Shotley Gate

A ship's mast stands on the site of the Royal Navy shore establishment HMS Ganges at Shotley, Suffolk in England. It was formerly used for mast climbing practice when the site was a training centre for boy seamen. Every boy at the school had to climb partway up the mast to qualify. On ceremonial occasions the mast would be manned by a team of boys standing on various parts. The one who stood on the truck at the top was known as a "button boy". In 1928 one of the boys climbing the mast died after falling and missing the safety net at its base. Ganges closed in 1976 and the mast afterwards fell into disuse, though it is a grade II listed structure. There are proposals to restore the mast as part of a redevelopment of the site for housing.

Royal Naval Training Establishment Shotley, known in the Royal Navy as HMS Ganges, was a naval training establishment at Shotley, near Ipswich in Suffolk. Starting in 1905, it trained boys for naval service until 1973 (The school-leaving age was raised to 16 so ended the recruitment of 15-year-old boy sailors). In September 1973, HMS Ganges admitted adult entrants to the Royal Navy who only underwent 6 weeks training (6-week wonders) (the same as at HMS Raleigh near Plymouth) It finally closed in 1976. It had a mixed reputation in the Royal Navy, both for its reputed harsh methods of training boys in order to turn out professionally able, self-reliant ratings and for the professionalism of its former trainees. It is particularly famous for its 143-foot (44 m)-high mast which all boys under training were required to ascend, at least to the half-moon and for the mast manning ceremonies held whenever a dignitary visited the establishment. During the later 1980s and until 1999 RNTE Shotley was used as a residential centre for civilian police officers to complete their basic training. Forces which used this centre included Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Thames Valley and South Wales. The Suffolk and Essex police forces used the site on an ad hoc basis in 2007.

HMS Ganges was a training ship and later stone frigate of the Royal Navy. She was established as a boys' training establishment in 1865, and was based aboard a number of hulks before moving ashore. She was based alternately in Falmouth, Harwich (from 1899) and Shotley (from 1905). She remained in service at RNTE Shotley until October 1976.HMS Ganges was also known as Shotley Training Establishment.

Shotley Pier is a disused 540 feet (160 m) long railway pier in Shotley Gate, Shotley, Suffolk. Built in 1894 by Frederick Hervey, 3rd Marquess of Bristol the structure was used to service a ferry across the River Stour to Harwich, Essex. The ferry carried mail and coal as well as munitions and sailors for the nearby HMS Ganges Royal Navy establishment. During the First World War the structure was used to unload German prisoners of war captured at sea and after the war to moor captured German submarines. The pier was later used by fishermen but has been derelict since the late 1980s. In 2018 the pier was purchased by the Shotley Heritage Community Charitable Benefit Society who have since restored the first 30 metres (98 ft) of the structure.

Ganges Wood is a woodland in Suffolk, England, near the village of Shotley Gate. It covers a total area of 2.21 hectares (5.46 acres). It is owned and managed by the Woodland Trust.

Shotley Battery was built in 1865 on the Shotley Peninsula to guard the port of Felixstowe, within HMS Ganges Naval Training school, on the same site as an existing Martello Tower.

Harwich International Port is a North Sea seaport in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports. It lies on the south bank of the River Stour one mile upstream from the town of Harwich, opposite the Port of Felixstowe. The port was formerly known as Parkeston Quay.

HMS Badger was a shore establishment of the Royal Navy on the east coast of the United Kingdom. She was commissioned on 13 September 1939 was the flagship of the headquarters of the Flag Officer in Charge (FOIC), Harwich who was responsible to Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, and was decommissioned on 21 October 1946, although the Operations Room remained as the Emergency Port Control for the Harwich area. The site was Parkeston Quay, now Harwich International Port, and the bunker lies under Hamilton House, currently an occupational health centre, close to the entrance to Harwich International Port, a few miles west of Harwich.

Harwich International railway station is a railway station on the Mayflower Line, a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line, the station serves Harwich International Port in Essex, England. It is 68 miles 72 chains (110.88 km) from London Liverpool Street, between Wrabness to the west and Dovercourt to the east. Its three-letter station code, HPQ, derives from its original name, Harwich Parkeston Quay.The station is operated by Greater Anglia, which also runs all trains serving the station. It is the eastern terminus in England of the Dutchflyer service between London and Amsterdam.

Shotley is a village and civil parish 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk. It is in the Babergh district and gives its name to the Shotley peninsula between the Rivers Stour and Orwell. The parish includes the village of Shotley and the settlements of Shotley Gate and Church End. In 2011 civil parish had a population of 2,342. The village of Shotley is about a mile northwest from the tip of the peninsula, and lies either side of the B1456 road (the Street). In 2018 it had an estimated population of 854. There are two entries for Shotley (Scoteleia) and an adjacent settlement of Kirkton (Cherchetuna) listed in the Domesday Book of 1086.A school is located outside the village (half of 1 km east) opposite the turning into Oldhall Road. Oldhall Road is located east of the village leading north to St Mary's Church. The church is adjacent to a large naval cemetery cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It has graves from both World Wars, not only those of HMS Ganges trainees, but also of Harwich-based warships killed in action with the Germans. There is a memorial to the dead from the 14-18 Harwich submarines.Shotley Hall is located near to the church. Rose Farm lies to the south of the village. The Shotley Parish Council holds its main meeting at the village hall at 19.15 hours every third Thursday of every month (except August), and meetings are open to the public. Shotley Gate is a settlement to the south of the village of Shotley at the tip of the peninsula. Shotley Gate also harbours HMS Ganges, a former Royal Navy training establishment (RNTE Shotley) for boys.

Harwich Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in the town of Harwich in the English county of Essex. The station is positioned on the southern side at the mouth of the River Orwell estuary. The station serves a particularly busy section of coastline with Harwich being a very busy ferry terminal. Across the estuary is the Port of Felixstowe which is the United Kingdom's busiest container port.

Bath Side Battery was built in 1811 to cover the anchorage of the port of Harwich, Essex, England as part of the same complex as the Redoubt, armed with 3 x 24 pdr (11 kg) cannon. The battery was allowed to decay, and after 1990 excavations is marked out on the ground in front of the Anchor pub, Stour Road. This Public House has since been demolished. As of April 2019, the land is still unused, with future plans as yet unknown.