Inherited Craziness
A place to share all the nuts found on my family tree

Showing posts with label Naval Review at Spithead 1856. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Naval Review at Spithead 1856. Show all posts

Sunday 4 February 2024

Thomas Bailey and Lucy Elizabeth Ann Fudge

Stonehouse Barracks - Archway entrance
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © N Chadwick - geograph.org.uk/p/4896492

Thomas Bailey (b. 1833) married Lucy Fudge (b. 1836), daughter of Thomas Fudge and Ann Beedle, at the Church of Saint GeorgeEast Stonehouse, Plymouth on 4 Feb 1856. Originally a chapel-of-ease to Saint Andrew's Church in Plymouth (where Lucy's parents married), St George's was destroyed in the Second World War. At this time, Thomas Bailey was a Seaman with HMS Bulldog (1845) and lists his father as Thomas Bailey, Private Royal Marines, as was Lucy's father, Thomas Fudge, Mariner.

As yet, I've not seen a naval record for Thomas Bailey, however, HMS Bulldog, was on that exact date, 4 Feb 1856, in Devonport, in Keyham Basin. She'd just returned from the Baltic Sea from the Russian War (Crimean War) and on 23 Apr 1856, was present at the Fleet Review, Spithead. If Thomas Fudge was still on that ship in April, he was the third of my relatives to be there.

Thomas and Lucy had four children:
  1. William Henry Bailey b. 1856 D Q in EAST STONEHOUSE
  2. Louisa Ann Bailey b. 1858 D Q in EAST STONEHOUSE Vol 05B P 270
  3. Lucy Bailey b. 1861 M Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 327. Died, aged 3, in 1864 M Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 270 and is buried at Ford Park Cemetery, Plymouth.
  4. Thomas Simon Oliver Bailey b. 1 Oct 1869 in STOKE DAMEREL
In 1861, Thomas Baily (sic) (27) was living in Adelaide Place, East Stonehouse, Plymouth with wife Elizabeth Baily (sic) (23), which appears to be them. Daughter Ann (Louisa Ann) was staying with her grandparents.

In 1871, Thomas Bailey (38) Naval Pensioner, was living in Mount Street, Stoke Damerel with Lucy Bailey (36), William Bailey (14) and Thomas Bailey (1). Louisa Ann [Anne] (13) was once again living with her grandparents, although listed as their daughter and listed under the surname Fudge.

Thomas Bailey of 40 Edgcumbe Street, Stonehouse, died, aged 41, in 1874 J Quarter in EAST STONEHOUSE Volume 05B Page 209, and he was buried at Ford Park Cemetery, Plymouth on 19 May 1874.

In 1881, Elizabeth Bailey (44) Widow, Green Grocer, was residing at 47, Edgcumbe Street, East Stonehouse with daughter Annie L (Louisa Ann) (22) Assistant Grocer, son Thomas Bailey (11) and Frances M Grey (17) Servant.

In 1891, Lucy Bailey (53) Green Grocer in Edgcumbe Street, living with her were son William Bailey (33) Seaman Royal Navy; daughter Annie (Louisa Ann) Hooper (31) Dressmaker; son-in-law Richard Hooper (37) from Cornwall, Royal Marine; daughter-in-law Jane Bailey (27); granddaughter Lucy M Bailey (0); grandson Thomas Hooper (3) and Carrie Hill (13) Visitor.

In 1901, Lucy E A R Bailey (65) Widow, had become an Innkeeper, at 48, Edgcumbe Street, East Stonehouse. Unfortunately, there are several drinking establishments in Edgcumbe Street among Public Houses, Inns & Taverns of East Stonehouse, so I haven't been able to discover its name. Living with her was youngest son, Thomas S O Bailey (31) Ship's Corporal Royal Navy.

Lucy Elizabeth Ann Regan Bailey (no idea where the Regan came from) of 1 Durnford Street, Stonehouse, died on 10 Nov 1910, she will have been 74. Probate was granted on 25th of the same month, in Exeter, with beneficiaries being Thomas Simon Oliver Bailey, Annie Louisa Hooper and Richard Hooper.

Ford Park Cemetery
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © N Chadwick - geograph.org.uk/p/4958844
Ford Park Cemetery is a 34.5-acre cemetery in central Plymouth, established by the Plymouth, Stonehouse & Devonport Cemetery Company in 1846 and opened in 1848. Its official name at the time of inception was The Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse Cemetery.

