John Jones DYER - chief clerk to the Admiralty, 1857

[judb]

I realise that this is not actually about the Armed Forces, but rather about the bureaucracy that supports the RN, the Admiralty, so i hope this is the right place to ask.

My 2x great-grandfather, John Jones DYER, was chief clerk to the Admiralty, but seems to have been dismissed in 1857, along with some others holding high positions.

Newspaper reports state:

EXTRAORDINARY DOINGS AT THE ADMIRALTY
The first clerk of the Admiralty, Mr DYER, Mr John BARROW, Mr HAUGHTON and Mr MIDLANE, senior clerks have been dismissed; or, if this term be unpalatable, removed from their situations.  The step taken by the Board is said to be of such extraordinary character that it is scarcely possible to realise the truth. - Evening Paper.

This quote is from John Bull (London, England), Saturday, February 28, 1857, Issue 1,890, p.140, with similar paragraphs in The Standard (London, England), Friday, February 27, 1857, Issue 10154, p.[1] and The Newcastle Journal (Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England), Saturday, March 07, 1857

What happened?

Judith

[cath151]

Hi
There are similar reports in a couple of newspapers in April eg
Isle of Wight Mercury 4 April 1857
Strange Doings at Whitehall
"We hear of very curious proceedings at the Admiralty; chief clerks elbowed out of the office, upon the plea of old age, who are years younger than the first Lord. Others permitted to retire who would not submit to be passed over, attempts made to force out others upon the pleas of incompetency"
There is a little more in the same vein and it ends  "gross system of jobbery and favouritism, all this being done in the name of Administrative reform".

Sounds like a bit of skulduggery going on

Cathy

[judb]

Thanks Cathy. 

All very mysterious.  John Jones DYER was aged 57 in 1857.  The Mr MIDLANE, also mentioned as a senior clerk, was JJD's brother-in-law and was aged about 42 in 1857 so he, at least, was definitely younger than retirement age.  Perhaps the fact that there is a family relationship may have had something to do with it, but Mr BARROW and Mr HAUGHTON are not related at all.

Judith

[mazi]

It could be that they were being pushed out to make room for friends of Lord Halifax, the first lord.
Knowing that Palmerston's coalition was about to fail, and his job with it he may have seized the opportunity to reward people for past favours.

A bit like today

Mke

[judb]

Thanks Mke (Mike?), sounds plausible, but I guess we'll never know.

I'm not sure you're being quite fair by using current events as a comparison - seems to me t'was ever thus in politics.   

Judith

[AskRachael]

Hi Judith
I’ve been following your trails on RootsChat because we have a common ancestor in John Midlane Dyer. He was my GG GF, through my GF Maurice Howard Dyer (b 1913) and his father Maurice Midlane Dyer. Are you a descendent of Maurice Midlane as well?
I’d love to find out why JML migrated to Australia, in 1871, and how they came to live in Gembrook, where my mother was born. If you have details could you share them with me? I’m not sure how to give you my email address, being new to the site... can you advise? Best regards
Rachael

[judb]

This is very exciting to 'meet' you, Rachael, and welcome to Rootschat as well.

The PM system in R'chat only works after you've done 3 posts so you need a couple more to contact direct.  However, I see you've contacted me through Ancestry so I'll send you my email that way.

JMD is our common ancestor.  My Gfather was Ralph Septimus DYER, the youngest son of JMD and Louisa (nee WINTLE), while your ancestor Maurice Midlane DYER was the fourth child (the eldest died aged only 2),

You have probably seen my Ancestry tree (Dwyer,Ballard) and I have been able to find quite a lot about the MIDLANE family - JMD's mother was Caroline Theresa MIDLANE.

I am unsure as to why he came to Australia or why he finished up in Gembrook. Some years ago I was in contact with a descendant of one of his sisters who thought he had emigrated after some problem with inheritance from his father but this is only a story.  His father John Jones DYER  died intestate and JMD was still in the RN, and I think at sea when his father died.

One of my aunts is still alive and I'll contact her again soon.

You may have seen my other posts about the family on R'chat - search using "John Dyer Admiralty" and "John Midlane Dyer"

Cheers, Judith