towering precipitously beyond the river below. This graveyard is one of the most haunting in East Anglia, filled with the graves of mostly teenage lads sent out by HMS Ganges to die in accidents and wars. Some of their bodies were brought back for burial, but most often these are mere memorials to young boys lost deep beneath fathoms of filthy, icy water. You think of their happy laughter: climbing onto the bus to go to the pictures in Ipswich, or courting a local girl along one of the narrow, poppy-lined lanes. It is heartbreaking, particularly if you are a parent.

Simon paints a picture of loneliness now for the village and surrounding area, and he does mention the oft times inclement and unfriendly weather. That weather all us ex Ganges boys can remember well, dressed in inappropriate gear, sports rig for example, doing outdoor activities no matter what the weather. I too find the graveyard most haunting, and having four grandchildren one of whom is already fifteen and the others not that far behind, I would give all I have in returned for a promise that they will each have a full and happy life.

  I was thinking a while ago that it would be nice if the Ganges Association adopted these graves, all of them, and on each remembrance day a garland of poppies could be put on each of the head stones.

  There are many Admiralty records on the history of HMS Ganges, and for Harwich from 1900, other names for the Establishment. This one I have copied to illustrate 'deaths' from 1893 until 1945. First read this file

DEATHS AT HMS GANGES (ABNORMAL)

and then look at the main page showing all deaths here.

An abbreviated historic file on deaths in HMS Ganges from 1893 until 1945, with secondary reports for Ganges II

Finally, a short snippet regarding Marcus Guy Keats