Print, 'Warspite' was built as a 74-gun two-decker and launched in 1807. She served in the Napoleonic War and was decommissioned in 1815. After conversion to a 76-gun ship in 1817 she circumnavigated the world, visiting Australia. In 1840 she was reduced to a 50-gun frigate, as shown here, for service on the home station and is recorded to have visited the United States (New York) in 1842. She was then used for anti-piracy patrols in the Mediterranean until finally decommissioned in 1846. In 1862 she was lent to the Marine Society as a boys' training ship, for which she was permanently moored on the Thames between Woolwich and Charlton. Training for about 150 boys at a time was conducted over about 10 months to provide basic seamanship knowledge and discipline to be employed as Boy Seaman in either the Royal Navy or the merchant marine. In 1876 she was lost by fire and the remaining hulk sold for breaking thereafter. 'Warspite' was one in a line of Marie Society training ships. The first, originally the 'Beatty' was bought by the Society in 1786, and was renamed 'Marine Society' and moored at Deptford. This continued until the Admiralty stepped in and lent the 'Thorn' in 1799, as a replacement. In 1814, she was replaced with the 32-gun frigate 'Solebay' until 1833, and then the 'Iphigenia', until 1848. The next was 'Venus', 1848-62, which was the first moored off Woolwich. After loss of the first 'Warspite' a second was lent at Woolwich by the Admiralty from 1876 and continued as a training ship (off Greenhithe from 1901) until it was also destroyed by fire in 1918. It too was replaced and the final 'Warspite' decommissioned in 1940. [PvdM 6/17]