T.S. Vindicatrix

Association HQ

The Bosun's Dittybox

A miscellany of odd bits of news and links which might be of interest to  Members of the T.S.V.A.

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Merchant Navy Day 2008

  There is a dedicated page on this site, which lists various MN Day events, details of which have been sent to me. If you have an event  which you wish to advertise, please contact me.

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Vindiboys aboard the Discovery

    Bryn Williams has kindly sent me this picture of a recent cruse aboard the "Discovery".; he writes

    "Vindi Boys who did the 2008 Voyages of Discovery, picture taken early this month.

    The guy on the right with the walking stick wasn't a Vindi boy but got in the picture by mistake or is a professional because I have just been informed that he was on TV last night aboard the Illustrious in Malta on the tv programme Warship. In actual fact he is about 91 years of age and went to sea as a Sparks in 1939 and did most of his sea service with the RFA, his name is Roger Davies and he lives in Malta. A very sprightly 91 year old I must say.

    The guy second left is the Discovery's Chief Engineer and the guy third right is the Captain.

Yours truly is in the sunglasses and blue T shirt to the right of Norman in the cap at the back centre. Des Cox of Maritime Memories is 5th from the right at the back".

http://www.maritime-memories.co.uk/

    I now have available as a download, a copy of Des's brochure of a trip to the Black Sea in April/May next year

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Merchant Seman's Records at the National Archive, Kew

    Many who read this site, will be aware that I often obtain copies of  MN Service Records from the National Archive, in particular from sections BT372, where all the loose forms and documents  concerning their time at sea, are kept,  and also in section BT382, where there are duplicate entries from their Discharge Books, listing all the ships on which they sailed.

    On the Friday 25th April I was  perturbed to receive a courtesy phone call from the head of the Copying Dept. at Kew, telling me that, as from that day, until a date in early May, all access to files in those two categories has been blocked, and the jobs already with them, either as Estimates, or as Orders have been placed 'on hold'.  This is a result of a threat of identity theft, where a criminal can obtain the identity of another person, using information which is already in the public domain.

     When the public are again allowed to access them there will be new draconian restrictions in place.  The details haven't yet appeared on the National Archives website, but I do know that finger prints on the old British Seaman's Identity Cards will be obscured, as also will be National Health Insurance Nos.  I'm told that the only exceptions will be when the seaman or woman can be assumed to having died, by virtue of them being born more than 100 years ago, or by the production to the National Archives, of a Certificate of Death  of the individual whose records are sought

    Over the last 8 months, I must have done over 60 of these jobs, either for living Members of our Assn., their families, or other seafarers, and I'm not too sure if I will be able to continue with them in a meaningful way, once the new restrictions have been published.

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Port Nicholson

    Old Port Line hands, and those interested in models of ship, might be interested in seeing this wonderful example of the Port Nicholson, made by a NZ contact of TSVA Member Bill Taylor.  For the purposes of showing them on the site I have restricted their size, but if anyone would like a download of the original sized pictures, please contact me via this link

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Sharpness Post Office

    Regular attendees of the Annual Reunions at Sharpness will be sorry to learn that the Post Office at Sharpness, run by Alan and Gilly Stook, has now fallen victim to swinging wave of Post Office closures which are now sweeping the country

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Merchant Navy Pensions

  From time to time, questions are asked about MN Pensions. It has recently been raised again and I was able to direct the enquirer to a contact link in the Department of Work and Pensions who deal historic schemes which have now closed.   The DWP passed on the enquiry to the RMT Union, successor to the National Union of Seamen, who replied.
 
    "Individual members of the Union were entitled to receive a "Retirement Benefit" called an Old Age Grant, but only if they retired from the sea and had completed 25 years of membership (of the Union).
    An industry-wide pension scheme, the Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Scheme, was established in 1978.  Pension entitlement for service prior to that date would have depended on being a member of an individual employer's occupational pension scheme which unfortunately few employers operated in the 1950's and 1960's, particularly for seafarers on the Register"

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News from The National Archive, Kew

  http://www.ancestorsonboard.com/  have added the 1940 to 1949 decade to the UK Outbound Passenger Lists.  Passengers in this decade included 'Home Children' to Australia and war brides to North America.
Records now include 20 million names within 137,000 passenger lists spanning 1890 to 1949.
Search the passenger lists now - the index is free to browse.

