Eye on Millig: Rising costs ended the floating school

******************************

THE first of the Clyde training ships, the Cumberland, was gutted in a blaze in the Gareloch on February 16, 1889 after being in operation for 20 years.

She was succeeded by the Empress, which was moored off Kidston Point and is much the better known of the vessels.

Over the years I have published material from various sources telling the story of life on board the ships, and recently I came across a different account which first appeared in the March 2010 edition of the newsletter of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Family History Society.

Last week - with the kind permission of the editor, Sheila Duffy - Eye on Millig published the first part of the two-part article, written by one of the society’s members, William B.Black.

Here is the concluding part . . .

It was nearly two years after the Cumberland blaze that the boys were able to leave the old House of Refuge in Glasgow and return to the new ship.

She was another wooden warship, originally named Revenge but, unlike her predecessor, she had steam propulsion - although this was removed for her new role.

A further innovation around this time was the provision of a hostel at North Montrose Street, Glasgow, for use by former boys without a permanent home and as a short term for current ones when necessary.

Supervising it was an inspector, whose role also included monitoring regularly the boys who had been discharged back to their homes. On at least one occasion this resulted in a lad being returned to the ship, having been exposed to serious physical abuse by his father.

With the 1872 Education Act had come an improvement in standards within the ship and an extension of the curriculum.

This included technical subjects, whose examinations were supervised by what would later become the Science Museum in London, until taken over by the Scottish education department in 1897.

By this time navigation, nautical astronomy and drawing also had joined the syllabus, further enhancing the prospects of those wishing a career at sea.

1899 also saw the demise of the brig Cumbria, now in poor repair, used for older boys to take cruises, and she was replaced by the yacht Selene, formerly owned by the Clyde Sail Training Association chairman, Thomas Henderson.

The steady improvement in education received a severe setback by 1905, with a decline in the previous four years leading to the resignation of the headmaster, H.M.Ferguson.

Commander George Thomas Deverell considered that he and his staff had made little effort to communicate effectively with the boys and, therefore, chose to replace most of them.

Apart from the Cumberland arson attack, crime appears to have been mainly of a minor nature. In such an enclosed community outbreaks of bullying were inevitable, but the staff were prompt in eradicating it.

During Deverell’s command only thirteen boys had to be transferred to shore reformatories, an excellent record given the number of boys aboard each year.

As an incentive to good behaviour, Deverell introduced a system of Good Conduct badges.

Award of these also included additional payments of up to 6d per month and additional leave, while outstanding boys were promoted to petty officer, receiving an additional 2/6d per month.

Even after leaving, those who joined the merchant marine continued to receive encouragement. Completion of an initial voyage with a ‘Very Good’ discharge in their pay book would result in payments of up to 10/-, dependent upon its duration.

Annual home leave totalled 33 hours per boy, and in 1909 533 instances were granted with no boys reported as overstaying their permitted leave.

Always aware of the potential effect of infectious disease aboard, when epidemics arose in Glasgow leave would be curtailed, although this was very rare.

All boys were examined medically on a regular basis but it was not until 1905 that a dentist was added to this routine.

That year also saw the introduction of a first aid class, followed by one covering all aspects of signalling.

The reed and brass bands flourished throughout the life of both ships, a bandstand being built by the Kidston family of Helensburgh at Craigdhu (now Kidston) Point, where they performed regularly.

This was joined in 1894 by a pipe band and, for the remainder of the existence of the ship all played regularly ashore around the West of Scotland.

1899 saw the introduction of the Industrial Schools Football Cup and every year one of the ship’s teams either won it or were in fierce contention up until the last stages.

All boys were encouraged to learn to swim, several being awarded Royal Humane Society certificates for rescues of persons in trouble in the vicinity of the Empress.

When an Industrial Schools Swimming Trophy was introduced, again the ship produced a team to compete. Unfortunately they were unable to emulate the footballers - Deverell attributing this to the lack of a proper swimming pool in which to train.

By 1913 Deverell had served 29 years in command and, despite pleas to remain, retired in that year. The outbreak of war in 1914 saw his brief return when his successor was required to return to active service.

During hostilities 1,475 former boys served, either in the armed forces or Merchant Navy, of whom 75 were killed and 14 commissioned as officers.

During the war the financial situation of the Association began to decline, just at a time when Empress herself was beginning to show her age.

By 1915 a deficit of £1,676 had accumulated, partly because of £1,892 having to be spent on repairs.

As early as 1885 HM Schools Inspector had sought a shore-based hospital, an arrangement with Helensburgh being deemed acceptable. By 1916 this was no longer so, and in the following year Woodside House in Rhu was leased.

With this came the first female member of staff, the matron, Miss Christie, who remained until her marriage in 1920.

That year also saw Rosneath Castle-based regular visitor and benefactor Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, dedicate a war memorial for the former boys lost during the conflict, although it did not list individual names.

Despite the introduction of radio training the education syllabus altered little and the number of boys being referred by local authorities declined steadily.

By the end of 1922 only 140 remained and early in 1923 increasing costs led to the decision to close the ship.

This took place on June 30 1923 at the end of the current school term, by which time it was calculated that 5,629 boys had passed through one or other vessel since inception.

Of these 3,380 had joined the Merchant Navy and there had been 58 deaths, 12 from tuberculosis which was a regular killer at that time.

Empress was towed away to Appledore, Devon, for breaking up on March 20 1924, large crowds lining the shore at Helensburgh, Kidston Point and Rhu to bid her farewell, doubtless including a sizeable number of her former boys and their families.

Today, only fragments remain to remind of her presence apart from the remains of the bandstand in Kidston Park. A move to restore the bandstand to its former glory failed a few years ago.

Cumberland Terrace survives, with Woodside, again a private house, almost opposite in Rhu.

Within Rhu Parish Church the war memorial has found a permanent home but it is outside in the churchyard that the most poignant memorials survive.

As well as headstones marking the graves of individual members of staff, there is a large monument, commemorating all of the boys and staff who died, either through illness or accident while serving aboard the Clyde Industrial Training Ships.

In postscript, for those seeking information on possible family members who served in the ships, regrettably none of the muster rolls appears to have survived.

There is a complete collection of Association annual reports held in the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, listing the identities of staff, but with only scattered mention of individual boys.