Digging for gold on the wild West Coast

Nola Sinclair recently sent me scans of a couple of engaging cartes de visite by H.H. Vorley of Westport, Charleston and Reefton, on the West Coast of New Zealand, who I have featured in a previous Photo-Sleuth article. She explained that "the subjects in the photo are likely to be a family of my husband's Shetland Island forebears who came to Charleston in 1876 to mine the sands at Nine Mile Beach for gold. We have been trying to get a fairly exact date so we can work out who the children are likely to be, in order to make sure that it is indeed the family we think it is."

This challenge required some considerable background reading on my part, but the subject is of particular interest to me. Not only was I involved in the gold exploration industry for some fifteen years, but I've long had a fascination with historic gold rushes and the motley cast of characters who often played a part in them, such as the Californian forty-niners (1849), the Witwatersrand uitlanders (1886) and the Klondike stampeders (1897).

Darran Mountains & Bowen Falls, Milford Sound, 1888
Print by Burton Brothers, Dunedin
Image © and courtesy of National Gallery of Australia
Accn No: NGA 2007.81.119AB
Prior to the 1860s the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island was an almost completely uninhabited no-man's land, the steep forest-encrusted and almost inpenetrable slopes and rocky, surf-pounded coasts with few natural harbours discouraging all but a few passing explorers. Maori visitors, who succeeded in extracting prized pounamu from the river valleys and mountain peaks, and pakeha whalers briefly occupied a few temporary shore stations, but neither group left much in the way of permanent settlements. District boundaries tended to be merely lines drawn on the maps by the colonial state authorities with little real meaning on the ground. In 1861 Charles Hursthouse described it as "a savage, gloomy country, silent, desolate and dreary ... this vast tract is unpeopled; millions of acres have never been trodden by human foot ... fresh from nature's rudest mint, untouched by hand of man.," but then went on to predict with pinpoint accuracy the forthcoming means of change: "... this part ... has as yet been very partially explored ... [but] may prove to be New Zealand's 'Gold Coast'." [1]

Wallace's Point, Otira Gorge, Canterbury, 12 June 1876
Wood engraving published in The Illustrated Australian News
Image © and courtesy of State Library of Victoria
Accession no IAN10/07/76/104
Between 1865 and 1867 a sequence of events shattered this isolation forever. In the early 1860s the province of Otago, situated on the other side of the Southern Alps, had experienced a gold rush the likes of which had never before been seen in New Zealand. As individual diggings like Gabriel's Gully suffered declining yields of the royal metal, prospectors looked further afield towards the West Coast, walking overland through the dripping, verdant forests and exploring by boat the shingle beaches and rivers along the wild, rocky coast. [2]

Charleston and Constant Bay, c.1880s (Dyson Album)
Albumen print, 120 x 200 mm, on album page
Image © Alexander Turnbull Library and courtesy of Timeframes
Reference No. PA1-q-069-02-1
On the 27th February 1865 the landing in Nelson of an single enormous shipment of gold from diggings at Hokitika, equal to the entire production from the previous year, precipitated a tremendous rush. Within a matter of weeks word had spread, not only to Wellington, across the Cook Strait, and more distant provinces such as Canterbury and Otago, but also across the Tasman to Victoria and New South Wales. Diggers braved the wild seas, cramming every available sea-going vessel, and travelled to the new finds by any means they could find. Settlements began to spring up in the Waimea Valley, Okarito, Greymouth and the Pakihi, between the Buller and Grey Rivers. [3]

Hotels & shops on Princes Street, Charleston, c.1869
Image © Alexander Turnbull Library and courtesy of Timeframes
Reference No. 1/2-055911-F
Almost overnight clusters of scruffy tents mushroomed into bustling towns with narrow streets, elaborate wooden buildings, hotels and dancing girls. [4] Perhaps the greatest of these in the history of the West Coast was the Charleston rush, reaching a peak between 1867 and 1870 with a population of around 5,000. [5] Boats bringing in both prospectors and supplies braved the narrow and treacherous entrance to the tiny Constant Bay, with wrecks and tragedy a common occurrence. [6]

Carte de visite card mount used by H.H. Vorley, c.1870-1872
Charleston, West Coast, New Zealand
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
One of the many hundreds of people who set up shop in Charleston to take advantage of the tremendous increase in trade was photographer Herbert H. Vorley. [7] Although born to a wealthy merchant family in London he emigrated to New Zealand in the mid-1860s, arriving on the West Coast and setting up as a photographer and phrenologist in the town of Westport prior to 1867. While maintaining this studio, he is also known to have operated branch studios in Charleston (1867, 1869, 1873 & 1875), Hokitika (1870), Buller (1874 & 1877) and Reefton (1877-78). [8]

Advertisement from the Inangahua Times, 15 May 1878
Image © National Library of New Zealand and courtesy of Papers Past
It seems likely from the nature of advertisements in the Grey River Argus, the West Coast Times and the Inangahua Times between 1875 and 1878 that the branch studios were open only intermittently, and on occasion staffed by managers or employees. A detailed examination of back issues of the Charleston Herald - sadly not yet included in Papers Past, the National Library of New Zealand's otherwise comprehensive digital coverage of old newspapers - may be they key to determining more precisely the dates of Vorley's presence in Charleston. [9] An inheritance received after the death of an English aunt in January 1879 enabled Vorley and his family to leave Westport in May that year and return to England, where he died a year later. [10]

A gold prospector tries his luck, California, undated
Image © University if Southern California Regional History Center, CHS/TICOR Collection and courtesy of the History Computerization Project
The gold output of the Charleston area, in tune with the "boom and bust" cycles experienced in all of the other gold fields, was already waning by the early 1870s and the population dwindled rapidly, with many leaving to try their luck in newer fields such as Thames on the North Island. [3] Other enterprising diggers remained in the area and a large and well documented group of Scots from the Shetland Islands turned their hand to washing gold at Nine-Mile Beach, a short distance north of Charleston. Although the alluvial beach deposits had been discovered and worked by other beachcombers using fairly primitive methods a few years earlier, the first of the Shetlanders to arrive, in January 1870, were Magnus Mouat and Gilbert Harper from the village of Norwick on the northernmost island of Unst. [11]

Shetlanders' settlement at Nine-Mile Beach, 1886
Lantern Slide
from Chips of the Auld Rock publ. 1997
Image © and courtesy of Wellington Shetland Society
Having spent a couple of years wandering the Queensland, New South Wales and Bathurst gold fields and eight months at Bradshaw's Creek near the Buller River with little to show for their efforts, the auriferous black sands at the southern end of Nine-Mile Beach appeared to offer more promise. [11] So much, it appears, that sent word to other members of the original Unst party who had wandered elsewhere in Melbourne and Otago, and wrote to friends and family back home in Unst.

