OLD shipmates got together for a reunion in Sharpness last weekend.
The group were celebrating the time they had spent aboard the Vindicatrix, a former sailing ship moored in Sharpness from 1939 to 1966, which provided a base for training boys as deck hands and stewards for the merchant navy.
Around 70,000 boys received their basic training there.
Although the ship was broken up in 1967, the Vindicatrix is still remembered fondly by the former ‘Vindi Boys’ , many of whom are members of the TS Vindicatrix Association (TSVA).
The association, which was founded in 1993 for all former `Vindi Boys` and sea school staff, has branches all over the world and a reunion is held in Sharpness in August each year.
The reunion, which was based at the Dockers Club, included a church service and entertainment, but was mainly about sharing memories and `swinging the lamp`.
Many thanks to Roy Derham, M B E, life president and founder of the TSVA for permission to use these photographs of the Vindicatrix.
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