HMS Conway was a school ship moored in the River Mersey in the 19th and 20th centuries. Conway cadets were trained to become officers in the Merchant Navy.
HMS Conway vessels
Three different vessels served as the Conway school ship in the River Mersey:
- The first HMS Conway was given to the Mercantile Marine Service Association by the Navy and opened as a school on 1 August 1859.
- The first Conway was soon too small for the large number of boys applying for admission. Two years after opening the Navy replaced it with a larger ship, the fifty-one gun Winchester, which was renamed Conway.
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 The third HMS Conway | The second Conway served until 1876 when she was again replaced with a much larger ship by the Navy, the Nile. The third Conway was then the largest sailing ship ever to enter the River Mersey.
HMS Conway's founders
HMS Conway was the idea of the Mercantile Marine Service Association. This Association was created in 1857 to train boys to be officers in the Merchant Navy. Captain John Clint who had already helped to launch the Akbar as a reformatory school ship was a leading figure in this new Association.
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| HMS Conway's crew | At least one of HMS Conway’s captains trained as a cadet on the Conway himself. Captain Eric Hewitt who became captain in 1949 was a cadet from May 1919 and was awarded an ‘extra’ certificate on finishing his training in April 1921.
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