The village of Norwick in August, Unst, Shetland Islands
© Copyright Mike Pennington, courtesy of Geograph.co.uk
& licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
A dwindling of traditional fishing and farming opportunities, as well as clearances in the Shetlands, coincided with timely offers of assisted passage from Sir Julius Vogel's recruitment drives and immigration schemes. [12] Over the next few years a large number of families joined them, such that by 1877 it was estimated that there were about a hundred Unstmen working the sands at Nine-Mile. In November 1875, the provincial government surveyor was kept very busy surveying new leases and extended claims on Nine Mile Beach. [13] Magnus Mouat himself went home for a couple of years, during which time he married, returning to the West Coast goldfields with wife and baby aboard the Howrah in November 1876. [14]

Shetlanders beachcombing blacksand for gold, Nine Mile Beach, c. late 1870s
(L-R) Magnus Johnson, John Madden, James Mouat, J.R. Mouat, Gilbert Harper & James Harper
Image © Alexander Turnbull Library and courtesy of Timeframes
Reference number: PAColl-6181-35
The Shetlanders were strong, practical men and soon improved their chances by purchasing most of the claims on Nine-Mile Beach and by developing new methods of extracting fine gold from the layers of black beach sands. Apart from the building of extensive tail races or flumes by Messrs. Hall, Parsons and Harle to bring to the beach the water so essential to the operation, already well under way by March 1872 [15][16], the Shetlanders made significant improvements to the washing process, designing the multi-tier mobile washing tables, or "beach boxes." These devices are illustrated in the images above and below, while the tail races are clearly visible in the background of the lower image.

Blacksanding at Nine-Mile Beach, undated
William Harper (left) and John Mouat (right)
Image © Alexander Turnbull Library and courtesy of Timeframes
Reference number: 1/2-015698-F
The Charleston Herald (reported in the Grey River Argus) remarked on their good fortune although it was, no doubt, mixed in with decent proportion of hard slog:

1 December 1876
The beach claims in Second Bay and on the Nile and Nine-mile Beach, have for the past five or six months been paying exceedingly well. The men on Nine-mile Beach have been very fortunate, they having during the above-mentioned term been earning on an average from 25s. to 30s. per day.

6 July 1878
since the late stormy weather, accompanied by heavy south-west gales, the Nine-Mile Beach claims are paying splendidly, some of the miners who work long hours netting as much as £12 per man per week. It is said, and with a good deal of truth, that the mining property, dams included, sold some six years ago by Mr Fred Hall for the sum of four or five hundred pounds, to-day is worth as many thousands. This tells well in favour of the healthy condition of mining matters in this district.

13 August 1878
One of the beach claims which was only the other day taken upon the Nine-mile Beach, on the Northern limit, having hitherto being lying idle, was sold last week by Mr Thomas Humphries to Mr Sullivan for the sum of £50. At present there are more beachcombers at work on the Nine-mile Beach than has been remembered for the last six or seven years, and the lowest wages made by them is £3 and £4 per week, the highest being £10 and £12. The beach has "made" so much that the men are sure that payable ground exists to within close limits to the Totara river - a distance from the north claim, now work of about two miles. At present the water is not conveyed any distance along the beach, so that there is little probability of the ground now lying dormant being worked just yet, though we hear that it would be a very easy matter to bring water to the ground.

Group of men, women & children in front of house, c. 1876-1879
Carte de visite by H.H. Vorley of Westport, Charleston & Reefton
Image © and courtesy of Nola Sinclair
Nola Sinclair's husband's ancestor James Mouat Harper (1832-1918) arrived with his wife Margaret (née Anderson) (1836-1918) and eight children [17] in Nelson in January 1876, after a three month trip from Unst. They were part of a large group aboard the Caroline making their way to Charleston where a great Unst reunion was subsequently held. [11] The carte de visite portrait shown above depicts a large group of nine men, women and children standing in front of a wooden building, with a backdrop of moderate sized trees. The house has a cylindrical water tank, apparently for collecting water off the roof via the visible gutters and down-pipes, and a timber(and corrugated iron?)-encased chimney to the left. There is also a wood picket fence in the right foreground, possibly enclosing a vegetable garden.

Group of 9 men, women & children in front of house, c. 1876-1879
Carte de visite by H.H. Vorley of Westport, Charleston & Reefton
Image © and courtesy of Joan Robertson
Nola also sent me this image of another carte de visite, which she had received from Joan Robertson, a distant cousin of her husband's still living in the Shetlands. It is very similar, although not identical, to the one that Nola has in her collection.

Group of 10/11 men, women & children in front of house, c. 1876-1879
Detail of carte de visites by H.H. Vorley
Image © and courtesy of Nola Sinclair
A comparison of detailed scans elucidates some differences: most of the figures have moved slightly, and in the second shot there is an additional male adult figure standing immediately to the right of the doorway. The only adult female is standing at the extreme left of the group. The youngest of the children, standing at second from left, is perhaps three or four years old; the clothes suggest a little girl - although one cannot be certain at this young age - who is holding his or her mother's hand. The figure to the right of this is almost certainly a boy, wearing a cap and long trousers, and probably five or six years old. Next are two girls, aged about 8-9 and 10-11, respectively. To the right of the doorway a further group of three girls are fairly similar to each in height - almost the height of the adult woman at extreme left - so it is difficult to estimate their ages beyond saying that they are probably in their mid- to late teens. They all have their hair in a style typical of the 1870s, partly in plaits tied up in a circlet on the crown, and partly descending in ringlets to the shoulders at the back.

All three men are bearded and wearing hats. I would suggest that the man to the left of the doorway, wearing a waistcoat, is older while the two to the right are somewhat younger, but it is difficult to be precise. The men to the left and right are wearing bowler hats, of a style with a moderately high brow which was common through the 1870s and early 1880s. The man in the middle has what appears to be a forerunner of the wider flat-brimmed slouch hat, and is wearing a jacket.

