History (8)

At over 300' long, the 'Exmouth' - which became the third and last 'Worcester' - was an unusual vessel, since she was built in 1904 of steel and iron especially for nautical training and had many improvements over the converted hulks previously used.

HMY 'Britannia' passes HMS 'Worcester' (III)
after the Royal Tour in 1954.

With good headroom, proper classrooms, heating, lighting and staff accommodation she certainly lacked the elegance of her predecessor, but was far more suitable for the purpose. Built by the London County Council to give sea training to boys largely from orphanages, she had been designed to accommodate 750 and the Royal Navy had berthed as many as 600 ratings aboard during the war years - so there was room to spare for the 200-odd 'Worcester' cadets. As with the previous 'Worcester's' most stayed aboard for just over two years, slept in hammocks and kept their belongings in a sea chest. Most left at about 16½ to join the various shipping companies - within a few months many had visited the farthest parts of the world and regularly returned to visit their Old Ship with tales of their adventures. There was a tremendous demand for cadets throughout the late 40s and 50s, but the early 60s saw many changes in the world of shipping and a dramatic fall in numbers at sea - particularly under the British flag.

Sea chests used to store the cadets' belongings.