Christmas cards

At the December meeting David Riches of the Friend of Weymouth Museum showed us a selection of  beautifully coloured Christmas Card from the Museum’s collection,, which was much enjoyed. There was then a buffet provided by the members.

A Sailor in the Victorian Navy

At the January meeting we were entertained by Alan Brown who spoke on “A sailor in the Victorian Navy”. The sailor in question was his 2 x Great Grandfather, William George Orchard. William was born and baptised in Preston in 1849. He joined the Royal Navy as a boy sailor in 1866. William signed his name, but his father John only wrote an X against his name.  His Record of Service papers included a good description, colouring height etc. this was updated regularly during his service, so that if he went AWOL they would have a chance of catching him. During his 6 years and 355 days in the navy he grew several inches. Alan had a very detailed account of his ancestor’s service life including the many accidental deaths on board a ship at that time as well as the frequent punishments. On 13^th July 1867 whilst serving on HMS Daphne he was present at the Spithead Fleet Review attended by Queen Victoria. HMS Daphne was at one time was in the Indian Ocean trying to stamp out the east African slave trade, the ship rescued over 2000 slaves from August 1867 to May 1870. William was entitled to a share in the Dhows which had been captured with the slaves. In May 1871 he was on leave getting married at Wyke Regis. On 29^th July 1872 he was aboard HMS Achilles which took part in the ceremony for the laying of the last stone of the Portland Breakwater, which the Prince of Wales attended. There must have been much celebrating as the next day there were many punishments in the ships logs. This included William receiving 42 days in jail, which meant he missed the birth of his daughter. Alan had discovered that although there were deductions for clothing etc. the men’s wages were reasonable. On 8^th May 1874 William was discharged from the Navy with the reason given as “latest accident”. He had six children and ended up living in Weymouth where he was a luggage porter at the Station with his own cart.    

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