| Calliope Crew Stories | |
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The majority of the following information has been provided by visitors to the site, with just a few details gleaned by me during my research. If you would like to have details about your own ancestor included (or amended), please e-mail me with the data. I have not tried to maintain an order of seniority in the list, but rather used an alphabetical index on the surname. The rank is as quoted in the Crew List for the men at the time of the Apia hurricane. Where a source can be considered fairly accurate (family members, etc) then I have indicated my thanks. If there is no such acknowledgement, the information is what I have gleaned from my research and should be independently verified before being repeated. To anyone researching their family history who had seamen in the Royal Navy, the National Archives at Kew have microfilms of most records of the nineteenth century in their reference series ADM188. Last time I visited, I viewed and printed my own great-grandfather’s record which lists such things as DOB, physical appearance, ships served on and periods, rating, conduct and so on. It is fascinating stuff. Although you cannot view the actual record on the internet, you can search for your ancestor. Visit the webpage http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk If they have taken the link off the front page, it takes a bit of digging but you are looking for "Seaman's Records" - if you find the right one you can buy a print over the net. Stoker William Burton Alsford Born in 1870 and died around 1949. He ended his service in the Royal Navy as a Leading Stoker in 1904 while serving in HMS Narcissus following which he married & settled down in Lancaster Rd. in Southsea moving later to Lovedean, a small village just outside Portsmouth & finally to Durham St. in Portsmouth. After leaving the Navy he worked in the Dockyard until he retired. Details courtesy of Joan Wilkinson. Ordinary Seaman Joseph James Barber Came from Poole in Dorset. Possibly listed in error as James Baker in the Calliope crew list. Joined Calliope from Orlando (possibly on loan). Joined navy in 1886. Served in H.M.S. Orlando transferring to Calliope on 20th January, 1889. Transferred to H.M.S. Egeria on the 23rd April 1889. Details courtesy of Mike & Susan Hill. Able Seaman (General Service) Willie Bennet He was born in 1870 in Portsea, Portsmouth and served until 1899. It seems his main occupation was as "shop boy" before joining up. One of Willie Bennett's forebears was a Peter Bennett who was supposed to have sailed with Captain Cook on his 2nd and 3rd Voyages of discovery on the Resolution. Details courtesy of Patrick Harris. Chief Engineer (later Fleet Engineer) Henry George Bourke  Born 24 October 1844 in Devonport, the only child of Michael Bourke, an Irish seaman,(rising to quartermaster) and his wife Mary Ann Odgers of Plymouth. He married Amelia Campbell, daughter of an Irish coastguard who had several postings in England. Fleet Engineer Bourke's Career details are: Asst. Eng. 1st Class 27 Oct 1867. 19 Sep 1869 TAMAR, troopship 2812 tons various ("particular" service). Engineer 19 Jul 1871. 30 Oct 1872 MOSQUITO gunboat 408 tons China. 15 Sep 1876 WARRIOR-Reserve-coastguard ship Portland. 14 Sep 1878 URGENT-depotship for gunboat service Jamaica. 2 Mar 1882 SULTAN battleship 9290 tons Channel Sqn. Chief Engineer 16 Oct 1883. 29 Nov 1883 OSPREY sloop East Indies. 16 Aug 1886 CALLIOPE corvette 2770 tons Portsmouth. Staff Engineer 16 Oct 1887 Still on Calliope Australia. Fleet Engineer 28 May 1889 accelerated promotion after storm. (Dec 1889) Calliope still returning home. 26 Nov 1890 HERO battleship-tender to Portsmouth EXCELLENT. 2 Dec 1893 HERCULES battleship (Reserve) Portsmouth. 1 Jan 1896 VICTORY Portsmouth. 