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The Vindi Monument, 11th November 2007

My thanks to the Severn Area Branch

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The National Arboretum

    The National Arboretum at Alrewas,  Staffordshire, has recently been in the news, with the dedication of the Armed Services Memorial, in memory of all those who have been killed in conflicts since the end of WW2.  Located in another part of this  60 hectares site,  is where the men and women of the Merchant Navy killed in WW2 are remembered by the planting  a wood of some 2,536  oak trees, representing the number of British flagged merchant vessels lost to enemy action during World War II.

To read more about the National Arboretum, visit their website, via this link

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Year Group Photos for the Reunion of 2007

.  Colin Rodgers and John Nicol have kindly sent me the pictures they took at the Church on Saturday afternoon of the various year groups.  If anyone would like a copy of their year, please contact via this link

 

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The last sea-going voyage of the Vindi- June 1939

    Members will have read in the latest edition of the Vindi News of my discovery of the Crew Agreement at the National Archive, Kew.  Anyone who visits the National Archive and who has a Reader's Ticket, can examine the document for themselves and also  two previous ones for voyages as the 'Arranmore',  commencing in 1901, (the one when she was shipwrecked at Port Elisabeth), and also the one commencing in 1907, at the end of which she paid off in Hamburg and passed to German owners. The relevant files Nos. can be traced by entering in her Official No. of 102634 on the Catalogue Search Engine of The National Archives website.  I plan to bring my copies of all three Crew Agreements to the Reunion should anyone wish to look at them and I also have a download available for Members of pages 1, 3 and 4 of June '39 trip.

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Before they were famous

Three Vindiboys who became better known in later years in the field of entertainment

R335420   Colyer K. Vindi '45 Catering

You can hear Ken Colyer playing, in the company of Chris Barber , Monty Sunshine and Lonnie Donnigan in this clip on You Tube  and also this filmed interview with Ken by the now late George Melly

You can also read his own account of his time at the Vindi and at sea by clicking here  

R690634   Hunt A. (Gareth)  L.  Vindi '57/'58 Deck

You can see a clip with Gareth Hunt in a typical car chase sequence, with Joanna Lumley and Patrick McNee  from the New Avengers TV series

R740058   Vasey R.  Vindi '60/'61 Catering

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The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal

    If any Vindiboy is interested in exploring the history of the canal of which once we knew a small portion so well, can I bring to their notice a wonderful pictorial record of it in a series of 200 photographs, dating back to when it was first dug.  In the text, the book's author, Mr. Hugh Conway-Jones, describes some of the early struggles to get the canal  completed and of it's changing fortunes over the years of its existence.         

    What came as a surprise to me was that there was once a Cadbury factory on it's banks, where pre-production processes of raw materials were carried out, before being forwarded on the their main factory at Bourneville, also that there was once a gas works, situated on a site where the canal entered the new dock at Sharpness.  Another surprise was to see pictures of two small submarines, making their was up to Gloucester Docks in 1937.

     I am indebted to Mr. Conway-Jones for the use of the picture below,  which surely every Vindiboy will recognise by the building on the left hand side,  also by the coal chute on the distant far bank. Note the gas lamp on the tow path.

        If anyone is interested in owning their own copy of this nostalgic book, they can be obtained by clicking on this link to Tempus Publishers Ltd. Stroud.   Mr, Conway-Jones has his own website where you can read more about the canal, here

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Vindi Items on EBay

    An auction on EBay for a Francis Frith postcard of the Vindi, taken, looking towards the starboard bow from the coal chute on the opposite bank; went for a staggering £49.50.   The buyer could have bought an A4 framed sepia print of the same picture, cheaper, by going to the firm that now hold the Francis Frith Archive of pictures Photograph of Sharpness, the Training Ship Vindicatrix c1955 

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"The People's War" Archive on the BBC Website

       My thanks to Jamie Letford, a Vindiboy of '49, for drawing my attention to this Archive on the website of the BBC .  There is a particular section of 10 pages, concerning those shipmates of ours who served in the Merchant Navy  during WW2.  It's worth a visit to the site, just to refresh our memories. The People's War Website on the BBC.

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"Sea Breezes" Magazine

    My thanks to Bob Andrews for sending me a copy of an article about the Vindi, which appeared in "Sea Breezes" about the time the time she was closed.  If anyone would like to have a copy of it, contact me by this e-mail link.  My thanks also to "Sea Breezes" for granting me permission to re-publish.

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FSN Ship Plans

    Terry Smith, Secretary of the TSVA Bedford Branch, in addition to have some Blue Star lapel badges on offer, has also  for sale,  copies of deck plans of the following vessels. FSN: Cambridge, Durham and Gloucester, as well as Pipiriki of NZS Co.  if any of our members are interested he can be contacted on 01767 315388 after 6.00pm for details, or through me via the website.  Terry has already made a donation to the TSVA from the proceeds of the badge sales to date, and will do likewise if sufficient copies of the deck plans are sold.