The reverse of the second carte de visite (shown below) is inscribed, in what appears to be a contemporary hand, "to Anthony." Nola tells me that the second photograph was a copy mailed back home to Anthony Anderson, great grandfather of Joan Robertson, possibly by Anthony's sister Margaret Yule Harper.

Detail of carte de visite by H.H. Vorley
Image © and courtesy of Nola Sinclair
If this is the case, then she may have been the woman standing at the extreme left of the group, and the remaining figures would then include her husband James Harper and at least some of their children. She is dressed in clothes typical of of the mid- to late 1870s. The bodice is tight-fitting with a prominent vertical row of buttons, and a bow at her neck, while the sleeves are narrow, a little looser at the wrist, and possibly with a frilled or pleated cuff. Although not actually visible, the bustle in her skirt is probably small, if present at all, and the skirt contains several layers, types of fabric or ornamentation. Her hair is parted in the centre drawn back tightly, probably into a bun at the back of her head.

Two further children were born to James and Margaret after their arrival in New Zealand, bringing the total to ten [17]:

James Mouat HARPER (1832-1918) m: 1855 Margaret Yule ANDERSON (1836-1918)
- Charlotte b. 24 Jan 1857 Norwick, Unst
- William b. 29 May 1859 Norwick, Unst
- Elizabeth b. 15 Feb 1862 Braefield, Norwick, Unst
- Williamina/Wilhelmina b. 23 Aug 1864 Unst
- Margaret b. 23 Jun 1867 Velzie, Unst
- Jemima b. 16 Apr 1870 Unst, Unst
- Gilbert b. 3 Mar 1873 Velzie, Unst
- Ann b. 3 Jul 1875 Norwick, Unst
- Isabella b. 7 Jan 1879 Charleston, New Zealand
- Anthony b. 24 Dec 1881 Charleston, New Zealand

Reverse of Carte de visite by H.H. Vorley of Westport, Charleston & Reefton
Image © and courtesy of Joan Robertson
The reverse of both card mounts have a design very similar to that of the Vorley carte de visite shown earlier, with the addition of studio locations in Charleston and Reefton, suggesting to me a slightly later date i.e. some time after c. 1870-72. We can be fairly sure, however, that the photographs were taken prior to May 1879, when Vorley left New Zealand for good. This rules out the possibility of the youngest child born to James and Margaret in New Zealand being in the photograph, since Anthony was born in December 1881. If height is used as an approximate indication of age, then the children in the photograph are arranged from left to right in increasing order of age.

Detail of carte de visite by H.H. Vorley
Image © and courtesy of Nola Sinclair
Now some theorising. If - and I agree with Nola that we should emphasize the 'if' - this were to be the Harper family, then the only young male child, aged approximately five in the photograph, must be Gilbert Harper, born in Unst on 3 March 1873, suggesting a possible date for the group portrait of 1878 or early 1879. How do the the ages of the remaining children and adults in the group fit with what we know about the Harper family? Well, I think they match very nicely. N.B. The numbers in the provisional list below refer to those shown in the silhouette index above.

1. Margaret Yule Harper née Anderson, aged 42ish - Margaret does not appear very pregnant in this photograph, and since she had her ninth child Isabella in January 1879, I suggest this is unlikely to have been taken in late 1878. It is conceivable, however, that it was taken after the birth of Isabella, and that the baby is asleep indoors.
2. Ann Harper, aged 3
3. Gilbert Harper, aged 5 - Gilbert died at Charleston on 14 March 1883, aged 10.
4. Jemima Harper, aged 8
5. Margaret Harper, aged 11 - although the top of Margaret's head is only slightly higher than that of Jemima, examination of her feet shows that she is standing in a slight dip, and is therefore somewhat taller than she appears in relation to her next youngest sister.
6. James Mouat Harper, aged 45 - James Harper's central position in the group and manner of standing with his feet slightly apart, hands crossed calmly and patiently in front of him, is commensurate with his status as head of the household.
7. This is probably a younger man, although the full beard does disguise the age to some extent. His is a youthful figure assuming a very relaxed pose, his legs crossed, leaning against the door jamb with his thumbs tucked into his belt, holding the flaps of his jacket open. The jacket may have fringe sleeves, in a "Western style." This is most likely to be William Harper, who would have been aged 19, and very much "at home."
8. Williamina Harper, aged 13 or 14
9 & 10. Elizabeth Harper, aged 16, and Charlotte Harper, aged 21
11. This man, perhaps a little older than the man postulated as William Harper, is standing well off to the right hand side of the others. With his elbow perched on the window sill and right hand to his cheek, he is facing and leans in towards the rest of the group, in contrast to all of the others, who look directly at the photographer and his camera. So, while he is clearly part of the group, one gets the feeling that he is somehow distanced from it, in both a physical and more social sense. The eldest Harper daughter Charlotte married James Harper Mouat (1849-1928) at Charleston on 3 May 1878, and my feeling is that this is young Mr Mouat. He would have been about 30 years old at the time, and the photograph may have been taken before the wedding - hence the distance between him and the Harpers. [17]

Detail of Shetlanders' settlement at Nine-Mile Beach, 1886
Lantern Slide
from Chips of the Auld Block publ. 1997
Image © and courtesy of Wellington Shetland Society
The house forming the backdrop in this group portrait looks very similar in shape and form to the second building along the beach in the 1886 view, as pictured in the detailed image above, although Nola has pointed out that the frieze of large trees behind the house has been removed.

So ... we can make several tentative conclusions:

(a) The carte de visite portrait was most likely taken between 1874 and 1879 at or near Westport, Charleston or Reefton on the West Coast of New Zealand.

(b) We have a possible identification of the house in the portrait as being one of those built by the Shetland community prior to 1886 on Nine-Mile Beach.

(c) The group shown matches very closely the Harper family that we expect to have been living at Nine-Mile Beach in 1878.

Although I feel we have a probable identification, to be more confident I would suggest examining the make up of the other Shetland families who were living at Nine-Mile Beach in the late 1870s, to see if any of them fit the pattern. Most of the families living there were fairly closely related, having emigrated from the same small district on the island of Unst, so it is conceivable that somebody else might have sent a copy home "to Anthony."

