A lot has changed since the young boys of the Arethusa trained together, but decades later their bond remains as strong as ever.

The Arethusa Old Boys Association held its 25th annual reunion at the Arethusa Venture Centre in Lower Upnor, with about 70 of the elderly members.

Men and their families came together on Saturday, some from as far as New Zealand, America and Spain, to share memories and catch up as well as take part in a commemorative service.

David Bunce, 82, was on the Arethusa training ship from 1946-48 before embarking on a career in the Merchant Navy.

He has fond memories of his time on board and said: “There’s a great bond among the ex-Arethusa boys and we often go out there, stand together and imagine the ship is still on the river.”

The Arethusa started life as a Royal Navy sailing vessel in 1849, but during the Second World War it was used as a dormitory ship at Chatham and then as a Royal Navy training ship.

Once decommissioned, the Arethusa was passed from the Royal Navy to charity Shaftesbury Homes to provide refuge and give schooling to children who had been sleeping rough on the streets of London.

It trained the young boys for a career in the Royal Navy or Merchant Navy and was based at Lower Upnor on the Medway.

Mr Bunce, who lives in Dorking, Surrey, said: “My group was known as ‘the Scallywags’ because we were the ones who didn’t join the Royal Navy, we joined the Merchant Navy.

“But I would have said that 95% went into the Royal Navy from the Arethusa.”

“A lot of the lads joined the navy because you had six months of seniority. We’d already had seamanship and signalling training as well as an education.

“In 1946, schooling generally finished at 14-15 years old but at the Arethusa you had it up to 16.”