HMS St George (shore establishment) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids HMS St George |
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| Douglas, Isle of Man | |
 HMS St George
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| Coordinates | 54°08′42″N 4°28′55″W / 54.145°N 4.482°W |
| Type | Military base |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Royal Navy |
| Site history | |
| Built | September 1939 |
| In use | 1939–1945 |
HMS St George was a special training base for the Royal Navy. It was located in Douglas, Isle of Man. This was the only place where sailors could get ongoing training for their careers.
Contents
A Look Back: HMS St George's Story
Starting Up: When and Where
HMS St George opened in September 1939. This was right when World War II began. The training base was split into different parts.
Classroom lessons happened at the new Ballakermeen High School. The young sailors, called cadets, stayed at Cunningham's Holiday Camp. The Navy took over this holiday camp for the war. It was in an area of Douglas called Little Switzerland.
Interestingly, this holiday camp had also been used as a Prisoner of War Camp during the First World War. The camp was quite large, about 5 acres (2 hectares). It was divided into two parts by Victoria Road.
Who Was in Charge?
When HMS St George first started, Captain F.S. Bell was its Commanding Officer. Captain A.J. Lowe was in charge of the training at Ballakermeen School.
More than 300 officers worked there. They taught the cadets important practical and technical skills.
Learning and Training
The classroom work at Ballakermeen was made better with training films and science experiments. Each class had about 25 to 30 cadets. Different classrooms were used for cadets training for different Navy jobs.
During World War II, a total of 8,677 cadets completed their training at HMS St George.
Closing Down
HMS St George officially closed on Thursday, December 20, 1945. This was after the war ended. The officers and sailors then left the Isle of Man. They moved to another Navy training base called HMS Ganges in Shotley.
See also
- HMS Valkyrie
- HMS Urley
- RAF Andreas
- RAF Jurby
- RAF Jurby Head
