Veterans visit former Royal Navy Training base as it becomes new Wavensmere development

Veterans who undertook basic training at HMS Ganges Royal Navy Training Establishment on the Shotley Peninsula from 24th August 1964 to 21^st July 1965 returned to the historic 58-acre site, 60 years to the day they first arrived.

Bernard Harrison, Nigel Guilfoyle, Jeff Fox, David Carter, Mick Hudson, and Jim Creasy are the six servicemen from Drake 39 Mess who reunited at the famous coastal landmark, which saw more than 160,000 recruits passed through, until its closure in June 1976.

The site is in the process of being reanimated by Wavensmere Homes and Galliard Homes, with 303 energy-efficient houses and apartments enabling people to live there again for the first time in nearly five decades. There are also detailed plans to preserve and reanimate three of the HMS Ganges listed structures.

Now known as Barrelman’s Point, the scenic £130m development site is located off the B1456 in the Shotley Gate Conservation Area, at the southern end of the Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB. Over half of the 81 homes within phase one are built and occupied, comprising two-, three-, four-, and five-bedroom houses.

Mr Harrison – the organiser of the reunion – retired as a Chief Communications Yeoman, after a 25-year career with the Royal Navy, including assignments to Singapore (HMS Loch Fada) and the Falkland Islands (HMS Hermes).

He said: “I have been planning this very special reunion trip with Wavensmere Homes for 12 months. For six of us who walked through those imposing Ganges iron gates together on 24^th August 1964, to have the opportunity to meet up and walk through them again 60 years to the day has been one of the greatest highlights of my retirement.

“We were all 15 when we left home to commence our naval training. At Ganges, we learnt the basics of seamanship, a solid grounding in our different trades, while also cramming in school lessons in maths, English, navigation and naval history. The swimming and sports training was intensive and being able to step back inside the now Grade II listed swimming pool brought memories flooding back.”

The six veterans were the first to take hold of the newly restored symbolic 142ft tall mast – the best-known landmark across the entire Shotley Peninsula. Made of iron, steel, and timber, it dates back to 1865, and was erected in 1907 where HMS Ganges, a 74-gun 18th Century ship had stood, before retiring to Chatham Dockyard in Kent two years prior. All sections of the mast were taken down by specialist restorers and painstakingly refurbished on site.

In addition to the swimming and diving pool, the veterans also inspected the historic Nelson Hall – a former drill hall – which is set to be restored and redeveloped to create a potential public library facility, meeting hall, and large café space.

They then walked through the location of Barrelman’s Point’s future amenity provision, which will provide much-needed daily conveniences to the new residents and those already living in Shotley. There will also be several landscaped public open spaces, new biodiverse meadow planting, tree lined avenues, and children’s play areas.

The name for the development – Barrelman’s Point – gives affirmation to the person who would be stationed in the barrel of the foremast to aid navigation of the vessel. HMS Ganges Museum and Shotley Marina are both only a few minutes’ walk from the new development. The village of Shotley also includes a primary school and local facilities.