HMS Ganges Days
From Nozzer to Dabtoe in 386 days
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4.4 • 8 Ratings
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- £8.99
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
When Peter Broadbent entered HMS Ganges, the toughest training establishment for young recruits to the Royal Navy, he was a naive 15-year-old Yorkshire schoolboy, entranced with the idea of seeing the world, proud of his drainpipe trousers and DA hairstyle, and eager to meet girls. In other words, he was a ‘Nozzer' - a raw and unsuspecting recruit. When he emerged 386 days later it was as a prospective ‘Dabtoe', not quite a fully trained Seaman, but well on the way. This funny and vivid memoir accurately captures what it was like to climb the mast, have your kit trashed, learn to swear, develop a taste for Kye and Stickies, double around the parade-ground at dead of night in your pyjamas, endlessly run up and down Laundry Hill ... and to do it all and much more while being continually barracked by a demanding Petty Officer Instructor. Along the way, Peter relished learning the Navy lingo and how to sail. He consumed platefuls of Cheese Ush, won a boxing certificate, discovered a secret stash of Playboy magazines, smoked thousands of cigarettes, and convinced girls back home that his shorn hair was in fact the very latest fashion ‘down south’.
Customer Reviews
HMS GANGES DAYS
Well where do I start ? ..a most excellent book! Giving me a real insight to life as it was at HMS Ganges.. all those years ago ! .. I have myself had the honour of doing security work at HMS Ganges over the last couple of years .. and I was really interested about the past about such a wonderful establishment.. sadly in such a state of decay now !! .. so so sad ..
HMS Ganges days, a great account of RN training in the 60's
A very lighthearted & witty account of Peter's experiences at the Royal Navy's boys' training establishment HMS Ganges.
The reader can sense what a huge shock it must have been for a schoolboy to adjust to Naval life in early 1960, as Peter took his first steps in his career as a Sailor. He describes the terrifying HMS Ganges mast they had to climb & also the notorious Laundry Hill they had to endure under the direction of their instructors.
The strict Petty Officer instructors, all probably WWII veterans ,instilled a hard line but fair training regime amongst the recruits ; no wonder, as wartime Britain was still fresh in many peoples minds & these boys needed to be prepared to go to war if required. As their relationships grew most of the lads respected their instructors , even if some of them did not recognise this at the time.
As a serving member of modern day RN myself, I am glad to say many of the Navy's traditions & terms Peter mentioned are very much in use in today's Navy. I loved the way a new "Jackspeak" word was learnt each day by the lads. Nicknames also are a common part of Naval life & it is hilarious how each mess mate in turn earns his title by their own misfortunes. After all, healthy mess deck banter is the key to ships morale when Sailors spend months away from their loved ones.
Overall, a very well drawn up book & a pleasure to read. Highly recommended.