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Seafarers Benefits Advice Helpline

    Can I draw the attention of readers of this page to this service operated by the Greenwich Citizens Advice Bureaux Ltd (GCAB)  and funded entirely by the Seamen's Hospital Society.  Further information on the services they offer can be gained by visiting their website http://www.seabal.org.uk/

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Mrs. Drysdale

    Those who have received their copies of the July edition of the Vindi News will be aware that "Mrs. D" has been undergoing a course of 'cosmetic surgery'. This was undertaken on two visits to her, by a yacht restorer/woodcarver, together with Roy, acting as his 'mate'.  If you have time to spare whilst at the Reunion this year, be sure to pay her a visit in the Reception Area of the Waterways Museum in Gloucester Docks.

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    David Christmas, has sent me this picture of his GSS father Frederick, who was on a NSTS float which took part in the City of London Lord Mayor's Show in 1949.

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The Empress of Britain

    Many of our younger Members will remember the large-scale model of the 'Empress of Britain' which was presented to the Vindicatrix sometime during the 50's. When the Vindi closed it was taken to Gravesend, where it lay neglected until the National Sea Training College was closed in August 1996.  It was then 'rescued' and restored by your Association and found a new berth at the Merchant Navy Hotel in London.  When that establishment closed in 2002 the model set sail again, this time to the National Arboretum at Arlwas.

    We were recently contacted by the authorities at the Arboretum , saying that they were no longer able to house it, and that it should be moved, forthwith.  We were fortunate in being offered a new berth at  'Springbok',  where she  has now joined the other fleet of models they have. Many thanks to Trevor Goacher and the Management at the Merchant Seamens War Memorial Society.    My thanks to Bill MacDonald for the photo.

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British Pensioners in Austrailia

I have been asked to post a notice re the campaign in Australia, to again have their UK Pensions index-linked.  Although not a wholly  Vindi  or  MN matter it will concern a lot of former seamen who now live in Austrailia. You can read more on this attached Word Document or by visiting the BPiA website

TSVA South Australia Branch

The Branch, in association with John Williams (not the Liverpool one)  has published a limited edition  framed water colour print of the Vindi, by Australian artist Fred Baker, also a souvenir card featuring the same picture and two old photographic prints of her, in her Arranmore days.  If you would like to buy a copy of either, click on the picture appropriate to your choice, to send me an e-mail  for a download of an order form. John is donating a proportion of each sale to the funds of the Branch. Information on how copies may be obtained  can be had by visiting their Branch website  of  http://www.vindicatrixboy.com/

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"Sent Home" from the Vindi

    My thanks to Jim Richmond in Tasmania, and to Norman Brice in the UK for  forwarding it on to me, this piece which previously would have appeared on the 'A Vindiboy writes' page.  It concerns the  obscure reason as to why a Vindiboy might be sent home.  Rather than showing it in full on this page, I'm attaching it as a 'Word Document''

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Collecting Dole Money at the Vindi

    On the subject of collecting 'Dole Money' during our time at the Vindi, I also can remember the two table system performed in the recreation hut at the camp.  During my stay as a 'Deckie' in 1949, my Kit Account records that I added £4:14:0 to my £5 Deposit, and after the deduction of £6:8:8 for my kit, I paid off with the princely sum of £3:5:4.  I think that any Dole Money was dependant on how much you had contributed in 'stamps' on your card during any employment you had, prior to joining the Vindi. Leaving school at 14 and joining the Vindi when I was turned 17, I had three years of contributions. School leaving age was raised from 14 to 15 in 1947, and from 15 to 16 in 1972.

    I can't remember if the initial 'signing on' was done at the camp, or if we had to troop down to the little Labour Exchange, by the Post Office. I think that some must have done, as witnessed by the many names inscribed on its red brick wall which are still visible to this day.

    In 1936, the school leaving age was raised from 14 to 15, (to be implemented in Sept. '39), but this was postponed on the outbreak of WW2.  It wasn't finally raised until 1947, and raised again to 16, in 1972.

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The Veteran's Agency

    Vindiboy Rod Newall has asked me to pass on to following, which is related to his time in the RN, but he says that it would equally apply to time spent in the MN.  Rod was referred to a skin specialist because of a 'patch on his nose', he writes  "The doctor  said it was skin cancer caused by sunlight and that he should contact the  number in phone book, who sent me a claim form. . They cover Merchant Seamen. the bottom line is they gave me £2,000 so anybody injured out there its worth thinking about."

