The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-18

good food. good housing. tho best of tuition, and plenty of amusement
 Until lately a boy who was intended Tor bluejaclxet was sent to one of the training ships. such as the Ganges or hnpregnable. There are still a few training ships left. but they are be- ing superseded by such institutions as the Royal Naval school at Greenwich, or the Naval Training establishment at Shotley. in Suffolk.
 Shotley is the finest of its kind The entrance gates are like those of some great public school. only that on each side rise the gigantic figureheads of two famous three-deckers
 Inside are quarters for over 1000 boys which are built ship fashion, a quar- ter-deck ta the center. on either side two corridors. each more than a quar- ter of mile long, on either side of which are the hunks where tho boys sleep, and the training rooms.
 The teaching is all practical. Every classroom is full of models. Tn one. Tor instance. Is model of the part of the snip from which an anchor Is dropped. The floor represents the bed or the sea The boys are. shown exactly how an anchor Is dropped. All the mechanism is there on a miniature scale
 In another Is the steering wheel
  nected herewith. In the ammunition room the boys are shown sections of shells. the mechanism of breech blocks md the like.
 Every boy Is taught to swim; every boy is taught signalling.
 There is a real battery over by the River Stour. with modern six-inoh guns. which would be actually used if the Germans were so ill-advised as to try raid on our cast coast
 When boy joins he goes. with other newcomers, into the new entries" dor mitory. For fortnight he is kept separate from the older lads. and. meantime. gets his equipment and Is taught swimming Then he underroes three months training in seamanship; ne learns to row; is instructed in the use of the wheel, the compas, and in anchor work
 Next comes a three months' course in gunnery. He spends much of his time in the battery; he learns not only the handling and management of big guns, but also how to use a rifle and a revolver.
 One month of mechanical training fs the next part of his schooling. He Is taught how to handle blacks ksmiths' and arinourers' tools. If all goes we'll, he Is by this time a first class boy, and Is ready to be sent to cruiser.
 At tfdhteS dTt tnat. uur1nK nts eight months at Shotley. he has gained many pounds, in weight and several inches in height and chest measurement for nearly all his spare time has been put in at games or in the gymnasium; also. he has been thoroughly we'll fed
 Discipline is strict and naval. Boys turn out at b.so. wash. dress make their beds. and to each ie served a mug of hot cocoa. One watch goes into class; the other cleans up
 At comes breakfast: at g prayers. Then three hours of instruction and physical drill, and dinner at 12. typi- cal dinner Is roast mutton, potatoes and plum pudding.
 Parade, recreation. more work, then tea, and at o'clock the officers go their rounds to see that all are turned in.
 Boys at Shotley get 6 pence a week pocket money and two weeks leave at Christmas and three at midsummer. The system works so well that the boys learn as much in their eight months at Shotley as they used in double that timo in the old training ships.