HMS Ganges
‘He had the misfortune to be placed under the care of two particularly brutal and drunken instructors whose continual bullying and abuse proved too much for this emerging free spirit … ‘
His early life was hard by any standards. At 14 he ran away to join the Royal Navy and ‘signed on’ for 12 years. On his 15th Birthday he was sent, with 2000 other boys, to the notorious HMS Ganges training establishment at Shotley Point where a harsh regime held sway. He had the misfortune to be placed under the care of two particularly brutal and drunken instructors whose continual bullying and abuse proved too much for this emerging free spirit, . Realizing his mistake he fought back and with no way out he had no choice but to ‘work his ticket‘. He deserted on numerous occasions and willfully disobeyed orders . Among his many punishments, he suffered ‘cuts’, a particularly brutal form of Naval punishment. The next six years passed with regular naval detentions, ( Royal Naval Detention Quarters RNDQ’s Portsmouth) exhausting punishments, solitary confinements, ending with a twelve month sentence in the infamous HMP Corradino, Malta. He was subsequently dismissed from the service and returned to civilian life.
Song Samples
| Sample | Title | Songograhy |
|---|---|---|
| Listen to No Flowers for Geordie on SoundCloud | No Flowers for Geordie | Songography |
No Flowers for Geordie
NO FLOWERS FOR GEORDIE, HE'S NOT HERE TODAY
THE SEA HAS CLAIMED MY GEORDIE BOY
PLEASE NO FLOWERS TODAY
FIFTEEN YEARS OF LEARNING, HE'LL NOT GO DOWN THE MINE
SO WE TOOK HIM NEAR TO IPSWICH TOWN
FAR FROM THE SEAMS OF THE TYNE
IN A PLACE THEY STILL CALL 'GANGES' WITH TWO THOUSAND OTHER BOYS
HE LEARNED TO SPLICE AND SAIL A BOAT
TALL ORDERS WERE HIS TOYS
THE 'BULLY BOYS' CAME NIGHTLY, DID THINGS A BOY COUNDN'T TELL
BUT THEY MADE HIM WRITE IN HIS LETTERS HOME
MAMMA YOU'R BOY'S DOIN WELL
THEN NEWS CAME OF SOME FIGHTING IN A FAR OFF DISTANT LAND
WE NEED THOSE BOYS THUS SPAKE FOUR RINGS
IN OUR BIG SHIPS THEY CAN RIDE
IT'S WRITTEN ON HIS PAPERS, TWAS NOT THE DEED OF A MAN
BUT A WAVE THAT TOOK MY GEORDIE BOY
FIVE MILES OFF PLYMOUTH SOUND
SO NO FLOWERS FOR GEORDIE HE'S NOT HERE TODAY
THE SEA HAS CLAIMED MY GEORDIE BOY
PLEASE NO FLOWERS TODAY
No Flowers for Geordie
Like lots of other boys I ran away from home when I was 14 yrs old and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Seaman 2nd class. I was sent to the training Ship HMS Ganges a cruel harsh 12 months lay ahead of me and thousands of other boy’s. One lad, a Geordie, was drafted early to a Destroyer bound for the Mediterraniann sailed from Plymouth… He was washed overboard on his first few hours at sea……..His parents never knew of the misery he suffered at Ganges. I wrote this song a long time ago.