Royal Marines and the Coast Guard c1800-1860 - William Fowler, 1st Lieut. RM

[km1971]

Remember there was peace between 1802 and 1803. Probably why he was put on half pay. He may well have been active again 1803/04. Army Lists?

Added: Were there 1st and 2nd Lieutenants? I thought  the ranks were Lieutenant, Captain, Major etc, seniority being established by date of commission.

The information was from 1850. So if he was active after 1802 they would give the last date he went onto half-pay.

The list covers all branches of the army and RMs, so they only the generic heading 'Cornet etc' and Lt. With 2nd Lt, Sub Lt, Cornet and Ensign being equal.

Ken

[SteveKNS]

The list covers all branches of the army and RMs, so they only the generic heading 'Cornet etc' and Lt. With 2nd Lt, Sub Lt, Cornet and Ensign being equal.

Thanks for the clarification, Ken - I've not delved much into military history until now, so I've learned a lot over the last day. I'm still a bit puzzled about why William Fowler was still in the RM right up until his early 80s, even though he wasn't on active service. From looking at the Navy List, it seems that there were quite a few "old-timers" on half-pay, so maybe that was a more attractive prospect than taking retirement? Or maybe he didn't qualify for a pension as it seems he'd been on half-pay for most of his career (since 1802).

Steve

[crimea1854]

Unlike the army, where commissions were purchased, advancement in the Royal Navy was on merit, and a degree of patronage. This means that an army officer’s commission could be sold when he wanted to resign/retire generating quite large sums of money. In the navy an officer could resign his commission, but this meant relying on an alternative means of income, which was not always readily available to all but the wealthiest. As a result naval officers were placed on half-pay, this acted as a retainer, meaning if a post did became vacant they could be brought back onto the active list. So unless a man resigned or was Court Martialled he remained on half pay until his death.   

Martin

[km1971]

I have checked an Army List from the 1820s and the Royal Marines did not use Sub Lt. They had 2nd Lt and then 1st Lt. He is listed on half-pay as a 1st Lt.

As RN/RM commissions were not purchased a retiring officer had to stay on the H-P list.

Ken

[SteveKNS]

Thanks, Martin/Ken - I'd heard of the meritocracy in the Navy but wasn't sure whether this applied to the Marines. I'd also noticed that some very senior officers had retired on full pay, but that didn't seem to apply to the junior ranks. Much appreciate the clarifications - I understand now why William was in the RM for 60+ years. I guess it also explains why William remained a 1st Lieutenant for the remainder of his career i.e. if he wasn't on active service then he wouldn't have been able to gain enough experience to prove himself worthy of a promotion.

Steve

[hoodener]

Hi I'm a descendant of Thomas Bryant claringbold,willam fowlers father in law
And would like to know more about him as he would be a how ever many great
Uncle of mine.

[hoodener]

Hi Steve can't seem to send you private message  will copy the roots chat info for now

 I'm on ancestry I think?
 all the best
Aaron janes

[Svenja]

Hi Steve

I haven't found William, or his wife, in the census returns yet and I have a sneaking suspicion that they may have lived in Dunkirk for a while (their daughter Eliza moved there about 1840 - she married a local innkeeper in October 1840). William's wife, Mary Ann, is thought to have died in Ostend sometime before 1867.

Do you have the marriage record of the daughter Eliza of Dunkirk and the death record of William's wife Mary Ann of Ostende? The marriage record could contain the place where her parents lived at that time and the occupation of her father.

I have just found the marriage entry at Dunkerque (Online Archives of the Archives
départementales du Nord) Dunkerque mariages 1830-1845, page 507 on the left side

http://www.archivesdepartementales.lenord.fr/?id=etat_civil

William Fowler, officier de la marine anglaise, demeurant à Cork en Irlande
Marie Anne Claringbold, décédée à Ostende

It  also says that Eliza already had a child named André Thomas Fowler, born in Ostende, Flandern 17.12.1830.

Birth record of Andreas Thomas Fowler, Oostende 17.12.1830
https://www.oostende.be/file_uploads/17512.pdf

Death record of a person named Fowler 19.02.1830
I only saw it in the index but couldn't find the record.
There is a remark on the index which I can't decipher.

https://www.oostende.be/file_uploads/17711.pdf

I also searched for a death with surname Claringbold and found the following record:

20.03.1834 Marianna Clarington, born in Kent, England, wife of Henricus Fowler,
lieutenant of the "Engelsche See-Macht" what means the English Marine.

https://www.oostende.be/file_uploads/17715.pdf

Regards
Svenja

[sarah]

Hi Aaron,

You should be ok now you have made a couple of posts 

Sarah