HMS Monarch 1880s - In Malta

[Stob Ban]

Thank you MJ it's my pleasure.
I read that your GG Grandfather was drafted three times to HMS Excellent which is  a Shore Establishment in Portsmouth.  Still there today.  It is a Gunnery School of the highest level and ''takes no prisoners'', as the saying goes, not even dead ones.  Your ancestor was  a Leading Seaman, and a Gunnery Rating in 1884 and of course later a clearance diver.  The Gunnery Courses he took would certainly be needed as the massive guns in those days sported 18'' MK Naval Guns on board these massive ships.
The first course he took was the 14th Feb 1884, others were 1888 and 1891.  His pay would increase greatly and with the Divers course taken put him in a comfortable position, but, not too comfortable!!
Strangely, I was at HMS Excellent 80 years after your ancestor was there.  I trained as a Gunnery Instructor and did several courses thru' my career in the Royal Navy. Today, there are no big guns, no huge shells, black cordite but now just Sea Cat Missiles, Polaris Missiles and others that hide themselves in submarines.  Your ancestor, would be surprised at the least, to see the change from what it was.

[Stob Ban]

I will be in touch soon..........................Ron

[Stob Ban]

After digging down further than I expected the Royal and Army diving courses were being taught at Horsea Island, Portsmouth, not far from HMS Excellent; where I'm pretty sure Joseph would have been billeted.  This would give easy access to the Island while doing the Diving Course in 1888. His diving course was completed  on the 17th Feb. 1890.
He is written up for service on the 18th Feb.1890 to join HMS Conquest, but that same ship went ashore at Pemba Island off the Suaheli coast, East Africa; on the 15th Feb 1890.  HMS Conquest was a Cruiser, a large ship with 14 guns and the gross weight being 2,380 tons.  The Captain of the ship was Captain L. Oxley and the ship was commissioned in 1885.  The latest reports were that the ship was in a dangerous position.
Joseph I imagine would have joined the ship as the propellers were damaged somewhat; so he and among other divers would have been needed in repairing the damage.  Sadly, I have no idea when the actual date Joseph joined the ship.  But it was sometime after 18th Feb. 1890.

[MJBatten]

That's amazing that you are able to find such information out. Thank you for that. Yes, in Jan 1890 he was still on HMS Excellent when he married my gg grandmother on 25 Jan 1890. I have a medal record for him for the Ashanti Medal. Says he was on board HMS Conquest for the Vitu or Wituland Expedition on 26 Oct 1890. I tried to do a search for that expedition but nothing seems to come up apart from a very brief summary on Wikipedia. He also has the Egypt Medal (Suakin) and Khedive Star while on board HMS Briton in 1884 during the Mahdist War. I couldn't find anything that mentions what the navy did during the Mahdist War.

Many thanks,

MJ

[MJBatten]

P.S I did live in Portsea Island in 1891 before he moved to South Africa and his wife live in Southsea when they married. I guess the diving was around Portsea Island then.

[Stob Ban]

I will paraphrase in reference  to:  the Wituland Expeditions, is in accordance with the 1890 Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty on 18th June 1890.... Germany renounced it's protectorate and Britain to become part of British East Africa.
I obviously cut the Treaty short but have given you the main idea of its content....The Ashanti Medal is easy found on the computer and gives a very interesting story in why it was cast.
Well done your GG Grandfather.

My favourite place to visit while serving in the Royal Navy was spending time in Southsea.  It has the most beautiful seafront, without a doubt.  But my home base is Scotland were I now live......

[MJBatten]

I just found an article about the Ashanti campaign, mentioning it was a campaign against the Sultan of Vitu or Witu. I have attached the medal roll as he has a cross in the clasp section and I wasn't sure what that meant. Plus, it looks like the medals were sent in 1895, which is when he was out of the Navy and living in Durban. I take it he never received the medal.

I know Southsea very well too. I grew up in Weymouth and Southampton and we'd visit Southsea a lot. We'd take the hovercraft across the isle of wight to visit Blackgang Chine

MJ

[Stob Ban]

Hi MJ,
This is what I remember from my younger days in reference to the Mahdist War and I'm fairly positive there were a contingent of twelve Royal Navy Sailors that did take part in the war.  There was Captain Lord Bereford RN in charge of eleven sailors with a field gun which they put to good use against The Guided One.  Seemingly, all sailors were slaughtered with the exception of Captain Bereford.  There my memory fails me, but I'm sure, as in the movies, the good guys wins.....

[Stob Ban]

If Joseph was out the service and he never received his entitled medal there is a system where the family can apply to collect the medal on his behalf.  My friend collected two Royal Navy medals, 42 years after he left the service.  People do it all the time.  Admittedly 125 years have past but that doesn't matter; but the downside is, possibly that medal we are talking off may be defunct , i.e. no longer made.
There is one thing drew my attention, on the ships books: in the Ratings List I noticed he was rated to Petty Officer 2 Class also Coxswain 2 class.  He maintained that rank for nearly a year and in HMS Excellent he lost his rank back to Leading Seaman.  For some reason he lost that rate due to his conduct or constantly being late coming off shore, i.e. absent  without leave. Nothing unusual about that, happens all the time.