5 Mar 1898 Died in RNH Haslar of pneumonia. Details courtesy of Shelagh Gibson.Midshipman (later Captain) Frank Brandt  Born October 2nd, 1871. Died: November 1st, 1914. Captain Frank Brandt commanded H.M.S. Monmouth in the battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile and perished in the ship which was lost with all hands. Brandt seems to have been born in Cheltenham, though his widow (Beryl) was quoted as living in Worthing. His parents were Francis Brandt, I.C.S. (Judge in the High Court, Madras), and Lucy Sophia (nee Dobson). His name is recorded on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon. He and his sister Ethel spent much of their early years with an Aunt, Miss Emily Charlotte Brandt at her home Saint Roque in Torquay. Frank’s grandson is Admiral Sir Hugo White. Details courtesy of Kay Saville-Smith.If you are interested in the Battle of Coronel, please visit the excellent site dedicated to the battle, the ships and above all, the men: www.coronel.org.uk You will also find there a wonderful character sketch of Frank Brandt penned by hs great-granddaughter. Sadly, I discovered in July 2007 that the web-master for this site had been unable to continue supporting it but the site des now seem to be active again. Lieutenant (Later Rear Admiral) Arthur William Carter. 
ARTHUR WILLIAM CARTER 1856-1931 was a son of Rev. Thomas Garden Carter, Vicar at Linton in Kent, and his wife Louisa (Turner). An extract from “The Linton Estate: the property of Messrs Carter Bros.” in The Pastoral Review, Sydney, c. 1909 reads: “[He] joined the Navy on the 15th January 1870, was promoted sub-Lieutenant on 20th June 1875, Lieutenant 13th December 1879, Commander 1st January 1894, Captain 30th June 1899, retiring with the rank of Captain on 28th January 1905. He was appointed Rear-Admiral on the retired list on 5th November 1908. He served with the Naval Brigade in the Soudan [along with many future Calliope shipmates including Captain Kane and WIT - Scaramouche], with the Nile Expedition for the relief of General Gordon 1884-5, and received the Egyptian medal with Nile clasp and Khedive’s Grand Star. He was Lieutenant on the “Calliope” on the occasion of the great hurricane at Apia in 1889, when that vessel, by a splendid piece of seamanship on the part of her crew, escaped the fate of most of the other warships then in the harbour. The Admiralty expressed admiration at the officers’ behaviour on that occasion, and specially referred to Lieutenant Carter. He retired from the Navy in order that he might assist his brother in the management of their joint property [in northern New South Wales].” In 1911, he and his wife Monica returned to Bournemouth, England where they both died in 1931. Image and details including the quoted extract courtesy of Jane Hunt.Midshipman (later Vice Admiral) Sydney Robert Drury-Lowe C.M.G. Born 19th October, 1871. Died January 1945. Was Captain of HMS Chatham when she discovered and shelled the German raider Koenigsberg about six miles up the Rufigi River Delta, opposite Mafia Island (German East Africa) in October 1914. I think he was later made Senior Naval Officer Mombasa, British East Africa, later Kenya. Midshipman (later Rear Admiral) Cecil Henry Fox C.B.  Born 27th May 1873. Died 1963. Captain Cecil H. Fox commanded H.M.S. Amphion in the first naval conflict of the first world war just hours after the declaration, and which itself became the first British casualty a day later. Later commanded HMS Undaunted in successful action against German mine layers in the Thames Estuary 17th October 1914. Fox collaborated on a radio programme in April 1951 broadcast by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), and penned an article for the Radio Times reproduced here. In 1904 as a Lieutenant on HMS Impregnable, he re-wrote the Manual of Seamanship for Boys' and Seamen of the Royal Navy. Promoted Rear Admiral 2nd May 1922.Midshipman (later Vice-Admiral) John Collings Taswell Glossop C.B.  Born 23rd October, 1871. Died: 23rd December, 1934. Captain J. C. T. Glossop commanded the Chatham Class Light Cruiser H.M.A.S. Sydney in her epic first world war battle with the German cruiser Emden off the Cocos Islands in November 1914. Intriguingly (as will be seen by the reference to Midshipman Hood later in this list), Glossop had earlier commanded (as Captain) between September 1910 and April 1911, the third Royal Navy ship to be named "Hood" (launched July 1891, sunk as a blockade hulk in the Portland Harbour breakwater in late 1914). A memorial in Holy Trinity Old Church, Bothenhampton, Dorset, England reads: 'Retired Officer de Legion d'Honneur. Churchwarden of his parish 1922-34'Midshipman (later Rear Admiral) the Honorable Horace Lambert Alexander Hood K.C.B., M.V.O., D.S.O.  