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What ships in which battles?

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by Sister Primrose of the Red Tinsel Flag (U5405579) on Friday, 2nd July 2010

  I've found my GGG Grandfather's naval record showing what ships he served on for what period of time via the National Archive website. I also have a document written by a now dead relative with a list of the battles GGGGF was alledgedly engaged in. Some of them seem improbable given how old he would have been, but some look feasible.
  
  Is there an easy way of ascertaining whether the ships I know him to have been onwere in the campaigns alledged?
  
  Thanks,
  
  PP

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by sinbadnick (U14506866) on Saturday, 3rd July 2010

  
  
  Hi
  As an ex Royal Navy man I think it might help
  if you could tell us what campains you are talking
  about.

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• Message 3

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  Posted by Sister Primrose of the Red Tinsel Flag (U5405579) on Saturday, 3rd July 2010

  The campaigns are the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny which are feasible and the Boxer Rising and China War, which are not but might refer to a later relative as I have naval records for a couple of others further down the family tree.
  
  PP

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• Message 4

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  Posted by colonelblimp (U1705702) on Sunday, 4th July 2010

  Just a thought but the RN was involved in fighting in China from 1857 to the early 1860s. If your GGG grandfather served in the Crimea and the Mutiny, it would have been quite feasible for him to have served in China at that period (in fact, he could have served on a ship that had left the UK for China, was diverted en route to India when the Mutiny broke out, and then went on to its original destination - that certainly happened with Army units). Is there any possibilty the family tradition could have got garbled some time in the last century, with the much later Boxer Rising being confused with, say, the Taiping Rebellion?
  
  I can't make any promises but I do have a few books on the Victorian navy to hand - if you could mention some of the ships' names you have, it might be possible to dig up some details about where they served.

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• Message 5

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  Posted by Sister Primrose of the Red Tinsel Flag (U5405579) on Sunday, 4th July 2010

  Thanks for the offer col.B.
  
  I've just had the papers out (they are copies of the documents prepared when GGGGF was trying to establish sufficient service to get a naval pension and seem to have been concocted from his memory being cross referenced with ship's logs - I don't think the individual service record was introduced until the 1870s)
  
  There is actually a gap in the record that thwarts the quest for the Crimea and Indian Mutiny but might not for the Chinese war you mention.
  
  From June 1859 he was on HMS Asia, from July 1860 on HMS Blenheim. In September 1863 he transferred to HMS Pelorus and in Feb 1864 to HMS Curacoa (those transcriptions might have a health warning on them.
  
  The gap in the record of service is between 1845 and 1859, but on the file it reads 'more than five years out' rather than '15 years out' and correspondance suggests that they believe him to have appropriate service to get the pension despite lack of documentary evidence. GGGGF was illiterate until fairly late in life so I wonder whether he just didn't remember the names of the ships but could give a good enough account to satisfy the officials. He certainly shows up on subsequent Census records as a Naval Pensioner.
  
  Anyway, any help you are able to give would be much appreciated.
  
  PP

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• Message 6

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  Posted by Hastur1 (U14272072) on Monday, 5th July 2010

  Try this link
  
  This site seems to have a lot of information about the Mid Victorian navy.
  
  Simple "google" searches using the ships names also seem to bring up a surprisingly large amount of information as well
  
  Wily C

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by colonelblimp (U1705702) on Monday, 5th July 2010

  PP,
  
  Well....looking at the site that Wily C has tracked down, and which I've gratefully saved to my favourites, it appears that (if the second pair of transcriptions can be relied on) your GGGGF joined HMS Pelorus when she commissioned at her manning port of Plymouth in September 1863. The ship went first to the East Indies, then on to China at some point in 1864, remaining there until 1868.
  
  HMS Curacoa commissioned at Portsmouth 4 months before HMS Pelorus, for Australia. She was in fact the flagship of the Australia station, and I can add (from Clowes' history of the RN) that she left Sydney for New Zealand and the Maori war on 22 September. She was still there, as far as I know, in April 1864 (her landing party certainly was). Unless HMS Pelorus made a serious detour between the East Indies and China, the two ships are unlikely to have met up with each other before your GGGGF is recorded as joining HMS Curacoa in February. However, it may be possible that HMS Pelorus supplied a draft at some point en route which was transported to New Zealand by a third ship - HMS Curacoa had landed no fewer than 232 officers and men to serve in the naval brigade, from a nominal complement of 300, so she could have used a few extra hands.

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• Message 8

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  Posted by VF (U5759986) on Monday, 5th July 2010

  Have you tried this site? Many people seem to ask about relatives who were ex "andrew" (Royal Navy) and I wouldnt be suprised if they could help you out.They may even be able to help with pictures of the aforementioned ships.
  
  
  

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• Message 9

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  Posted by MB (U177470) on Tuesday, 6th July 2010

  Try going through the old newspapers online at the 19th Century British Newspapers and The Times Digital Archive. These are available through several library's online services or in the library / archive itself. They did very detailed reporting of military matters in those days with regular reports on movements of ships.
  
  Also do some searches in Google Books, there are many downloadable or viewable 19th Century books there so you might find an account of the battle or there are also some annual reference books on the navy. Also try The Internet Archive though you can only search title and description there, not contents.
  
  MB

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• Message 10

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  Posted by Sister Primrose of the Red Tinsel Flag (U5405579) on Tuesday, 6th July 2010

  Thanks for the links, info and suggestions.
  
  PP

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