Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Can you share stories of Tay naval training ship HMS Mars?
THREE historians are keen to hear from Tele readers about the notorious Mars Training Ship which was anchored off Wormit for many decades to house impoverished boys.
Dr Christine Whyte, of Glasgow University, Charlotte Armitage, a recent graduate, and Dr Graham Connelly, of Strathclyde University, would like stories from people whose relatives resided there or whose families made donations and kept a record.
The Mars was a former warship anchored in the Tay, off Wormit, between 1869 and 1929.
Boys from impoverished backgrounds aged as young as 10 would be sent to the ship by magistrates.
Once on the ship, the boys would be brought into a regimented lifestyle of training and basic education, enforced with strict discipline including corporal punishment.
The concept was that these boys would be trained up to serve in the Navy once they passed out, aged 16.
Some boys did volunteer for life aboard the Mars, escaping destitution in Dundee, or other cities, but once they had volunteered they were not allowed to leave.
Boys would live on the ship 365 days a year.
On arrival, they would have their heads shaved and their names taken from them, and they would be referred to as a number during their time on board.
A total of 6,145 boys are confirmed to have passed through the Mars, according to research by Gordon Douglas of Wormit.
A great many were from Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and others came from even further afield such as Wick and the Isle of Man.
The Mars boys were involved in woodwork classes, and would have produced hundreds of wooden ashtrays, chessboards, lamp stands over the years.
The historians hope that some of these objects may exist in homes in the area.
The trio invite anyone with stories, family memories, correspondence or objects from the Mars to get in touch via online form: https://forms.office.com/e/ k37r0ke8nb or by post by writing to Dr Christine Whyte, Room 405, Level 4, 9 University Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8QQ.