Born October 2nd, 1870, died May 31st, 1916. The name "Hood" has been evocative with the Royal Navy for many years. Admiral, Sir Samuel Hood 1st Viscount Hood Of Whitley was Hood's great, great grandfather and served with Nelson. H.L.A. Hood joined the Navy in 1883 : H.M.S. Temeraire, H.M.S. Hyacinth; 1887 : H.M.S. Calliope. During the first World War as Rear-Admiral on H.M.S. Invincible, he perished with all but 6 of her complement of more than 1,000 at the Battle of Jutland May 31st, 1916, his flagship being the fourth British battle cruiser to be lost on that day due to poor storage and handling of the cordite charges in the magazines. His family name (or more precisely, that of Lord Samuel Hood) was used for the ship - the 4th of 5 to utilise that name - launched 2 years later by his widow which would meet its own similar fate from the Bismarck on May 24th, 25 years after. He was the 4th child (3rd son) of 4th Viscount Hood (Francis Wheler Hood) and Viscountess Hood, (Edith Lydia Drummond Ward, daughter of Arthur Ward Esq.); he was the husband of the Hon. Lady Hood (Ellen Touzalin, the widow of George Nickerson), of East Sheen Lodge, Sheen, Surrey. His memorial is on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Hampshire.Midshipman (later Captain) Hugh Fitzroy Hopkinson Born 11th October, 1871. Died 5th June 1922. In 1894, Hugh Hopkinson was Lieutenant on H.M.S. Pygmy. Granted Portuguese Military Order of Avis (1918) and Portuguese Order of Christ (1919) for services rendered in transporting the Portuguese Army from Lisbon to Brest during 1917. Carpenters Mate Thomas D. John Severely injured during the storm, suffering a fractured skull. On Calliope's return to Sydney, was transferred to St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney where after some months of treatment, he was able to take passage back to England and eventually invalided out of the service. Captain (later Admiral) H. C. Kane, K.C.B  Henry Coey Kane was born in December 1843, I am not certain of the precise date. His father was the celebrated Irish Research chemist, Sir Robert Kane, who was the only Catholic member of the "Irish Relief Commissioners" board tasked to investigate the causes and possible solutions to the Irish Potato Blight in the 1850s. Sir Robert was the author of the influential book "The Industrial Resources of Ireland" for which he received much acclaim when it was published in 1843. Kane's mother, Katharine (nee Bailey), was a noted botanist and author in her own right; "Irish Fauna" was one her titles.The family appear to have lived in Gloucester Street, Dublin during the early part of the nineteenth century. Kane had no less than eight siblings, some of whom achieved prominence in their own right, but little about the lives and fortunes of the various family members is available on-line - or at least, that I have managed to locate. Robert Romney Kane (1842 - 1902) was a renowned writer on Irish land law, and seems to have been a brother. Henry Kane was fluent in French and Italian, and fair in German and Spanish. He received excellent comment from his superiors throughout his naval career, which included reports on the fortifications of Cadiz in December 1871 and Carthagena in 1874. In 1882, he was promoted Captain and commanded HMS Northumberland. In 1883 he was made a Naval Attache, and was wounded in the battles of Tel-El-Kebir for which he received much credit. Their Lordships regularly expressed their great satisfaction at this zealous and able officer. Soon after Calliope's return to England after the commissioning voyage, he was appointed to command H.M.S. Inflexible. On March 20th, 1892 Kane was appointed Captain of HMS Victory at Portsmouth, a post he retained until April 19th, 1894. Kane was made Admiral in 1907. He was made Knight Commander of the Bath in 1911. Admiral Kane does not seem to have ever married and died January 30th, 1917. Cooper David Francis Mahoney See record for David O'Mahoney. Boatswain William Marshfield  In 1893, Marshfield was the Boatswain on H.M.S. Victoria, flagship of Admiral Sir George Tryon, of the Mediterranean Fleet, when the Admiral inexplicably ordered his ship and HMS Camperdown to turn towards each other with no possibility of escaping