HMS Impregnable, The Hamoaze, Plymouth, Plymouth
A view of the HMS Impregnable moored in the Hamoaze at Plymouth. The Hamoaze is the estuary that flows past the Devonport Naval Dockyard. HMS Impregnable was used as a training ship for boys joining the Navy. Many of the boys were orphans or poor boys found begging on the streets. They were reported to a magistrate who then ordered them on to training ship. Parents/guardians of boys could also ask a magistrate to send them on to a ship if they felt they were 'unable to control the child'.