Powell's sluicing and elevating claim at Nine Mile Beach, c.1900
Image © Alexander Turnbull Library Ref. PAColl-6075-51
Courtesy of Matapihi - Alexander Turnbull Library, New Zealand
In the mid-1880s there were still between 70 and 80 Shetlanders working the sands at Nine-Mile Beach but eventually the deposits were depleted and by the turn of the century, when the above photograph was taken, the numbers had declined considerably. [14] In 1906 there were only 15, and the last of the original pioneer Shetlanders, William Harper, moved away in 1916. [11]

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Nola Sinclair and her husband for the opportunity to use her photograph as the subject of this article, and the Alexander Turnbull Library for permission to use scanned images of photographs in their collections.

References

[1] Hursthouse, Charles (1861) New Zealand, The "Britain of the South." 2nd Edition. London: Edward Stanford. p. 149. [Available online from Google Books]

[2] May, Philip Ross (1962) The West Coast Gold Rushes. Christchurch: Pegasus. 55p.

[3] Eldred-Grigg, Stevan (2008) Diggers, Hatters & Whores: The Story of the New Zealand Gold Rushes. Auckland: Random House New Zealand. 543p. ISBN 9781869419257

[4] Wood, Frederick Lloyd Whitfield (1971) Understanding New Zealand. Ayer Publishing. 267p. [Partially available on Google Books]

[5] Charleston, New Zealand. Wikipedia article.

[6] Wall, Ella & Lewers, Neville R. (ill.) (1939) Gold Rush at Charleston. Adventure - In the Old West Coast Days. in The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 14, Issue 6 (September 1939) [Available online courtesy of the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre (NZETC)]

[7] Payne, Brett (2008) Fraternal Organisations. Photo-Sleuth, 3 August 2008.

[8] Anon (n.d.) Vorley, Herbert Henry. Auckland City Libraries Photographers Database.

[9] Extracts from Grey River Argus, West Coast Times, Nelson Evening Mail, Inangahua Times & Evening Post. Papers Past, Digital images of New Zealand newspapers and periodicals, from the National Library of New Zealand.

[10] Rackstraw, Tony (2008) Vorley, Herbert Henry. Early Canterbury Photographers, including South Canterbury and the West Coast, 22 August 2008.

[11] Faris, Irwin (1941) Charleston : its Rise and Decline. Wellington : A. H. and A. W. Reed. Reprinted 1980 by Capper Press, Ltd. [Extract courtesy of Nola Sinclair]

[12] Scots - The Late 1800s. Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

[13] Grey River Argus, Volume XVI, Issue 2259, 4 November 1875, Page 2. Papers Past.

[14] Butterworth, Susan M. & Butterworth, Graham (1997) Chips off the Auld Rock: Shetlanders in New Zealand. Wellington: Shetland Society of Wellington. 251 p. [Extract courtesy of Nola Sinclair]

[15] Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1142, 26 March 1872, Page 2. Papers Past.

[16] Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1337, 11 November 1872, Page 2. Papers Past.

[17] The Family of James Mouat Harper & Margaret Yule Anderson, on the Shetland Family History Home Page.

All lined up in the school playground in their Sunday best

I have wondered, when looking at old school photographs from the Victorian period, whether the children are wearing their ordinary everyday school clothes, or if an impending visit from the photographer was enough of an occasion for their parents to dress them in their Sunday best. I found mention of poor attendance on school photos day in 1881 recorded in a school log book from the Talgarth district of Powys, Wales (Victorian Powys), ascribing the childrens' absence to their not possessing decent clothes for the special day:

At 11 a Photographer came to take a view of the buildings. A very thin attendance, for some of the children did not come because of this. The Worths & Jones, Trebarried all stayed away at 11, so we stood in the playground that the view might have a lively appearance. The children who were away yesterday came today. I asked them why they were so silly yesterday & it appears it was their clothes that was the drawback.

Unidentified group of school boys & master, c.1873-1876
Carte de visite by William Pearson of St Peter's, Derby
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
This carte de visite portrait of a group of 26 boys aged from about 5 up to around 10 or 11 with their master is from my own collection. It was a recent eBay purchase and, as is the case with most such purchases, has sadly lost its provenance. The group is a motley one, and there is clearly no uniform in use, although the appearance of a couple of striped scarves hints at possible school colours. Due to the large range in ages, it seems likely that this was either a small school or even a Sunday School.

The photographer obviously had some difficulty keeping the children still. I estimate from the card mount design and clothing that it was taken in the mid-1870s, say between c.1873 and 1876, when exposure times were still fairly lengthy, measured in terms of seconds rather than fractions of a second. It would not have been an easy task for the master to keep his young subjects' attention on the camera and stop them from fidgeting. He has two boys, probably the most troublesome ones, right by his side where he can keep them out of trouble. Several boys have moved during the exposure. None look particularly pleased with the experience, save perhaps the lad seated at the far right, who seems particularly anxious to demonstrate a devoted attention to his studies.

The brick wall forming the backdrop to the school group portrait is probably a school building but it has not been identified. The window shows a good reflection of another brick wall opposite, and some distance behind the photographer, judging by the apparent brick size.


Reverse of carte de visite by William Pearson of St Peter's, Derby
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
William Pearson (1827-1885) was one of Derby's earliest photographers, graduating to that occupation from being a chimney sweep. In fact, he is listed with both professions in several sources through to the early 1860s. He opened his first studio around 1858 and continued to operate in St Peter's, Derby until at least 1881. Although his output does not appear to have been as prolific as the studios of Derby's other early practitioners, such as that of James Brennen, the quality of his portraits was quite acceptable. Pearson is recorded as taking mug shots of prisoners at Derby Gaol in April 1863, and perhaps the venture into school portraiture was another attempt to expand his clientele and drum up new business.