a collision, which event sunk Victoria and drowned 350 men. Marshfield continued the good luck he had on Calliope and survived this disaster too. Details from the Penny Pictorial article courtesy of Marian Scanlan.Lieutenant (Later Rear-Admiral) Robert Kyle McAlpine Born 20th January 1851. Died 22nd September 1923. Name also sometimes spelt MacAlpine. Lieutenant Henry G. Monckton In 1894, Monckton was the Lieutenant commanding H.M.S. Sunflower, a sailing ship. Leading Seaman James Cresswell Moore  James Cresswell Moore was born in September 1865 at Basford, Nottingham, and joined his first ship, HMS Northumberland as a Boy on Jan 1st 1883. He subsequently served on the Invincible, Duke of Wellington, Alexandra, Dart, Pembroke, Wildfire, Howe and of course Calliope for two years Jan '87 to Oct '89. His son (who provided these details) remembers him saying that he was one of the men assigned to the wheel to help steer Calliope out of the bay. After an honourable discharge from the Navy he joined the Sherwood Foresters as a Sapper and saw service in India and France during the 1st World War. He married in 1902 and died in 1948 aged 84 years. Details courtesy of Arthur Moore. Click the image for a larger picture of a number of the crew.Skilled Carpenter’s Mate Julius W. Newberry (Also recorded as Newbury). May at some time have served on HMS Superb as ‘Shipwright’. Born Guernsey. Commissioned around 1890, he retired from the Navy around 1913 but was recalled for War service and died in 1918. Details courtesy of "Nigel". Midshipman (Later Admiral) Wilmot Stuart Nicholson C.B. Born 18th May 1872. Died 9th June 1947. Nicholson was Captain of HMS Hogue when that cruiser, along with Cressy and Aboukir, were sunk by submarine U9 on 22nd September, 1914. Captain of HMS Aurora at Jutland, May 1916. Carpenter Michael O’Brien  Michael William O'Brien was born on October 6th 1861 in Jersey, Channel Islands. He was the son of Michael O'Brian and Mary Ann O'Moore. His father passed away while Michael was still young and he grew up in Jersey with his mother and elder sister. On October 6th 1879, at the age of eighteen, Michael signed up as a rating in the Royal Navy for a ten year period. He is described as being 5'3" brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion. A second entry, which is not dated, modifies his height as 5'6" with the trade of carpenter and the addition of a tattoo on his left arm reading "sailor" and "true love". Michael left the navy on the 15th April 1890, HMS Calliope was his last ship. He moved to Bristol where in 1891 he is recorded as the landlord of the Bird in Hand pub. Living with him was his mother Mary Ann and his brother-in-law James Giles. Details courtesy of Andrew Price.Cooper David Francis O'Mahoney  Born 1855 in Cork City, Ireland. Died: 1st November, 1939 Cardiff, South Wales. Married Annie Swanton of Cork, was living in Kent when a member of Calliope's crew at Apia, after retirement he worked at Gravesend Dockyard. On the death of his wife, he moved his three children Frances, Kathleen and Robert to Cardiff. Appears to have been identified in navy service records as "David Mahoney". Details courtesy of Marian Scanlan.Lieutenant (later Captain) Henry Pearson Born c. 1852, Died: 17th August, 1936. A memorial in Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire reads: 'In memory of Henry Pearson Captain RN of this city who died 17 August 1936 aged 84. He was navigating officer when HMS Calliope (Capt H C Kane) was brought out of Apia Harbour in Samoa in the hurricane of 16th March 1889.' Able Seaman Joseph Potter  Came from Dover and was born 13th April 1864. After his Naval service he served in the Coastguard at Sheerness and sadly died in 1911 aged only 47 years. Details courtesy of Eddie Savage.Midshipman (later Commander) Edmund James Prendergast O.B.E. Born 10th February 1872, Died: 25th January, 1936. Awarded O.B.E. for services in Wireless Telegraphy during 1st World War. Able Seaman (General Service) Frederick Rex b. Dec 2, 1867 d. Feb 27, 1934. Born at Portsea Island, Hants. His father and grandfather were both Stonemasons. It was said that he ran away to sea at the age of thirteen. He joined the navy, presumably at eighteen. Although he appears in the Calliope crew list as an Able