The Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News, Sept 6, 1879
The former naval gunship was moored off Bangor pier in Gwynedd for over 40 years from 1877. The wooden vessel was used as a training ship boys who were orphans or had been in trouble.
Book: The 'Clio' 1877-1920 : a study of the functions of an industrial training ship in North Wales
The HMS CLIO was a wooden 22-gun Pearl-class corvette built at Sheerness Dockyard and launched on August 28, 1858. Her first commission was on the Pacific Station (a geographical division where the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities). Bad weather forced her return to England where she was placed in the reserve fleet. Later, HMS CLIO became the flagship of the Australia Station in 1870. However, in 1871, she struck an uncharted rock in Bligh Sound, South Island of New Zealand and was beached to prevent sinking. After temporary repairs, she reached Wellington, where she was further repaired before to sailing on to Sydney for dry-docking. In 1873, her flagship pennant was handed on and she return to the UK. In 1877, was stationed on the Menai Strait at Bangor, Wales and opened as a training ship for some 260 “pupils” (15% local the rest from Northern England - Cheshire/Manchester). After becoming a training ship, her original engine and boiler rooms were removed to make more space for the boys. The ship was permanently moored off Bangor’s pier head until she was scrapped in 1920.
Locked
