Captain Little recently asked in a letter to Sea Breezes "Who are or were the Vindi Boys." Roy Dereham replied,and put the record straight on the strong link between the Gravesend Sea School and the s.s Vindicatrix.

I wonder if you might permit me to respond to Captain Little's article published in the Sept issue.

Captain Little asked the question. 'Who are or were these Vindi boys?' As founder and General Secretary of the T.S.Vindicatrix Association, I believe I am well placed to answer that question. The Gravesend Sea School was founded in 1918, immediately after the First World War, out of a need to provide replacment seamen for our Merchant Service.

From the very outset the school was different from any existing sea school or training ship.

The sole aim was to provide two and three month intensive courses that would give boys between the ages of 15 and 17 years of age, a good grounding in all aspects of good seamanship, enabling them to be useful members of a ship's crew whilst they gained experience at sea. Only boys of good character and good physique were accepted for training. Almost without exception these boys were from elementary schools, having left school at the age of 14.

The school was an immediate success and by the commencement of WW2, two thirds of all boys trained to go to sea were trained at Gravesend Sea School. The British Shipping Federation, the Ministry of Shipping, Board of Trade, and the National Seamens and Firemens Union formed the original Committee, but from then on, to all intents and purposes the school was under the control of the Shipping Federation. The Federation also owned the old sailing ship hulk which was berthed in the West India Docks, the Vindicatrix. She was used to train seamen wishing to obtain their EDH qualification or Lifeboat Certificates.
In 1939 with the war imminent, the decision was taken to evacuate the Gravesend Sea School to a safer area. As a result, the Vindicatrix, once a proud Full Rigged ship built in 1893 in steel, was towed to Sharpness , Gloucestershire, and the day before war was declared, the school was evacuated to Sharpness to join her.

Although still the Gravesend Sea School, the boys, being associated with the ship, eventaully became known as Vindi boys, and we are happy to accept it. Initially there were 150 boys there at a time, but once an adjacent camp was completed in 1945, the school could accommodate 500.

The Gravesend premises re-opened in late 1944 and both schools were then National Sea Training Schools, but the Vindicatrix remained and continued to train up to 3000 boys each year. Because we trained, messed, and for the last two weeks of our course, slept onboard, we had an affinity for the ship, although not fully appreciated at the time.

In the 27 years that she ws at Sharpness before leaving for the breakers in 1967, some 70,000 boys trod her decks. Today the TS Vindicatrix Association has a worldwide membership of 2600 and we have located a further 2100.

We hold an Annual Reunion which is attended by several hundred each year, some from the corners of the globe.

A surprising high number of Vindi boys made it from the foc's'le head to the bridge as Masters and senior Officers, three that we are aware of making it to Captain/Superintendent.

Hopefully this will answer Captain Little's question 'Who are or were Vindi boys'.
ROY C. DERHAM, M.B.E.