significance of "7 years on board a King's ship"

[LouisaHills]

One of my ancestors, Edward Edwin Blythe was convicted of felony in 1832, and the conviction record mentions "about 7 years on board a king's ship" in the description of him. Does anyone know what this might refer to? Neither Ancestry nor Findmypast list any military records for him, and for most of his life he was a baker by trade. Between his numerous court appearances, the only gap long enough to be relevant is between 1821, when he went bankrupt in Liverpool, and 1827, when he was living in London and had his trousers stolen. There don't seem to have been any particular naval engagements at that time for which he could have been press-ganged. Can anyone suggest anywhere that I could look for further information? Many thanks.

[Jebber]

Perhaps as a result of his conviction he had to serve his sentence on a prison  hulk.

[stanmapstone]

Deleted  not him
Stan

[LouisaHills]

He was sentanced to transportation, but that appears on a different part of the document. This bit about the king's ship appears in the same part of the form as his physical description, education and trade, so I assume it relates to his history rather than his sentence.

[Rena]

What about serving on the king's ship from when he was about 9 or 10 years old until he was about 17 years old - his job being in the galley learning how to cook.

Would that time frame fit?

[garstonite]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_prison_hulks

prisons were overcrowded - so Hulk Ships were introduced -
look down the list for dates to match Edward Edwin Blythe and see if there is any info
I have just looked up Old Mersey Times - newspaper reports for the Liverpool area - you could have a look through that as well
http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/
good luck

[LouisaHills]

In this instance he was sent to the General Penitentiary at Millbank rather than a hulk, and he was only there for one year before he received a pardon. I guess he could have been on a prison ship earlier in life, although I would have thought that that would have been listed as 'previously imprisoned for ...'

I had not considered the possibility that he served as a boy/teenager - so thank you for that. I will check out the Old Mersey Times too. Any further suggestions? I'm curious to know if there is anything specific about a 'King's ship' rather than just 'about seven years on board a ship.'

Many thanks

[ShaunJ]

The "King's Ships" were the Royal Navy.  HMS = His Majesty's Ship.

[garstonite]

Was that Millbank in Liverpool ??