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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: bobforan on Thursday 20 December 18 18:07 GMT (UK)
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My wife's great grandfather, Henry Shaw Wyllie 1852-1919, wrote about his life as a midshipman on the HMS Lord Warden possibly 1867-1869. He mentions ports such as Malta Palermo Triest Pola Ancoma Jaffa & Beirut. Previous to this he was a cadet at the British Royal Naval College in Dartmouth 1866-1867. I would be grateful to see a list of crew for the Lord Warden at this time (Wyllie mentions several). I would also be interested in any other stories about life on the ship. Thanks.
Bob Foran Connecticut USA
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I can't help much with your actual enquiry, but if your man was still with the Lord Warden in 1870, so was my great-grandfather. He was with the ship from 1870 until the end of his service in 1874, as Captain's cox'n then Admiral's cox'n. For part of that time the ship was flagship of the Medterranean Fleet. I think that would make him a chief petty officer?
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How interesting. What was your great grandfather's name? They may have just missed each other.
H S Wyllie probably left the navy in 1869 as "the discipline began to irk him" according to family lore. His father sent him away to Assam India to run a tea plantation.
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He was William Pay - the only mildly interesting ancestor I have! Your man obviously had richer relatives than he did. It seems from the places you mentioned that he was with the ship in the Med. but just before my gr. grandfather.
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Henry Wyllie lived in Sandgate, Kent & married a girl from Ivychurch (against his father's wishes). His tea plantation in Assam failed after 10 years. He ran an orange plantation in Florida (it failed). He ended up as a tour guide for the old fort San Marcos in Saint Augustine. He was a bit of an "eccentric" but an incredible artist, mapmaker & writer. I have placed his memoires of life on the Lord Warden on dropbox if you are interested.
Bob
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I would also be interested in any other stories about life on the ship. Thanks.
Bob Foran Connecticut USA
Quite a few mentions covering the period here
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q=HMS+lord+warden+
If he was the sort of seaman who required “discipline” he is likely to be named in the logs :)
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You are absolutely right. Thanks for the tip.
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Not much about him in the naval records. Cadet from 2 May 1866, assigned to Britannia.
"Deprived of one month's time by capt of Lord Warden for misconduct ao 11 Aug 68"
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7589737
https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBM/ADM196/18/0/0433&parentid=GBM/ADM196/11021
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Thanks so much. The misconduct charge is actually the first proof outside family lore, that H S Wyllie was on the HMS Lord Warden. He probably quit the navy shortly thereafter. His father & 3 uncles were in the HEIC military in India and probably pulled a few strings to get Henry off the hook.
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Britannia was the residential barracks ship for cadets at Dartmouth at that time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Britannia_(1820)