 Choules' father then arranged for him to train to join the navy instead, and in April 1915, at age 14, he joined the nautical training ship TS "Mercury".This training ship was moored on the River Hamble, near Southampton, Hampshire, and had a dormitory ship called HMS "President" that had previously been .The commander of the "Mercury" training site was the cricketer C. B. Fry, and Choules' time there included trips to Netley Hospital as part of the "Mercury"s dancing team.