Detail from reverse of carte de visite
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
The most interesting feature of this carte de visite only emerged after I had sent scanned images of the front and reverse to friend and photo-sleuthing collaborator Nigel Aspdin. The sharp-eyed Nigel noticed there appeared to be something hand written on the reverse of the card mount. Although it wasn't clear from the detailed scan, I took out the original photograph and, by holding it at an angle to the sunlight, I was able to make it out as:

E. Bostock
Kensington Street
Uttoxeter Road

The natural assumption is, of course, that E. Bostock was one of the subjects of this group portrait. However, I was already aware that one Erasmus F. Bostock operated as a photographer in Derby in the latter part of the 19th Century, so I checked my notes. Indeed, Erasmus was living with his parents at 12 Kensington Street, off Uttoxeter Road, in the parish of St Werburgh, Derby, at the time of both the 1871 and 1881 Census.

An 1881 trade directory entry and the census enumeration of that year are the first records I have found of Bostock working as a photographer, at which time he appears to have been in partnership with a Mr. Carr, with premises at 8 Macklin Street. I also know that Bostock specialised in school portraits, from the existence of several cabinet cards from the late 1880s and early 1890s marked, "E. Bostock, Photographer of Schools, &c. Derby." It now seems likely to me that Bostock initially trained as a photographer in the studio of William Pearson, familiarising himself with the trade before opening his own business. Photographers had to learn their trade somewhere, and where better than as an assistant, and employee, in an established operation.

Much less information survives about the early careers of photographers, when they were usually training as photographic assistants. While census records might give their professions, they hardly ever show who they worked for, and trade directory entries provide the names of the proprietors, very rarely those of their employees. Anecdotal evidence is sometimes available. For example, the career of well known Derby portraitist W.W. Winter started with him being an assistant in the studio of E.N. Charles. After Charles died in 1863 his widow ran the studio briefly with Winter's help; she married him in 1864, and he took over the studio thereafter. Sadly, little detailed knowledge of studio history such as that preserved for W.W. Winter Ltd. exists for other Derby studios, so information such as this snippet from Bostock's early career are important.


Boys from Chelmsford Charity School, 1862
Image © and courtesy of Stuart Axe
I've had some difficulty in determining when school photography became commonplace, and I would appreciate hearing from readers who have or know of such portraits from the 1860s or earlier. The rather nice portrait included above, from Stuart Axe's Flickr photostream, shows a uniformed group of boys at Chelmsford Charity School in 1862. All of those in my collection, however, are from the 1870s or later.

Apart from Bostock, there do not appear to have been any other Derby photographers who specialised in school photography. George W. Holden was a wide-ranging scholastic specialist from Windsor who is known to have plied his trade in Derby around 1877. Benjamin Brough from Chesterfield advertised his services as a "Lanternist and Photographer, Schools & Gentlemen's residences, &c." in the 1880s, but is unlikely to have ventured as far south as Derby. R.K. Peacock, Gibson & Sons and W.W. Winter - and possibly others - took school photos on occasion during the 1890s and later, but did not specifically advertise this service.

References

Extract from Lanfilo School Log Book, 20 Feb 1881, on Talgarth & District - Victorian School Days, on Victorian Powys

Extracts from Derby Borough Police Watch Committee Records, Derby Local Studies Library, courtesy of Mike Baker

Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, 1881, Kelly & Co., London. publ. on microfiche by the Derbyshire Family History Society.

Stuart Axe's Flickr Photostream

An artillery officer and Crimean hero of the old school

I purchased this splendid carte de visite portrait of a highly decorated Victorian soldier in full dress uniform and his somewhat less ornamented wife two or three years ago on eBay. I bid on it not being able to fully decipher the inscription on the reverse, and not having a particular interest in military images, but because the portrait epitomised to me the Victorian military era. The portrait looked to have been taken in the late 1860s or early 1870s, and I thought that I might be able to make a decent attempt at identifying the subjects and unearthing their stories. I was not really expecting my bid to be successful - military photographs such as this one are eagerly sought after by collectors - and I was surprised when I won the auction. I suppose I'm lucky that this one appears to have slipped under their collective radar.

I also wondered if this soldier might have served in the Crimean campaign (1854-1856). The timing seemed about right, and it would be a good opportunity to learn a bit more about that period of Britain's colonial expansion. My father recalled seeing some Crimean War medals in the possession of his mother's Brown family during his youth, but didn't know which member of the family they had been awarded to. Subsequent investigations with Brown cousins have been unable to unearth much more, or even what became of the medals. I am hoping that they will one day resurface.

My early research efforts into the photograph were a little disappointing, as I was unable to match what I could make out of the name on the reverse to anything I could find on the net using Google. I put the photograph away in a box, where it remained until recently, when I rediscovered it, made a high resolutionscan and had another go at deducing the name written on the reverse, this time with far greater success.


The photograph is an ordinary albumen print (58 x 93 mm) of moderate quality, roughly corresponding to what one would expect from an initial estimate of the age of the portrait, i.e. 1870ish. It is in a fair degree of preservation, if a little grubby, with the photosensitive emulsion appearing to be relatively undamaged physically and not particularly faded. It is a formal studio portrait of a man dressed in military uniform, perhaps in his late fifties or early sixties, standing at the shoulder of a rather younger, seated woman - presumably his wife - who may be in her thirties or early forties. The studio background is simple, although not rudimentary, with finely patterned curtain and carpet, and plain wall, which don't in any way detract from the splendour of at least one of the subjects. The ornate back of the chair on which the woman is seated is just visible behind her right shoulder.

I would describe the woman's clothing as rather ordinary, but I suppose fairly typical of the late 1860s. Her unornamented but full skirt skirt, together with a dark lace mantle and decorated hat are similar to some of the items displayed for the years 1869 to 1872 in the book Victorian Fashions & Costumes from Harper's Bazaar: 1867-1898 (Blum, 1974). The gentleman appears to be clad in a full ceremonial dress uniform, complete with medals and sword, but a more detailed analysis of this uniform is probably best left until I reveal what I subsequently uncovered about the subject's life and military career.


The carte de visite mount is of a standard size measuring 61 x 102 mm and is made from fairly thin card with square corners, although slightly rounded from wear. Unfortunately it contains no printing to show either the name of the photographer or the address of the studio. The name handwritten in black ink at the top of the reverse - which I believe from the style of handwriting and nature of the inscription, to be roughly contemporary with the carte de visite itself - appears to state, "Sir Wm. and Lady Fitzmayer." A white rectangular self-adhesive label with the number "370" or "390" is almost certainly recent, perhaps even affixed by the eBay vendor.