Friday 10 November 2023

James Henry Tubb and Susannah Bussey

HMNB Portsmouth and HMS Victory
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © David Dixon - geograph.org.uk/p/4091430

James Henry Tubb (b. 1 Apr 1834), son of William Tubb and Sarah Ruff, married Susannah Bussey, daughter of Benjamin Bussey and Elizabeth Bowen, on 10 Nov 1857, at the secondSt. Mary's Church, Portsea

James and Susannah had six children: 
  1. Sarah Elizabeth Tubb b. 1858 S Quarter in PORTSEA ISLAND Volume 02B Page 337, bap. 6 Feb 1859 at St Mary's Church, Portsea. (Sarah Elizabeth Tubb married Alfred Burgess Tregurtha on 12 Feb 1883. Sarah died on 25 Feb 1946. Both are buried at Williamstown Cemetery.)
  2. James Alfred Tubb b. 24 Dec 1861, GRO Reference: 1862 M Quarter in PORTSEA ISLAND Volume 02B Page 424, bap. 23 Feb 1862 at St Mary's Church, Portsea. (James Alfred Tubb married Evelyn Winch. James Alfred Tubb died on  23 Nov 1918 (aged 56) and is buried at Williamstown CemeteryWilliamstown, Victoria, Australia.)
  3. William Henry Tubb b. 1863 D Quarter in SOUTHAMPTON Volume 02C Page 8, bap. 1 Jan 1865 at All Saints' Church, Southampton (regularly attended by author Jane Austen while she lived in Southampton and Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir John Everett Millais was baptised there.) Not included in the family grave in Australia, there was, a William Henry Tubb of the right vintage, who may have returned to Portsmouth.
  4. George Ernest Tubb b. 1866 J Qtr in SOUTH STONEHAM Vol 02C 65, bap. 8 Jul 1866, as George Emett Tubb, in Freemantle. Married Margaret Curtis, in Victoria, Australia in 1891. George Ernest Tubb, son of James Henry and Susan Tubb, died in Rylstone, New South Wales, in 1938.
  5. Nelly Tubb b. 1868 M Quarter in PORTSEA ISLAND Volume 02B Page 471. (Nelly Tubb married Walter Beverley Wood in Victoria, Australia, in 1890. Nelly Wood died, aged 25-26, on 12 Apr 1895.)
  6. Minnie Beatrice Tubb b. 1877 in Australia. (Minnie Beatrice Tubb married Henry John Manderson. Minnie died on 6 Jul 1967.)
James Tubb, from Landport, Hants, born 1 Apr 1834, 5ft 8in tall, with fair complexion, brown hair and grey eyes, had enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Boy First Class at 16, in 1850. James Tubb (16), Sailor was listed on the 1851 census in his parent's house, in Marylebone Street, Portsea.

James Henry Tubb's Naval Career: 
The Russian (Crimean War) War of 1854 - 1856:
This is the second of my relatives to have served in the Baltic during the Crimean War and also the second to have taken part in the 1856 Royal Fleet Review, Spithead. At the review, the HMS Duke of Wellington was at the head of the Port line, while, according to the report in the The Illustrated London News, 26 April 1856, "Abreast of the Port line the Royal George led the Starboard [...] Then came the Nile ..." So not only were both sides of my family represented at the 1856 Royal Fleet Review, they were on both sides of the line and their ships were almost side-by-side. Incredible.
HMS Marlborough in Valletta harbour, sometime between 1858 and 1864.

  • From 9 Feb 1858 until 22 Mar 1861, HMS Marlborough (1855) which will have taken him back to the Mediterranean. Feb 1858 Commissioned, Delayed sailing 128 days due to a lack of men. 1860 Flag Ship, Mediterranean. 22 Mar 1861 Paid off.
In 1861, James Tubb (27) Seaman RN, was listed as living in Landport View, Portsea, with wife Susan Tubb (26) and daughter, Sarah Tubb (2).
  • From 23 Mar 1861 to 14 Apr 1862 back at HMS Excellent.
  • From 15 Apr 1862 through to 7 Aug 1866, James was with HMS Boscawen (1844), which from Feb/Mar of 1862 had been hulked as a Boys training ship in Southampton Water. (This explains son William Henry Tubb's baptism taking place in Southampton, in 1865.)
  • A third stint at HMS Excellent from 8 Aug 1866 to 5 Oct 1867.

