Boys Service

[LOCATING]

This arises from my interest in an ancestor, recruited in Ireland around 1891. He served in the Navy for a lifetime, ending CPO. How does an irish lad get into the navy. How does he get to Portsmouth etc? Who looks after him at the start? Such boys became the backbone of the navy that eventually fought WWI

[Clio]

Try HMS GANGES and IMPREGNABLE for starters !

[ARABIS]

Queenstown, Cork was a major base for the Royal Navy at that time, including a R.N. Boys Training Ship in an old ironclad named HMS Black Prince opened in 1898 & re-named H.M.S. Emerald in 1904. A bit late for your relative but it shows how important Ireland was to the R.N. I have a copy service record of a boy from Liverpool who started there so it sometimes worked both ways. Civilian life anywhere in those days could be harder than the navy or army & either could be seen as a chance for escape & adventure. Ireland had long been a good recruiting ground for the forces.

Regards,

David [ARABIS].

[per ardua per mare per terram]

There were coast guard and recruiting stations around the United Kingdom. Entry for boys was at 15 before that there were private Training Ships. As you ancestor showed it was a career with good prospects.