Vindicatrix

I was a trainee at the Vindi between 25 October and 31 December of 1954. Met at the Sharpness station by a boy Bos'un who took the opportunity to cadge fags from us, we were marched(?) across the high bridge to the camp. Boys aready on courses hung around and attempted to extract ciggies from us but the bos'un had already removed what we were prepared to give so the lads contented themselves by making remarks like "You ain't never going home new boy" and similar things. After being processed we were led down the towpath to the ship and given a supper which had the name of Sea Pie (corned beef hash) and looked pretty uninviting. Some of us decided we were not that hungry and let the waiting vultures tuck in. It turned out to be the only meal we didn't completely devour during our entire time there and, by week two, we had joined the vultures. There were no vegetarians at the Vindi! It was a particularly cold winter but it didn't stop the trainers from getting us to do PT at 6.30am wearing singlets and shorts. We were always hungry and short of money, cigarettes were a form of currency and could be sold for 6d. If you could raise 8d five could be purchased from the Vindi shop so there were snout barons who probably went on to be Chief Stewards. The school closed in 1966 and the ship was sold for scrap. A plaque has been placed on the old quayside toilet block and a tasteful momument has been placed close to where the main gate was, to comemorate the 70,000 boys who passed through the school since it opened in Sharpness in 1939, many of whom were to perish during the war. An association now exists for ex Vindi boys headed by Roy Dereham, a 1949 trainee who has written and published two excellent books on the history of both the ship and the boys. There is a gathering at the old Sharpness Hotel (now called the Dockers Club) every August, usually the second weekend when a good deal of lamp swinging takes place and many old friendships are re-established while new friendships are forged. Most of us couldn't wait to leave the place and the worst punishment a boy could get was to have a week added to his course and now we can't wait to get back. The camp was used for a while by the YMCA but fell into disrepair and was vandalised after they left. As a result the buildings have been removed but the site is still there at the time of writing this. Although badly overgrown the bases of the billets are still there and can be accessed by the nimble. If the photo of the Vindicatrix invokes nostalgia in you, come and join us this August.