Seaman, to family knowledge he was, or became, a Signalman. He married Anne Marie Wood from Chartham in Kent (circa 1895). He left the navy probably in 1897. At that time he joined the Coastguard Service and was stationed at Rye Harbour. In about 1910 he left the coastguard service and retired with his family to his wife's home village of Chartham near Canterbury where he died and was buried in 1934. Details courtesy of Ivan Harrison. Chief ERA James Richards On Sunday, February 3rd 1889, the day after Calliope's arrival at Apia, Kane discharged forty-two year old Chief ERA (Engine Room Artificer) James Richards accompanied by an AB seaman and a blacksmith to HMS Royalist for transport back to Sydney. Richards had been taken ill shortly after the ship left New Zealand and his condition had been deteriorating steadily in Calliope's sick bay. Unfortunately, he died a few days after Royalist departed Tonga for the run to Auckland and later in the evening of that same Wedenesday 13th February, his body was committed to the deep, unknown to the Calliopes, her first death of the voyage. Assistant Engineer (later Captain?) James Robert Roffey He was born in 1862 in Woolwich Kent, the second of seven children. He was the eldest of the two sons of James Roffey (later Sir James Roffey of Havant, Hampshire) and his wife Emma Roffey. Sir James was also in the Royal Navy and became Chief Inspector of Machinery. James Robert married Fanny Munro Petman in 1897 and they had at least one child, a son called Bernard Wilson Roffey, possibly there were others. James Robert Roffey died on 17th July 1914 aged 51 and his gravestone reads "Captain James Robert Roffey RN". He is buried in in Havant Cemetery in an adjacent plot to his parents Sir James Roffey (died 1.5.1912 aged 79) and Dame Emma Roffey (died 28.12.1914 aged 76) and his wife Fanny Munro Roffey (died 15.10.1936 aged 71). Details courtesy of Sue Lynch. Coxswain second class William Rolfe Died in St. Vincent's Hospital at Sydney on June 10th, 1889 following an accidental fall at Larg's Bay a few days earlier. Ordinary Seaman James Spiller James Spiller was born in Sedbury, Devon on the 5th November 1870 and joined the Navy on the 1st November 1886 as a Boy 2 class. After 20 Months on the training ship Boscawen he joined HMS Orlando and on the 5th November 1888 having engaged to serve for 12 years he was rated as an Ordinary Seaman. Spiller served on Orlando from 5th June 1888 to 28th July 1891 except for the period between 20th January 1889 to 12th September 1889 when he served on HMS Calliope. Spiller was rated as an Able Seaman on 1st May 1891 and on leaving Orlando he served mainly aboard the Battleships: Alexandra, Resolution, Revenge and Hibernia until in May 1900 when he joined the Coast Guard Service being awarded the LSGC Medal in 1910. At the outbreak of W.W.I he was a Leading Boatman in the Coast Guard but on the 1st August 1914 he returned to the Navy as an Able Seaman and died on 1st November 1914 when H.M.S. Monmouth was sunk at the battle of Coronel, Captain Frank Brandt (also on this page). Details courtesy of Derek Riley. Leading Seaman William Isaac Thorndale  b. Jul 17, 1861 : d. Aug 30, 1949. Born Reigate, Surrey. Joined the navy at age 15. Served in HMS Sultan during the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882. Left Calliope at the end of the commissioning voyage to join the Coastguard service at Ballycroneen, (now) Southern Ireland. In 1884, he married Jane Dowling, daughter of Anne Dowling. Had two daughters, Winifred Sarah (1893) and Evelyn Baverstock (1895). Continued coastguard service at Studland in Dorset 1910 and retired to Reigate in 1919, his service extended by the war years. Naval Service : 1876 : H.M.S. Fisguard, H. M. S. Implacable; 1877 : H.M.S. Trudeyant[?], H.M.S. Liberty; 1878 : H.M.S. Lion (these were all training ships); 1878 : H.M.S. Iron Duke; 1879: H.M.S. Lapwing, H.M.S. Charybdis; 1881 : H.M.S. Duncan; 1882 : H.M.S. Duke of Wellington; 1884: H.M.S. Sultan; 1885 : H.M.S. Excellent, HMS Minotaur; 1887 : H.M.S. Calliope; 1890 : HMS Excellent for paying off . Service details extracted from Thorndale's hand-written memoirs and Service Record. Query marks [?] indicate uncertain spelling.
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