The Gosport Ferry

A Memory of Gosport.

Other than as a name on a map, I hadn't a clue about Gosport before joining the Royal Navy in 1949 and becoming a Portsmouth rating. My Visual Signals training had taken place, firstly, at Cookham Camp near Chatham and, latterly, at the Main Signal School at East Meon, Hampshire. On the completion of my training I was drafted to HMS Opportune. Later I served in HMS Rapid and, finally, HMS Rinaldo of the 4th Minesweeping Flotilla. All these ships were 'Pompey' based so, even though we spent the vast majority of those happy days at sea, there were quite a few odd moments when my ship would berth in 'Pompey' Dockyard. I had met a WREN, at Mercury, and she lived in Gosport. Fortuitously, she had been posted to HMS Daedalus the Naval Air Station there. Consequently my memories are largely of travelling, on the famous Gosport Ferry, between the the docking facilities by the Portsmouth Harbour Station and the dock in Gosport. Both these facilities are completely changed now - from the times I remember them - as are the Ferries.
Back in the 50s the Ferries were considerably smaller and I recall them as being more open. They ran very frequently, during most of the day, and were available very early in the morning and also late at night. A point, that will clearly demonstrate the huge difference in the times from then to today is that, on more than a few occasions and in spite of the late running of the Ferries, I missed the last Ferry back to Pompey and spent the night curled up on the smooth wooden seats of the passenger cabin - having had no hindrance to getting aboard and entering the cabin. People, generally speaking, were much more disciplined in those days. Today, the Ferries are locked tighter than the Bank of England and access 'out of hours' is virtually impossible. In those days my presence, when the small crew arrived, wasn't even commented upon! Most people were trusted to behave.
The short journey across the Harbour mouth took only about 15 minutes but, loving the sea and ships as I did, it never ceased to be a magical experience - especially early morning. The mug of steaming tea, I picked up at the well patronized cafe on Station Approach, set my day off to a great start and I went back aboard my ship fit for anything that was in store for me. Happy times!