George Town, Demerara, from Fullarton's 1872 Map
Image © & courtesy of the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
and British Guiana, 1832-1846, Plantation Houses & Equipment
James William Howard Fitzmayer was born in 1813 at Demerara (now part of Guyana, formerly British Guiana) in South America, son of Major Charles Howard Fitzmayer and Catherine Morrisey. His father was an officer in the Royal Regiment of Artillery and was presumably based in Demerara during the British occupation of the former Dutch colony, although the family was probably Irish in origin. Major Fitzmayer died suddenly at Limerick in 1821. [Source: Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser, Dublin, 4 April 1821] I have not been able to determine much about his mother's family, apart from the fact that they were from Madeira. It seems likely that her father was also in the military, and perhaps served in Madeira but briefly during Britain's occupation of that Portuguese colony between 1807 and 1814, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars. It may also be possible that Mr Morrisey was involved in the burgeoning wine trade of that era.


The Royal Military Academy Headquarters at Woolwich
Image © and courtesy of John Hamill
John's Military History Tour of Britain
After being educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, he entered the Royal Artillery with the rank of second lieutenant in 1830. Initially based variously in Belfast, Edinburgh and Woolwich, he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant in October 1831 [Source: Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, 5 November 1831]. In October 1841 at Tiverton, Devon, he married Jane Louisa Lane, daughter of the late Major Henry Bowyer Lane - also of the Royal Artillery and a veteran of the Peninsular War - and his wife Elizabeth Lacey of Greenhill, Staffordshire. [Source: The Bristol Mercury, 23 October 1841] Six months later, he was promoted to the rank of Second Captain. [Source: Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser, Dublin, 25 April 1842] After a short spell in Warwick as a recruiter he appears to have served for a few years in Jamaica in the West Indies, returning to England on the transport ship Princess Royal in mid-1846. [Source: Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, 13 August 1846]


Portobello Barracks, Rathmines, Dublin
Image © and courtesy of The National Archives of Ireland
In October that year he was promoted to the rank of Captain [Source: Daily News, London, 28 October 1846] before being posted to the Portobello Barracks in Dublin. [Source: Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, 21 January 1847] After another trip to the West Indies, this time to Barbados, he assumed command of the 7th Company, 8th Battalion at headquarters, shortly before it was due to head off for Ceylon. [Source: Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, 1 April 1847]

As it turned out, Fitzmayer ended up not accompanying his unit to Ceylon in late July 1847 [Source: The Morning Chronicle, London, 20 July 1847] but was transferred to command a company in the 3rd Battalion, which eventually proceeded to Dublin in early March 1849. [Source: Daily News, London, 27 February 1849] He remained in Ireland for three years, including being stationed at Kilkenny for a while, before being ordered to return with his battalion to headquarters at Woolwich in March 1852. [Source: The Morning Chronicle, London, 10 March 1852]


Artillery gunners testing an Armstrong 40pdr gun at Shoeburyness Old Ranges
Engraving from The Illustrated London News, 1871
Image © and courtesy of Julieanne Savage
Captain Fitzmayer spent some time training with his battalion at the Royal Artillery barracks and ranges at Shoeburyness, before returning to Woolwich in August 1853, and two months later was ordered to prepare to embark for a spell at the station in Gibraltar. [Source: Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser, Dublin, 26 October 1853] It is not clear whether they actually left, although his obituary claimed that he had indeed served at Gibraltar. By February 1854, however, Fitzmayer's battalion was at Woolwich once again, and one of the first six on the roster for foreign service. [Source: Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle, Portsmouth, 11 February 1854]

There is scarcely enything talked of in the garrison of Woolwich but the rumours of preparations for war which are in progress, although not officially announced in general or garrison orders. It is well known, however, that waggon-loads of the munitions of war leave the Royal Arsenal daily for the grand depot, where they are carefully packed and kept in a constant state of readiness to be forwarded to any part at home or abroad at the shortest notice. A report was circulated yesterday that two troops of the Royal Horse Artillery ... and six companies who have gone through a course of field battery instruction or are at present in the batteries, are to be placed under orders to hold themselves in readiness for embarkation for service at the Mediterranean stations, or in any part of the East where their services may be found requisite.

The British Troopship Himalaya, built in 1853
from The New Zealand Wars by James Cowan, 1955
Reproduced under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand Licence courtesy of the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
The war in question was, of course, the Crimean. After Captain Fitzmayer and his third battalion, consisting of "192 officers and men, with 170 horses, 6 guns and howitzers, with 11 ammunition waggons," were "medically inspected at the Ordnance Hospital, as to their fitness for foreign service," and embarked for Turkey aboard the horse transport ships Edendale, St. Kilda and Colgrain at Woolwich dockyard. [Source: The Morning Chronicle, London, 21, 27, 29 & 30 February 1854]


French troops and horses aboard a troopship during the Crimean War
from the Illustrated News, 16 June 1855
Image © Hulton Archive/Getty Images and courtesy of Life
After a lengthy journey of over four weeks due to heavy weather and a stop in Malta they disembarked in the Crimea, they arrived in time to be actively involved in most of the major campaigns, including the affairs of Bulganac and M'Kenzie's Farm, the battles of the Alma and Inkerman, the siege and fall of Sebastopol, and the repulse of the sortie on October 26, 1854. During this period he was given field promotions, first to brevet Major [Source: The Morning Chronicle, London, 28 June 1854], then to Lieutenant-Colonel [Source: The Belfast News-Letter, 30 June 1854], accompanied by a transfer to the 4th Battalion [Source: The Times, London, 29 June 1854]. He was also complimented on parade by Sir De Lacy Evans for his method of bringing up the artillery at the Alma under the hottest fire. [Source: Daily News, London, 11 October 1854

OFFICIAL DESPATCHES FROM LORD RAGLAN
Lieutenant General Sir De Lacy Evans eulogises the conduct of ... Lieutenant Colonels Fitzmayer and Dupuis ...

Fitzmayer was again thanked by Sir De Lacy Evans and twice mentioned in despatches for the affair of the sortie. [Source: The Bristol Mercury, 11 November 1854]

2nd Division, Heights of Tchernay, Oct. 27, 1854
Yesterday the enemy attacked this division with several columns of infantry supported by artillery ... To Lieutenant-Colonel Dacres, Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzmayer ... and the whole of the Royal Artillery, we are under the greatest obligation ... De Lacy Evans.

