Royal Navy ship 1885

[jakko]

Thanks, everyone. Seems to have excited quite a response.
Shaun J - Asia? Could be, but on other blockships etc. with a big crew changeover he has had a big record number.
Mike in Cumbria. - Doubt if it's London, Mike. The old wooden wall was scrapped in 1844 and the new battleship launched in 1899.
Locksmith - couldn't agree more. All the others are clear enough except for a squiggle in march '84 when he was a Boy 1st class.
Flattybashers. - Intriguing, that. Could be. He was single then (married in 1891) so - pure conjecture - it could be a secondment to an expedition or maybe something the navy didn't want advertised, like the startup of the new Japanese navy. It may not even be a British ship - we were building for Turkey about that time. The puzzle is that he was promoted AB in the middle of it.