King George V agreed to become the ship's patron and sponsored an annual gold medal for the best cadet aboard. On 2 May 1925, Edward, Prince of Wales, inspected the boys and the ship. About a month later, she was docked to have her engines and funnel removed and her interior remodelled to create new messdecks, galleys and recreation spaces, returning to her moorings in August. In March 1935, Davis offered to sponsor a rowing competition between the cadets of General Botha and the British training ships, HMS Worcester, and HMS Conway in Britain and paid for their expenses to and from South Africa. King George V received the cadets in Buckingham Palace on 29 June shortly before the race during which they beat the cadets from Conway, but lost to Worcester. By the late 1930s, General Bothas guns and boilers had been removed and the former engine and boiler rooms converted into a gymnasium. The trust's Board of Control offered the ship to the RN with 30 days notice on 7 September 1939, the day after South Africa declared war on Germany, but the offer was declined. Nevertheless, they decided to build accommodations for the cadets ashore if the RN did decide to take them up on their offer. The RN did so in July 1942 and the boys and staff went ashore on the 28th and the ship resumed her former name shortly afterwards. She served as an accommodation ship and was used as a prison ship for at least part of her time in RN service. By the time that the RN returned her to the Board of Control, the ship was deemed uneconomical to repair and she was scuttled by gunfire from one of the local coast defence battery on 13 May 1947 in False Bay at coordinates . There exists an alumni association for those who served aboard General Botha, which has the Duke of Edinburgh as her patron. The South African Naval Museum in Simon's Town has an exhibit dedicated to the ship. See also Sailor Malan Notes References External links Photographs of HMS Thames General Botha (Old Boys Association) The South African Naval Museum Mersey-class cruisers Ships built in Pembroke Dock 1885 ships World War I naval ships of the United Kingdom Ships of the South African Navy Shipwrecks of the South African Atlantic coast HMS Thames Maritime history of South Africa Maritime