With very few exceptions, all the Boys that went through Ganges had to climb the mast as far as the half moon (just below the top spar in this imagehttp://www.pbase.com/jim_w/image/83409575). Some of us climbed it for fun on Sunday afternoons, I once sat on the button but didn't have what it takes to stand up.
Guest
07-Jun-2015 01:26
My late father joined the Royal Navy in 1948 at HMS Ganges. During his time there he took on the task of "button boy" meaning that when they climed the mast, he would be the one at the very top on the "button" holding on to the lightning conductor, without any form of harness! Can you imagine that happening today? The reason he did it he said, was that it attracted an extra half-crown (two shillings and sixpence or twelve and a half pence) of pay!
