Training Ship Clio

This picture from a website is dated 1905. Is Walter in it?

In September 1904, Walter and his older brother Bert were called into the office of the Superintendent of the Sheffield Children's Home (a Mr. Sykes) and told it was time they left the school. According to Walter's letters, two men showed up as "escorts" to ensure the boys reached the destinations that had been determined for them. Walter was taken to Bangor, North Wales and placed on the training ship Clio in the Menai Straits. Bert was taken to Hull and put aboard the training ship Southampton.

According to my research, training ships were for boys between the ages of 11 and 15+ years old who were orphaned or had gotten into trouble or were interested in training for the Royal Navy. They had a reputation as "naughty boy" ships. I can't imagine Walter as a delinquent, but I do know that he and Bert were mischief-makers who ran away from the Sheffield Homes a couple of times. Perhaps no one really knew what to do with them.

It was a tough life aboard the training ships and Walter was on the Clio from 1904-1907 (14-17 years old). I'm always on the look-out for more information on training ships in general, and the Clio and Southampton in particular.