The Training Ship ''Mercury'', or TS ''Mercury'', was a shore-based naval training establishment at
Hamble Hamble may refer to:
* The River Hamble in Hampshire, England
* Hamble aerodrome on the banks of the River Hamble.
** Hamble-Warsash Ferry, a ferry service on the River Hamble
* Hamble-le-Rice, a village on the river Hamble, close to the city of Sou ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
.
History
The Training Ship ''Mercury'' was one of a number of similar, mostly static training ships located round the coasts of Britain and founded during the Victorian period to provide boy recruits for the Royal Navy and mercantile marine. It was founded in 1885 as a charitable venture by
Charles Arthur Richard Hoare, a partner in the banking firm of
C. Hoare & Co, with the objective of rescuing poor boys of good character and training them for naval service. Initially the facility was based at
Binstead
Binstead is a village on the Isle of Wight. It is located in the northeast part of the Island, west of Ryde on the main road A3054 between Ryde and Newport. In the 2011 Census Binstead had been incorporated within Ryde whilst still retaining it ...
on the Isle of Wight where the boys lived in the
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...
''Illovo''. Over the years the establishment was increasingly managed by Charles Hoare's mistress
Beatrice Holme Sumner Beatrice Holme Sumner (12 July 1862 – 23 April 1946) was an English eccentric, for some sixty years the manager of a training ship for boys, TS ''Mercury''. As the lover of Charles Hoare, she was a controversial figure in Victorian society of th ...
, with whom he was to have a son (
Robin Hoare
Lieutenant Commander Keith Robin Hoare, (26 September 1890 – 6 February 1959) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Albert Medal, a high level decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth awarded for gallantry in saving life. ...
) and a daughter. The entire establishment was moved from Binstead to
Hamble Hamble may refer to:
* The River Hamble in Hampshire, England
* Hamble aerodrome on the banks of the River Hamble.
** Hamble-Warsash Ferry, a ferry service on the River Hamble
* Hamble-le-Rice, a village on the river Hamble, close to the city of Sou ...
near Southampton in 1892.
In June 1898, Beatrice Holme-Sumner married
C. B. Fry
Charles Burgess Fry (25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer. John Arlott described him with the words: "Charles Fry could b ...
, the great England cricketer and all-round sportsman, and in 1908, after the death of Hoare, Fry became the ''Mercury''s Captain-Superintendent. In 1914, the former Royal Navy sloop
HMS ''Gannet'' was loaned from the Admiralty for use mainly as a floating dormitory and the old ''Illovo'' was sold in 1916. In 1950 C.B. Fry retired and handed over command of TS ''Mercury'' to Commander Matthew Bradby RN Rtd.
Its last Captain Superintendent was Commander R. F. Hoyle RNR who took charge in 1960 and operated it for eight years before TS ''Mercury'' was closed in 1968. The shore establishment was later cleared for a housing development. Memorials to TS ''Mercury'' and the 5,000 boys it trained for service at sea in both the Royal and Merchant Navies are located at Hamble Parish Church and near the former TS ''Mercury'' slipway. HMS ''Gannet'' was towed out of the Hamble River in 1970 and is now restored and preserved at the
Chatham Historic Dockyard
The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former royal/naval dockyard at Chatham in Kent, South East England.
Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km²) and was one of the Royal Navy's main faciliti ...
.
''Mercury'' Old Boys Association
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References
Sources
* White, A. L., ''The Training Ship Mercury; A History'', The T.S. Mercury Old Boys' Association, 2003
* Morris, R., ''The Indomitable Beatie'', Sutton Publishing, 2004,
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercury
Training establishments of the Royal Navy
Educational institutions established in 1885
1885 establishments in England