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Alfred King Lewis |
Alfred King Lewis learned his carpentry skills as an apprentice to James Cornwell in West Ham in Essex and Wm. Goodchild in Poplar, Middlesex (London) between 1836 and 1840. Although his first work was building barges he became interested in the sea and signed on to the British Royal Navy Paddle Sloop "Styx" in August 1841.
In his first assignment, Alfred King Lewis signed on as Carpenters Crew or the lowest level of Carpentry available on the ship. In 1844, he was promoted to Carpenters Mate and this was his rank on discharge with a comment of (behaviour good). The post of Carpenters Mate was a Petty Officer.
The job of Carpenters Mate on Paddle Sloops and Frigates was not onerous. Alfred King Lewis spent his time caulking paddle box boats and pinnance, repairing reef heads, repairing gigs, making skylights and ladders, keeping the paddles in working order, repairing, caulking and painting the cutter, repairing the dingy, repairing hammock nettings, making dred lights for Captains cabin, making a flop studsil boom, making musket racks and arm stands, (after the Canton River Engagement) and even making a coffin as required.
Carpenters were often loaned out to other ships for brief periods of time for repair work and would sometimes join carpenters on other ships for larger jobs. The Carpenter or Carpenters Mate would join a Lieutenant to survey other ships seaworthiness and some work might come from that. Carpenters had more freedom than other crew members while in the China Sea as they were often sent off to the dock yard to work and to draw stores.
Ranks and ratings
These seamen were the so called "idlers": the bosun, carpenter, sailmaker and cook, who had specific responsbilities, did not keep watches and received highter wages. The most numerous on board though were the able seamen and ordinary seamen, who had to do the majority of the work.
Ship's Carpenter
The Carpenter was examined by apprenticeship, warranted by the Admiralty and responsible to the Navy Board. Among the warrant officers the Boatswain, Cook, Purser, Gunner and Carpenter were distinguished as 'standing officers', in principle warranted to a ship for her lifetime regardless of whether she were in commission or not. When their ship was in reserve they were borne on the Ordinary books of the dockyard, and were supposed to employ themselves aboard in the maintenance of the ship.
Petty Officer's Rating: Carpenter's Mate Warrant Rank: Carpenter Sub-Lieutenant: Chief Carpenter (1865) Lieutenant: Carpenter Lieutenant (1903) Lieutenant-Commander: Carpenter Lieutenant (1903) Commander: Shipwright Commander (1918)
Until 1918, the term Shipwright was not used for officers in the Navy, but in that year Carpenters, whose work had ceased to be entirely concerned with timber, were renamed Warrant Shipwrights. Like Boatswains and Gunners, they remained warrant officers in 1945.
Certificates of Service
Musters and Pay Books
The ship was commissioned on the day when the first captain arrived on board and read his commission. But musters distinguished between being 'under the cheque' (paid by petty warrant while preparing for sea) and 'sea victualled' (under full control of their own officers. The Muster table records when, where and by whom each weekly muster had been held. Those mustered were actually present. those chequed were noted as absent with leave for any reason except sickness, by a 'cheque' or tick against their names in the muster. Those missing without leave were likewise marked with a 'prick' or dot and included in this total. Those sick were chequed absent ashore or elsewhere on account of sickness, but not actually discharged onto the books of a hospital or hospital ship. So you could be borne for wages in one ship and victuals in another.
Conditions at Sea
Clothes were washed infrequently. After leaving England on 24 August 1845 - it wasn't until 24 December that the crew of the Vulture were allowed to wash clothes. What a Christmas gift! In March 1847, they scrubbed their hammocks and washed clothes (for the second time since leaving England). They also were employed mending their clothes. This could have been part of a general hygiene effort to combat the sickness and scurvy that was plaguing the ship at the time. Another hygienic innovation was on 1 April 1847 when the cooper was employed making a bathing tub for the stokers.
Seamens belongings and charges: Every month the purser kept an account in the muster book of the pay and expenses for items supplied to the crew. These expenses included: slop clothes, tobacco, soap and a charge for "dead and run mens effects". Slops were stocks of clothes which were sold to individual men. These slops could also include beds and waxed wrappers. It wasn't until 1857 that proper uniforms were introduced for ratings.
Food: Boiled Pork was a common food on board. This was boiled in coppers every month. Weekly supplies of beef and vegetables were also on offer (with twice the amount of beef to vegetables purchased). To celebrate Christmas 1845, the Captain opened rum and beef and pork. He also gave out half allowance of bread. The following November, the Captain opened 52 lbs of Chocolate.
Scurvy was still a problem in the Royal Navy as reflected in the Vulture Ships log of 22 March 1847, "getting up casks of peas for scurvy" and the increasingly freqent reports of men sent to the hospital ship in Hong Kong. This attack of scurvy barely pre-dated the Canton River Engagement of 1 April 1847. Food was included in the celebration of the successful engagement on Saturday, 3 April 1847 when pork, chocolate, sugar and tea were opened.
Discipline The two Captains (Vidal and MacDougall) which Alfred King Lewis served under reflected two quite different philosophies of discipline. Capatin Vidal of the STYX never flogged or disrated his crew. The only sign of disturbance in his logs occured in Woolwich when 4 men deserted. This may be due to the brief sea voyages and freqent returns to London which allowed the men liberty at home.
Discipline on the Vulture under MacDougall was entirely different. Liberty was only given once a week (on Sundays) and that only when the ship was in Hong Kong.
- Beginning in December 1846, discipline became a problem and the first instance of lashing is recorded, "Christopher Uplow (AB) with 24 lashes for drunkenness and mutinous conduct".
- A month later, on 14 January, "Punished John Andrews (Boy) with 24 lashes for repeated behaving in an disrespectful and contemptible manner to his superior officers."
- The lashings were followed (after the Canton River Engagement) in May 1847 by, "Disrated John Chapman, captains coxswain, for disobedience of orders and contempt to his superior officer."
- And, on 2 June, "Disrated Mr James black, midshipman, to naval cadet for disobedience of orders and drunkenness".
- In October, J. Highes (Boy 2nd Class) took a dingy without permission and was returned to ship by the police constable.
- 14 December, "Punished J Gattens with 4 lashes for drunkenness on duty at Canton and striking sergeant Baker whilst in that state"
- On 9 January 1848, "Punished Richard Newton (Stoker) with 36 lashes for repeated disobedience of orders and neglect of duty. conducting himself in a contemptuous manner and making use of mutinous expressions"
- The Vulture then returns to England and the lashings stop.
On land again
REFERENCES
- Bevan, A. & Duncan, A. Tracing your ancestors in the public record office. London, HMSO. 1992
- Christopher T, and Michael J. Watts, My Ancestor was a Merchant Seaman , Society of Genealogists, London, 1989.
- Marcome, David. The Victorian Sailor.Shire Album, 131. Shire Pub. England, 1985
- Public Record Office, Kew Gardens, London: ADM53 (3395, 3396, 3397, 3398, 3399), ADM38/9303 and 1901-1903, 9111, ADM51/3686, 3741, ADM 54/334, 336, 338.
- Rodger, N.A.M. Naval records for genealogists.Public Record Office Handbook no. 22. London 1988
created by Cheryl L. Morgan,
last modified: 27 December 1999