Captain Dames, Royal Artillery, British Army, Crimea
Photograph taken by Roger Fenton, c.1855
Image © and courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog Ref. LC-USZC4-9318
The photograph is one of a series taken by Roger Fenton (1819-1869), who achieved fame for his pioneering work as a war photograper in the Crimean. A large collection of digital images of Fenton's work is available on the Library of Congress's Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. Captain Dames' uniform is very similar to that worn by Fitzmayer in the carte de visite portrait at the head of this article.


Field Train, Horse Artillery, British Army, Crimea
Horse team pulling a gun carriage; barracks and tents in the background.
Photograph taken by Roger Fenton, c.1855
Image © and courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog Ref. LC-USZC4-9218


Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division)
Image © Crown Copyright and courtesy of New Zealand Defence Force web site
In July 1855 a large number of officers were appointed to be "Ordinary members of the Military Divisions of the first, second and third classes of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath," Lieut.-Colonel Fitzmayer becoming a Companion of the Order of the Bath, or "C.B." On 5 October 1855 he was granted leave of absence until 5 January 1856 by the Crimean headquarters at Balaklava and returned to England a week later on the next available transport ship, the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamship Ripon, departing on the 13 October, sailing again via Malta and arriving at Southampton on 5 November. [Source: The Morning Chronicle, London, 24 October 1855 & The Times, London, 6 November 1855] He reached home to the news that he was in line for a further promotion to Colonel, for distinguished service in the field. Presumably this was actually a field rank only, because on his return to England he appears to have reverted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. [Source: Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, 5 November 1855]


Crimean War Medal with four clasps
Image © and courtesy of Megan C. Robertson & Medals of the World
He was also awarded the Crimean War medal with three clasps (as opposed to the four clasps shown in the example above). On 12 March 1856, Colonel Fitzmayer attended a dinner party at Buckingham Palace with many other high-ranking officers, and the following day accompanied Her Majesty, the Prince, the Princess Royal and others to Woolwich in order "to witness the arrival of the officers and men of the Royal Artillery siege train direct from the Crimea."


Order of the Legion of Honour (Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur)
Image used under Creative Commons Licence and courtesy of Rama & Wikipedia
Over the next few months Colonel Fitzmayer and his wife attended numerous court functions, including "drawing rooms," levées and state balls. Then on 16 July 1856 the Order of the Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur) was conferred upon a large number of British officers, including Colonel Fitzmayer.


Unknown officer and three mounted soldiers of the Leith Fort Artillery
Calotype by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, c. 1843-7
Image © and courtesy of the National Galleries of Scotland
In September he was still at Woolwich [Source: The Times, London, 30 Sep 1856], but by December 1857 he was commanding the garrison at Leith Fort near Edinburgh. [Source: Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, 12 December 1857]


Order of the Medjidie, from the Ottoman Empire
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
On 2 February 1857 he was appointed to the command of the Royal Artillery at Hong Kong [Source: Daily News, London, 3 February 1858] but never appears to have taken up that post, because he was still serving in Edinburgh when granted another award in March 1858. [Source: Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, 4 March 1858]

An official list has been published of the names of the officers who received the various classes of the Imperial Order of the Medjidie from the Sultan, during the late war, as a mark of his approbation of their distinguished services, and permission has been granted them by her Majesty to wear the insignia of the same ... James William Fitzmayer, C.B., 4th class.

In September 1858 Fitmayer made a trip to Wick near Caithness "to inspect both shores of the bay, in order to select suitable sites for the erection of batteries for its protection in case of war." [Source: Liverpool Mercury, 29 September 1858] These were to be manned by a Company of Artillery Volunteers raised locally (Watson, n.d.).

In May 1859 a complete structural reorganisation of the Regiment of Royal Artillery into fourteen brigades, eaqch having a separate station and its own regimental staff, was effected. [Source: Daily News, London, 4 May 1859] Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzmayer was transferred with the 8th Brigade F.A. to Portsmouth, moving there in November and being given command of "batteries stationed at Portsmouth, Aldershot, Devonport, Christchurch, Hilsen, Jersey, and Northampton." [Source: The Morning Chronicle, London, 4 November 1859] J.W. Fitzmayer's wife died in 1859, probably prior to the move from Edinburgh to Portsmouth.

Fitzmayer received confirmation of his appointment to the full, permanent rank of Colonel, as opposed to Brevet-Colonel, on 17 April 1860, and a week later his official annexation to the 8th Brigade was published. [Source: The Belfast News-Letter, 19 April 1860 & The Times, London, 25 April 1860] He was effectively commanding the artillery in the south-west district and spent his time touring many different stations and camps, including those at Portsmouth and Aldershott. Between June 1861 and January 1862, he was transferred to the command of the Royal Artillery in Ireland, based in Dublin, where he remained until April 1864.


Excerpt from The Caledonian Mercury, 28 January 1863, from the 19th Century British Library Newspapers collection
Image © The British Library and courtesy of Gale CENGAGE Learning
On 27 January 1863, however, he remarried, to Lucy Sivewright at Burntisland in Fifeshire, Scotland. Lucy Sivewright was born c. 1833 at Torre, Devon, daughter of Charles Kane Sivewright.

In April 1864, Colonel Fitzmayer was "replaced in the command of the Royal Artillery in Ireland, [and] proceed[ed] to England to assume the command of the A Brigade Royal Horse Artillery, at Woolwich, with a portion of which he will embark for India during the present Summer." [Source: The Belfast News-Letter, 24 May 1864] The officers and men were inspected at Woolwich on 13 July, and they departed for India shortly afterwards. [Source: The Times, London, 14 July 1864]


Royal Horse Artillery Officers, Gwalior
Print from Hawkshaw's India
Image © and courtesy of Raghu
Fitmayer and his wife spent nearly six years in India, first in command of the Artillery at Meerut until January 1866, then at Benares, and in command of an army division at Oude until April 1867, during which time he was promoted to the rank of Major-General. [Source: Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser, Dublin, 23 January 1868]


Group of Officers and NCO's of 'G' Battery, 'A' Brigade - late 'F' Troop at Waterloo - Royal Horse Artillery, Meerut - November 1883
Print from Hawkshaw's India
Image © and courtesy of Harappa.com
Soon after his return to England on 17 August 1870, with the publication of the Queen's Birthday Honours List, news arrived that he was to receive another award. [Source: The Pall Mall Gazette, London, 20 May & 4 July 1871]

Last night's Gazette announces, on the occasion of Her Majesty's birthday, a number of promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Honourable Order of the Bath ... The following are to be Ordinary Members of the Military Division of the Second Class, or Knights Commanders of the said Most Honourable Order:- ... Major-General James William Fitzmayer, C.B.