Taken at Williamstown, Victoria,
between 1870 and 1879.
Port broadside view of the wooden
steam battleship HMVS Nelson.
Then from 6 Oct 1867 to 14 Feb 1868, James was with HMS Nelson (1814). Given his history, I'd first thought they'd mean the shore establishment of the same name, but it was, in fact, an actual ship. Nelson was given to the colony of Victoria, and sailed for Australia in October 1867, thus James was on that handover voyage. Clearly, this also gave him the opportunity to see that part of Australia that the family would later make their home.

Back in Portsmouth between 15 Feb 1868 and 1 Mar 1869, James was, once more, assigned to HMS Victory shore establishment. 

James' final assignment, from 2 Mar 1869 until his retirement from the Royal Navy on 31 Dec 1870, was with HMS Duke of Wellington (1852), at which time she replaced HMS Victory as flagship of the Port Admiral at Portsmouth (with Victory becoming her tender), her duties consisting of firing salutes to passing dignitaries, such as Queen Victoria on her way to Osborne House. As a Gunner's Mate since 6 Sep 1860, James may even have helped fire those salutes.

In 1871, Susan Tubb (37) Seaman's wife, was living at 11 Besant Terrace, Portsea with Sarah (12), James (9), William (7), Ernest (5) and 'Millie' (Nelly) (3).

''Queen of Nations'' by Richard Ball Spencer

On 19 Mar 1873, Susan Tubb (38), Sarah E (14), James A (10), Wm Hy (9), George E (6) and Nelly (4), departed from Plymouth, Devon, England, on the clipper, Queen of Nations. They arrived in Melbourne after a journey of around 140 days. (I've [so far] not seen a record of how James Henry got back to Australia, but I wouldn't mind betting he worked his passage.)

Susan Tubb (née Bussey) died on 20 Aug 1912 and is buried in Williamstown CemeteryWilliamstown, Victoria, Australia. She will have been 80.

James Henry Tubb died on 8 Nov 1922, and is also buried in Williamstown CemeteryWilliamstown, Victoria, Australia. He will have been 88.

The Family Grave of J H Tubb at Williamstown Cemetery, Victoria, Australia Photo: Suzy & Rob

Sunday 23 April 2023

Fleet Review, Spithead 23 Apr 1856

Review of the Fleet at Spithead by the Queen, April 23, 1856

On Wednesday, 23 April 1856 (St. George's Day) a "Great Naval Review", by Queen Victoria, of the fleet being prepared for the 1856 Baltic campaign was held at Spithead to celebrate the end of the war - The Russian (Crimean War) War of 1854 - 1856. To discover that one of my relatives had served in that war and took part in the Fleet Review of 1856 was something: to find that there were two of them there, one each from my father's side of the family and the other from my mother's side was a major surprise.

My 2x great-grandfather on my father's side, Thomas Jones, was at the Spithead Review, serving as a Petty Officer on HMS Duke of Wellington.

James Henry Tubb, meanwhile, who was the nephew of Edward Tubb whose daughter married into a branch of my mother's family, had also served during that war, both in the Black Sea, as well as in the Baltic, and was also present at the Fleet Review aboard HMS Nile (1839).

HMS Duke of Wellington was at the head of the Port line, while, this report on the Review in the The Illustrated London News, 26 April 1856 adds, "Abreast of the Port line the Royal George led the Starboard, gigantic in proportions as the Duke, if not as elegant in form. Then came the Nile.

So both sides of my family were represented, on both sides of the line, almost side-by-side. (It was even more of a surprise when I found a third.)

Saturday 1 January 2022

Thomas Jones' goes to war in the Baltic 1854-1856

HMS Duke of Wellington in drydock at Keyham, Devonport Dockyard, 5 Mar 1854

Thomas Jones, I imagine, must have been happy to get the equivalent of a desk job - or at least become captain of his own rowing boat - for the Coast Guard Service, which allowed him to stay at home and have some family life. It cannot have been easy to marry in 1844, then go off to sea for three years. He won't have seen his daughter, Mary Ann, until she was around 2 years old. 

