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| Photograph showing HMS Conway & the Akbar |
Ships converted into floating schools for training boys for a life at sea were a common sight in the River Mersey from the 1830s to the 1950s. This section of the site looks at four ships which taught thousands of boys from different backgrounds. The Akbar and The Clarence were both reformatory ships for boys who had been in trouble with the law. HMS Conway trained boys from better off backgrounds to be officers in the Merchant Navy whilst the Training Ship Indefatigable was for poor and orphaned boys whose fathers were seamen. These ships made a valuable contribution to the life of the port of Liverpool. They helped boys from difficult social backgrounds to gain the skills necessary for a life at sea. The schools closed as demand for merchant seamen declined after the Second World War. | 