On the Veteran's Agency site, there is also a Claim Form in PDF Format.

     The award of this badge has now had its date of eligibility extended to  December 1969, and you will need to prove that you sailed in support of Military action.  Full details can be obtained  by clicking on this link to the Veteran's Agency website.

     I am given to understand that those issued to Merchant Seamen, will have the Red Ensign superimposed on the design.  Further details of this MN version can be obtained from the Federation of Merchant Mariners at info@merchant-mariners.co.uk

    Dave Helyar has kindly sent me a copy of the Application Form for the MN style Veteran's Badge;  you can obtain a download of it  by clicking on this Veteran's Badge link.  To qualify, you must have served in support of a Military Operation between the years of 1939 and 1959.  They will not be issued posthumously as it is a survivors badge.  The only exception to this rule is in the case of  Widow(er)'s in receipt of a War Widow(er)'s Pension, paid by the Veteran's Agency. The deceased must have served up to and including the 31st Dec. 1959.

Rod has now been sent a badge and certificate for the time he spent in the MN during the wartime years, which I reproduce below.  If any other Member who is eligible would like to apply for one, I can put you in touch with Rod, who can tell you where to apply.

Vets Badge

and here is the long-awaited MN version of the badge.

I have also received this additional piece of information from Ron Jones.

 

"I was given a Freephone Number  0800 169 2277 by a neighbour (an M/N man also, but not Vindi,) to apply for the badge direct.  I dialled the number and after a 2 or 3 minute call where I gave my Discharge Book number, the date I first went to sea, and when I finished, a very nice sounding young lady said I would receive my badge shortly, it actually arrived 5 days later, a much simpler and quicker way to apply for the badge than Rod's don't you think?  Applications only apply up to 1954! I hope this will be of interest to some of our members"

Any seaman who served under a T124 Agreement, might be interested in this page concerning their pension rights, from the Seafarers Benefits Advice Line.

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For those who wish to trace the names of their family members who were lost, there is a search engine engine on the website of the

  which also carries the names of Merchant Seamen. Click on their logo to take you there.                

Medal entitlement for WW2 Merchant Seamen

    Anyone wishing to search for a  record of who was listed for  entitlement to a WW2 medal while serving in the Merchant Navy should visit this page of the National Archive site at Kew.  Searching is free, but they do charge £3.50 for an online download of the record.  After having obtained a download, you will find the key to understanding the abbreviations used on it by visiting this page .

     It is doubtful if these records will show the entitlement to the recently announced Arctic Star, for all those who sailed on the convoys to Russia.  I would suggest that you make direct contact with the:-  

Registry of Shipping and Seamen
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Anchor Court
Keen Road
Cardiff
CF24 5JW

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Shell Tankers

      A site for all those who sailed with 'Joe Shell' is http://www.helderline.nl  Just enter the name of the ones on which you sailed, to see if there are any photos or if other crew members listed have sailed at the same time as you. 

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Museum in Docklands

       If any member has half a day to spare while in the London area, can I suggest they take time out to visit the Museum in Docklands, which can be reached either by tube to Canary Wharf Station, or West India Quays on the Docklands Light Railway.  Admission for 'Wrinklies' is £3 and the ticket is available for one year from the date of purchase.  Further information can be got from their website  Tony Bond and I have spent a couple of hours there and can thoroughly recommend a visit. Visit their website for further details

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     To any who either came from, or sailed out of Liverpool, can I recommend the pen-portraits of Liverpool life by '61 Deckie John Williams.  I believe that I have read the latter part of his tale about being put ashore in Japan in some other publication, possibly Sea Breezes, but to read the whole piece, go to "Iron ships and wooden men" and then dip into some of his other, non-maritime recollections of living in the city.  John is negotiating with a published to get his stories in print and would welcome contact with anyone who is interested in buying a copy.

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Downloads Available

An offer to all Vindi and G.S.S. Boys

      Can you all remember the prospectus from the Shipping Federation, which told us about the wonderful training and food were were to receive at their  illustrious establishments?  The bottom half of the second page of this document was our Application Form for joining.  I still have my copy of the edition in use in 1947, which Gordon Tumber of the GSS Website has kindly laminated for me, due to its fragile state.  I have now scanned it in parts, and a download is yours for the asking at the e-address of this site and I will e-mail them to you as an attachment to my reply. WebsiteBosun@aol.com   It consists of six half pages, three of which are photos; about  510Kb in total.  The top half of the first page is shown below, but the downloaded version is clearly readable.

