Nelson & His World

I have been doing a bit of research on a man named George Richards who served as a Marine in "Nelson's Navy".

I am 99% certain I have found where he lived towards the end of his life. But in the 2 instances I have found (a directory and a census) he is described as:

George Richards RN

Is that the normal "style" for a retired Royal Marine OR have they slipped up by inserting an N instead of an M OR is there the slim chance that it is someone else altogether?

Thanks if anyone can offer an answer or opinion on this conundrum.

MB

Mark,

I don't really know the answer to this, and it might be a complete red herring, but do you have a precise date for George Richards service? The Marines did not become 'Royal' until 1802, through Earl St Vincent , and they were of course under Admiralty control. Thus, at that date, the initials RN may be correct.

Just a thought and, of course, I stand to be corrected through further research.

Kester

That's a good thought.

Regarding his dates of service - I don't have anything exact at the moment.

But it is an interesting and unusual story - another one!!

I have seen an original handwritten document from 1861 that says that he:

- joined the Marines in the 1798

- rejoined at the recommencement of the war in 1803 and served with Nelson until his (Nelson's) death

- later served in the Spanish peninsular under the Duke of Wellington before retiring as a result of wounds in 1814.

He seems to have been promoted to Captain (of Marines I assume) in 1812.

I have drawn a blank on a few things so far. i.e. there is a note in a different handwriting that says that he was "with Nelson at Trafalgar" - but there is no sign of him on the Trafalgar Roll. He doesn't seem to have received the NGSM. And I can't find his death on Ancestry or FreeBMD.

So still a lot to learn about him which I will pick away at when time allows.

Meanwhile if anyone can help me build up a bigger picture of his life it would be much appreciated.

MB

Mark,

Thanks for the added details, which would seem to scotch my theory – at least date wise!

As you say another interesting history. It would appear then that he either joined the army at some time between 1805 and 1809 (?), or was attached to Wellington's army as a marine. I imagine both were done, perhaps especially by marine officers who thought that there wasn't going to be much action in the navy after Trafalgar. Although that wasn't quite true, it would be interesting to find out how many marines actually served with Wellington. We shouldn't of course forget that Wellington needed ships to supply and reinforce his armies, even though it sounds that George Richards was actually on the battlefield, since he retired due to his injuries. I wonder if he knew Wellington personally?

Just a thought, but have you tried contacting the RM Museum re. their records?

Kester,

Definitely something I would be interested to know.

As I said, GR's name doesn't appear on the Naval General Service Medal list. But due to his supposed service in the Peninsular I thought I would also check the Military Medal. No sign of him there either, but on the Wikipedia page it does say "a handful of awards were made to officers and men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, on attachment to the army"


I definitely will contact the RM Museum but I thought I would do as much work as possible up front. I think I have only contacted the RM Museum once before and the impression I got was that they hadn't got much information about individual men. That may be an unfair impression so I definitely will contact them about GR.

The original handwritten document I came across was quite poor quality so the photograph I took is not very legible. But I could send a copy of that to the Museum for their own records.

I will do a bit of tweaking in Photoshop and post a copy here some time later today.

MB

Below is the document I found that started my search in earnest.

Unfortunately I don't know who wrote the original or the additional comment at the top.

It reads roughly as follows:

Captain Geo. Richards. Aged 84 Years. He joined the R. Marines the 5th of Jany. 1798. At the recommencement of the War in 1803 he joined the Fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson, serving untill his Death. Also under His Grace Field Marshall the Duke of Wellington in the Spanish Peninsular War. He retired in 1814 owing to wounds and had been in 23 Actions. Solihull 21st September 1861

The reverse side is plain with a thick black border. So I assumed that this brief biog. was written when GR died - i.e. 1861. BUT - things never being that straightforward - he appears to have an entry in both an 1866 directory and the 1866 Navy List.

The George Richards in the Navy list disappears by 1869 - so the stronger inference is that he died in that period 1866 to 1869. But no sign of his death in Ancestry or FreeBMD!

The search goes on. Good job I enjoy a challenge!!

Mark,

Interesting document but, as usually happens, it rather begs more questions than gives answers. It's certainly a pity that there seems to be no indication as to why, or how, he (and other marines) came to be serving with Wellington - just the bald statement that he (and they) did.

Just another thought, but I wonder if the book 'Wellington's Navy' would turn up any clues, not particularly about Richards (although of course it would be brilliant if he were mentioned) but more about the general situation regarding marines serving with the Duke? I don't have a copy myself, I don't know whether you do, but if not perhaps someone else here (Tony?) can have a look if they have it. Failing that of course, there's always the library...

As you say, 'the search goes on...' (sounds like something from 'The Apprentice'!) However, I am sure that you, if anyone, will get to the bottom of it!

It's tantalising isn't it. The author would doubtless have known so much more!!

I find it interesting that they were still using that random capitalisation of words - as discussed here previously - as late as 1861. And there are those funny "wiggly" lines that have been used on some of the capital letters . . . . !

I have put the Wellington's Navy book on my "must buy" list. Unfortunately it is currently in about position number 51. I will seriously consider promoting it to a higher ranking. I don't anticipate any specific mention of GR but I am sure it will be interesting to get a better understanding of the role the Navy, and possibly the Marines, played in the Peninsular campaign.

MB