At Sutton Bridge, in 1849 and 1850, Thomas and his wife Mary added two sons and, at Baltimore, West Cork, they added another daughter and son, in 1851 and 1853, respectively. Then along came the Crimean War

Whether he volunteered or was required to do so, Thomas Jones then joined the crew of HMS Duke of Wellington (1852) on 14 Feb 1854, as a Petty Officer First Class - sufficient to distinguish him from ordinary ratings. (The timing of which means that Thomas could well be 'in the photo' (somewhere inside the ship) at the time the above photo was taken on 5 Mar 1854.)

Thomas' 4th son and namesake was born, in 1854, after he'd sailed, so he won't have met this child either until he was around 2 years old. And, one must remember, Thomas was going to war: no guarantee he ever would. 

On 11 Mar 1854 Duke of Wellington, it's reported, departed Spithead (which infers that she had sailed from Plymouth to Portsmouth during the intervening six days), with the fleet, for the Baltic, where, on 15 Apr 1854 she captured Russian brig Patrioten [Prize Money per London Gazette of 21 Jul 1857].

On 13 Jun 1854 the French fleet joined the British in the Baltic at Baro Sound. On 10 Aug 1854 guns were landed and sent up to the British battery, under officers from the EdinburghDuke of Wellington, and Euryalus.

The Bombardment of Sveaborg, 9 August 1855 by John Wilson Carmichael
Duke of Wellington is 2nd from left, with Thomas' previous ship, from his expedition to China during the First Opium WarHMS Belleisle (1819), alongside on the far left.

On 9-11 Aug 1855Duke of Wellington was involved in the Bombardment of Sveaborg, a.k.a. Battle of Suomenlinna, during the Åland War:

"British and French naval forces consisting of 77 ships arrayed for the long-expected battle on 6 August 1855. They formed into a battle line more than 3 km off shore beyond the range of the defenders' obsolete artillery. Three days later the bombardment commenced. It continued for 47–48 hours. All the while, the attacker sat beyond the range of the defenders' guns. The British and French bombarded only the fortress of Viapori and avoided firing at the town of Helsinki directly. While the bombardment caused damage to the structures above ground, including to several gunpowder magazines which exploded, the bulk of the defending forces survived unscathed with their weaponry intact, leading to a draw stalemate." 

After the bombardment, the Anglo-French fleet sent no troops ashore and instead set sail for Kronstadt. Then, with little more fanfare, Duke of Wellington is listed, on 4 Feb 1856, "At Spithead".

Review of the Fleet at Spithead by the Queen, April 23, 1856

On 23 Apr 1856 Present at Fleet Review, Spithead; under Captain Caldwell CB. From February until April, one imagines, were several weeks of scrubbing, polishing and painting every component of the vessel until it was 'shipshape'. 

In April 1856 the first recorded evening illumination of the fleet took place.

The Illustrated London News, 26 April 1856 reported the event:

"On Saturday, after some days spent in evolutions of a preparatory nature, the fleet anchored in a stately line, with the Duke of Wellington at its head, bearing the Admiral's (Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Saunders Dundas, KCB) ensign." [...] "At the head of this imposing squadron was the Duke of Wellington, her 131 ports shining in the sun, which showed her chequered sides, bright with paint." [...] "The Queen's yacht, emerging from the surrounding smoke, proceeded rapidly past Fort Monckton, meeting everywhere the same enthusiastic reception, and, having rounded into a position to return down the centre line, entered the squadron of gun-boats, disposed in double rows on each side of her course, and majestically proceeded on her way. She glided past the small vessels of the flotilla, passed steam-frigates of various strength and speed, passed the giant screw line-of-battle ships, till she reached the Duke of Wellington, greeted in all directions by the most enthusiastic cheers." 

What a finale for such a fascinating career. It will have been a proud moment.

HMS Duke of Wellington - Guide 272

NextThomas Jones' posting to Baltimore, Cork 1851-1868

Further reading: 

  1. Star of the show: HMS Duke of Wellington (1852)
  2. HMS Duke of Wellington (launched as Windsor Castle, 1852)
  3. Royal Navy ranks, rates, and uniforms of the 18th and 19th centuries
  4. Life at sea in the age of sail