A group of 20 promising young mathematicians and scientists who trained on a collection of wooden warship hulks in Chatham exactly 100 years ago were the first of an unbroken line of skilled Navy engineer apprentices which continues to this day.

And their successors are gathering in Portsmouth over the weekend to celebrate the centenary of this select band of brothers.

The growth of the German Navy at the turn of the last century was troubling the First Sea Lord of the time, Admiral Sir John ‘Jackie’ Fisher, who feared the Continental power’s navy would overtake the Royal Navy in terms of seagoing technical expertise.

His solution was a training scheme for Boy Artificers which, in his words, “would prove second to none.”

The first 20 scholars from the Royal Hospital School duly presented themselves at HMS Tenedos and became Jackie’s first class of Tiffies.

Their experience, in spartan accommodation, with long, tedious hours in the workshop and training room, set the pattern for decades.

But their reward was fast-track promotion and a good chance of a commission as an engineer officer. Several of them went on to achieve flag rank.

The training, regarded as amongst the finest engineering training in the world, also stood them in good stead for a civilian career after they left the Service.

The Autumn 2002 association newsletter The Fisgardian reprints an article by J. Pawl from 1917 which reflects life in Fisgard III.

Silence is shattered at 6am as the sleeping Tiffies are roused, and within the half-hour the trainees wash, dress, eat breakfast and fall in for work.

Then it is off to the chilly workshops for a four-and-a-half hour stint of “arduous toil”, at the end of which a ‘pack-up bell’ sends them to the bathrooms to wash and dress for dinner.

Dinner over, the trainees troop to the smoking deck for an hour’s break – broken by orders for various groups to attend to various chores – then back for another three-and-a-half hours in the workshops.

Another wash, dress again and into the ‘Dining Hall’ where the evening meal consists of two slices of bread, one pat of butter, two ounces of jam and copious amounts of tea.

Another ‘burn’ on the smoking deck precedes two hours of technical instruction at ‘school’, on completion of which the weary apprentices creep back to Fisgard III to gnaw on impossibly hard ship’s biscuits, attend prayers and climb into their hammocks, ready to observe ‘Silence for the Rounds’ at 10pm

And although the syllabus has been dramatically overhauled as the Navy keeps abreast of advances in technology, it remains true that the academic and technical training given to Artificer Apprentices today is still one of the longest and most demanding courses in the Armed Forces.

One of Jackie Fisher’s successors noted in the 1980s that “ ... it should be borne in mind that many Artificers are as well-educated and qualified as most officers.”

Three centres of excellence were originally set up at Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth for training Engine Room Artificer Apprentices, but by the early 1920s training of all Tiffies – including the new Electrical and Ordnance Artificer Apprentices – had been concentrated in the Victorian hulks in Portsmouth which went by the name of HMS Fisgard.

It is estimated that around 30,000 apprentices have followed in the footsteps of the first 20, many claiming allegiance to the various incarnations of Fisgard – in Portsmouth (1905-31), Chatham (1932-39), Torpoint (1939-83) and Fisgard Squadron at HMS Raleigh since 1984.

Training moved ashore from the hulks in 1932 at Chatham, but a rapid rise in trainees in the build-up to war, and the need to disperse resources, led to training being split between Rosyth (later HMS Caledonia) and Torpoint (which was commissioned as HMS Fisgard).

The latter establishment took sole responsibility for all Tiffy training and branch allocation in the late 1940s, including Shipwright and Fleet Air Arm Artificers, and consequently ship names traditionally associated exclusively with engineer training – such as Tenedos and Indus – have passed into history with the exception of Fisgard, which lives on as Fisgard Squadron at Raleigh, where Tiffies receive their initial new-entry and selection training.

Classes of this select group hold regular reunions, and it was from one of them – the Grenville 1941 entry – that the idea came about for a reunion of wartime Fisgard apprentices.

It expanded to include Tiffies from any period at all, leading to the Fisgard Association, which boasts a membership of around 1,300.

Those who wish to relive their youth (and perhaps confirm – or confound – some cherished memories) can visit the Artificer Apprentice museum at HMS Raleigh by appointment; among the displays are records of exam results. Contact Fisgard Squadron on 01752 811457 for details.

For details of the Association, write to the Secretary, c/o the Royal Sailors Home Club, Queen Street, Portsmouth PO1 3HS, or see website www.fisgardassociation.org

The highlight of the centenary celebration is when 750 Tiffies from around the world will sit down to dinner at the Guildhall in Portsmouth.

A social event and coach trips (to Collingwood for ‘greenies’, to Excellent for ‘gunbusters’ and to HMS Sultan for ‘steamies’ and ‘airy-fairies’) have also been laid on.

A book is also to be published to mark the centenary – again, details are on the Fisgard website.