Man of War

Chimp

Chimp

Moderator & Cheeky Human IMP
Staff member
Got this from the papers, Harry was my grandfather's half brother.

Bromsgrove & Droitwich Messenger 18 May 1895

CHARGE AGAINST A SON.—Harry Drayton (16), of High-street, was charged with stealing an enamelled shilling and case, the property of his father.—Campbell Simeon Drayton, the father, said he missed an enamelled jubilee shilling and case which was sent to him by a customer. He suspected his son and tasked him with it, but he denied the theft. He ascertained where defendant had changed the shilling, and sent for the police. Afterwards the boy shewed witness the place where he had concealed the case, near the back door. The lad had been sent to the Gordon Boys Home by the Rector, but had misbehaved himself there, and he came back home. He did not wish to press the case against him, as he would make arrangements to send him to an uncle, and endeavour to get him on a man of war. The Bench bound the lad over for six months to come up for judgment if called upon.

Poor lad didn't last long at his uncles, he was killed in a shunting accident on 27 Aug 1898.

What was a 'man of war'
 
I immediately thought of a ship - one with cannons and fighting men, so frog-marching him into the Navy?

Did the uncle live close to the sea?

Mind you, it looks like he didn't go if he was killed on land. :(
 
No he lived in Halesowen, Worcestershire, about as far from the sea as you can get. He was sent to his uncles in Frodingham, Lincolnshire, and died in the cottage hospital there.

I really should read the reply before answering. You asked where the uncle lived :rolleyes:
 
It's possible the 'man of war' referred to one of the training ships located off the coast of the UK, where young lads could be sent from workhouses, children's homes and the like, where they would be given a grounding in looking after themselves and learn all about seamanship. These training ships were usually redundant wooden Naval vessels, or men of war, which were no longer fit for fighting battles but were ideal for their new life. There's a brief outline of life on these ships at
Code: 
http://www.childrenshomes.org.uk/TS/
 
In Australia a man of war is a blue bottle jelly fish with extremely long tentacles that wrap around your bare legs and sting like crazy, causing huge welts and found on the east coast. Another stingy thing we have. :eek:
 
Archie's Mum said:
They are. Blue bottle is just what we call them. Nasty things.
Click to expand...
Ever the pedant, from The Australian Museum "The Bluebottle, Pacific-man-o-war (Physalia utriculus),is found in marine waters in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The only other species, Physalia physalis, the Portuguese man-o-war is found in the Atlantic Ocean." So, not the same species and not the same beast.
 
Schnurrbart said:
Ever the pedant, from The Australian Museum "The Bluebottle, Pacific-man-o-war (Physalia utriculus),is found in marine waters in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The only other species, Physalia physalis, the Portuguese man-o-war is found in the Atlantic Ocean." So, not the same species and not the same beast.
Click to expand...

Oh well, now I know, nasty little beggars wherever they are found. I have never had a contact with them but other members of my family have, one time my mother was over here on a visit from the UK she got stung by one, thankfully a nearby Lifeguard came to the rescue.
 
A man o' war (wasn't that a racehorse...?) was generally a big old fighting ship, which when decommissioned often became a training ship, both of which are referred to above.

One such ship that comes to mind was the Indefatigable moored on the Mersey; she took a lot of boys from the cottage homes and taught them a trade, and to swim etc. However, there were also a couple of local training ships for wayward lads - so-called reformatory ships.

So, my guess is that he was intended to be sent out to sea on a Man of War, to knock him into shape (ie. scare the living daylights out of him), but arrangements may have been made for him to receive training on a reformatory vessel first, particularly if the boys' home couldn't handle him.
 
Bay Horse said:
A man o' war (wasn't that a racehorse...?) was generally a big old fighting ship, which when decommissioned often became a training ship, both of which are referred to above.

One such ship that comes to mind was the Indefatigable moored on the Mersey; she took a lot of boys from the cottage homes and taught them a trade, and to swim etc. However, there were also a couple of local training ships for wayward lads - so-called reformatory ships.

So, my guess is that he was intended to be sent out to sea on a Man of War, to knock him into shape (ie. scare the living daylights out of him), but arrangements may have been made for him to receive training on a reformatory vessel first, particularly if the boys' home couldn't handle him.
Click to expand...
I’m researching a family where two brothers ended up on the training ship Exmouth, which was moored in the Thames off Grays in Essex. One of them ended up as a bandsman in the Royal West Kent Regiment and lived a pretty blameless life. The other became a carpenter in the Navy, but went on to have a very unsuccessful criminal career, ending up in Winchester Prison in 1939, never to be found again :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top