 

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      Another download I have available is from Jack Gilbert, a Vindiboy from the very early years, who has had a delve into his own Ditty Box and has come up with a rare copy of a wartime magazine, called simply 'Illustrated'. This would appear to have been devoted to propaganda for the UK war effort.  This issue is dated 6th September, 1941 and features a Vindi Deckie named Robin Alwyn Hall.  Jack has offered it up to a wider readership and Tony Scott has kindly scanned the relevant pages of the piece and has enhanced the quality a bit as its condition of it is now in a very fragile.  Anyone wishing to receive a copy of the download, please contact me through this e-mail link," Illustrated"

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      I also have two pages of downloads available pages from Sea Breezes, published about the time the Vindi was sent to the breakers.  If anyone would like a copy, contact me via this e-mail link.

      Also available are downloads of Ron. Partridge's poem ' Heroes', and a setting of Reg Kear's 'Sea Shanty', given a Country and Western style setting.

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Severn Railway Bridge Disaster

      I am indebted to Dave Partridge for passing on this link the a group of sites, featuring the accident which brought down two spans of the bridge on 25th Oct. 1960, with the loss of 5 lives.                     http://en.wikipedia.org/wikxxi/Severn_Railway_Bridge-

     If you are unable to open the link, I can send it to you as a 13.6 MB file in MPEG format.

Pathe Newsreel clip of the Triton at Gravesend Seaschool in 1937

My thanks to Tony Scott for passing on this clip of nearly 3 minutes duration. If anyone would like to receive a download, please send me a request by this link  It is of 2.7MB, so probably only suitable if you have a Broadband connection.

 

 

Vindiboys from Glasgow

     Amongst our ranks there must be many who hale for the Glasgow area, so I thought that I would put up a link to a site which might be of interest to them, if they don't already know about the "Glesga Pals"

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       I have been asked if I would include a link to the site www.friend-ships.com  This is a site with a fairly large remit as it covers ships, their crews, and even passengers who sailed on them.  There is also a 'Grey Funnel' section. It has free registration  of a user name and password, both of which have to be in numerals only, but I can't see any way of looking at their database for trips prior to 1950. The second page of the registration is a form for entering a ship search, but I didn't have any luck as it wouldn't recognise the name of my first ship.

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     For those mariners who have an interest in the ports of London, Southampton, Liverpool, Bristol or Hartlepool, you might find something to interest you in the Port Cities site.

Looking for a photo of a ship? Try the archive of the Maritime Museum at Greenwich.

For those who regularly read the magazine 'Sea Breezes, you may be interested in their new website on www.seabreezes.co.im , which is still in the course of development.

 Photos of Sharpness and the Vindi in the mid-50's from the can be found on the website of the Francis Frith Archive. Visit this link for an aerial view of Sharpness as part of the  Millennium Mapping Project

This link will take you to the excellent MN site of Brian Probetts,  where you can post details of the ships in which you served.  There is now also another excellent general MN site,  called "All at Sea"

Thanks to Bill McPherson, for giving me to link to a site listing all the 'Empire Boats'.  All the ship historians amongst you may like to visit this list,  complied by Ted Finch.

Of interest to anyone who sailed on the 'Fort' ships or their 'Parks' and 'Ocean' cousins, is the 'Fort Ships of WW2' site of Angela DeRoy-Jones.  Angela has also given me a link to a shipping archive site in Canada, which will be of interest to anyone who sailed of the Great Lakes.

There is a Vindi page on the site of www.friendsreunited.co.uk.  Look for it in 'Gloucestershire' in the Southwest area and enter T.S. Vindicatrix, or look in the letter 'T' in the alphabetical index. There are 80 Vindi Boys listed at the moment.

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If any Vindi Boy would like to contribute details of their Vindi, Sea, and other Public Service, to Dave William's Vindicatrix National Ship Register, he would be pleased to hear from you.  This is a archive he established some years ago, to try and collect as much detail as he can about who Vindi Boys were, and what they did after their training.  David can be contacted either by e-mail or by writing to him at 3, Leigh Court, Crown Hill, Plymouth PL6 5YA Please give him as much detail as you can, including you Discharge Book number. This archive isn't online, but can be viewed at the  Sharpness  Reunion each year and copies are also held by the Branch Secretaries in the UK.

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Details of TSVA Branches are now to be found on the Branches  page 

Links to Other Vindicatrix  Sites

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