I downloaded the naval record of Rupert Meller from the National Archive in the hope that I would find out when and where he was discharged. It has however raised more questions than answers.
His record shows that his 10 years’ service ran from May 1862. However, the last entry on his service record shows nothing after he joined HMS Bombay in mid 1864. I already knew that he survived a fire and subsequent sinking of this ship in December 1864 and that he continued his service. A newspaper article shows he was serving on a ship in Liverpool in 1869 and was on board ship in 1871 in Bermuda.
Can anyone shed light on what might have happened to the rest of his service record?
Also, when his 10 years were up in May 1872, the ship he was on in 1871 was still deployed along the American east coast. So when away from the UK, were discharged men given a passage home or did they just get left on the dockside, as it were, and have to organise their own way home? If organised for them would it be by commercial ship or a naval vessel?
Although he was in the UK in 1881, there is evidence from later US censuses that he first entered the US in the early 1870s suggesting that when discharged he initially stayed in the US somewhere.
Anybody any thoughts that may help me?
Simon