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, Star
Image © and courtesy of Megan C. Robertson & Medals of the World

The Queen held a private investiture of the Order of the Bath at Windsor Castle yesterday afternoon. Her Majesty, accompanied by the Prince of Wales and Prince Leopold, entered the White Drawing Room at three o'clock, when the following ... were invested by her Majesty with the riband and badge of the miltary division of the first class:- ... Major-General James William Fitzmayer.

1871 Census: Llansantffraid, Cardinganshire, Wales NA Ref. RG10/5558/47/5/18
Image © The National Archives and courtesy of Ancestry
The census of April 1871 shows Major-General Sir Fitzmayer and his wife Lucy living on the estate of Allt-lwyd in the village of Llansantffraid, Cardinganshire, North Wales, close to the Shropshire border, with five servants, including a footman, coachman, cook, housemaid and kitchen maid. His mother Catherine, who had been widowed five decades earlier, died in early December that year aged 88, in Limerick, Ireland.

Having served as Inspector of the Northern Division from April 1867, Major-General Fitzmayer was appointed to the post of Inspector-General of the Royal Artillery at Headquarters on 1 April 1875 in succession to Major-General Sir Collingwood Dickson (1817-1904). Although he and Lady Fitzmayer were resident at Southsea in Hampshire, his duties understandably included annual inspections of many of the Royal Artillery stations, necessitating some travelling. He was at Shoeburyness in July, Dublin and Limerick in August, Aldershot in October, and similar trips took place in the summer and autumn of 1876. [Source: Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser, Dublin & The Times, London, various dates] In December 1876, another appointment as Colonel-Commandant of the 11th Brigade Royal Artillery was followed by a promotion to General in October 1877. [Sources: Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle, Portsmouth, 6 December 1876, The Belfast News-Letter, 1 January 1877 & Daily News London, 3 October 1877]


General Sir James Fitzmayer, from a photograph by Bustin of Hereford
in The Graphic, 8 June 1895, from the 19th Century British Library Newspapers collection
Image © The British Library and courtesy of Gale CENGAGE Learning
In June 1879, after an inspection of the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich and the publication of a report of the Board of Visitors, General Sir Fitzmayer was at the centre of some considerable controversy. The report included some harsh criticisms of "the indulgence of the present system of training." [Sources: Aberdeen Weekly Journal, Aberdeen, 14 June 1879 & North Wales Chronicle, 21 June 1879]

Lord Airey and General Fitzmayer have paid a visit to Woolwich Academy, and they have been much distressed at the things they have seen. What they saw there has left no doubt in their minds that the British army is becoming deteriorated. In the youthful days of these veterans only the simplest diet was allowed, and if a cadet's health were not in a satisfactory state the doctor who attended him seldom ordered anything but an emetic and low diet. But in these degenerate days a totally different state of things prevails. Whilst visiting Greenwich the gallant officers have seen "pint bottles of claret before cadets at dinner." More than this. Some of the cadets are allowed to eat potted meats, hams, and tongues, and General Fitzmayer thinks that jams and marmalades are allowed to those who can afford to pay for them. The complaints, however, are not confined to the diet. The veterans describe the rooms of the military students as "ladies' boudoirs" with "comforts hardly too much for school girls." Amongst their diversions, too, there are billiards, smoking rooms, concerts and balls. In place of these comforts and luxuries Lord Airey and General Fitzmayer would give to each student a camp bedstead and bedding, a table, a couple of chairs, and a set of fire-irons, the gymnasium and out-door sports for amusement, and only an ample ration of good and wholesome food for diet.

It provoked an angry response, both from the newspapers and those in authority who had been responsible for the reforms. The following comment appeared in The Newcastle Courant on August 1879:

General Fitzmayer made out,in his recent report, that the cadets at Woolwich and Sandhurst were being "coddled" into a condition of utter uselessness; but the replies of General Adye and Ganeral Napier, the governors, tell a wholly different tale ... General Fitzmayer's prescription ... may have been all very well for the unruly schoolboys whom he remembers in his younger days as inmates of Woolwich Academy, but something less general and more suited to individual cases is needed for the scientific students of our time.

The Pall Mall Gazette (16 June 1879) responded in a similar tone:

That many officers besides Lord Airey will concur in the ideas thus enunciated is very certain; but at the same time it may be doubted whether it would be a good thing to revert to the stricter regulations formerly in force both at Woolwich and at Sandhurst ... if the cadets leave Woolwich and Sandhurst as highly educated and as manly as their predecessors did, it is difficult to see what harm is caused by allowing these amusements ... any one acquainted with Woolwich and Sandhurst as they are and as they were will acknowledge that a far higher moral tone now prevails at these institutions than existed there when the sterner rule advocated by General Fitzmayer was in force.

The subjects of the criticism were no less vehement in their response: [Source: The Pall Mall Gazette, 21 June 1879]

The Army and Navy Gazette understands that the cadets at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, are extremely indignant at General Fitzmayer's report, especially that portion of it referring to the extravagant manner in which they furnish their rooms,and their luxurious diet. The cadets consider his report too vague and exaggerated, and it is their intention to send a protest to the press.

Major-General Sir John Adye and General William Napier, respectively Governors of the Royal Military Academy and College, went on the couter-attack: [Source: The Pall Mall Gazette,London, 4 August 1879]

The old system, which was more or less in force until a few years ago,was characterized by many of those principles which Sir James Fitzmayer apparently approves, but it failed over and over again. In those days when the cadets were out of study, they were little cared for or looked after by the staff. The food was indifferent; there was little in the way of games or amusements; and the barrack-rooms, each containing four cadets, were as cheerless as possible. Within the enclosure the system of espionage by non-commissioned officers prevailed; punishments were frequent and severe, including the blackhole with bread and water; and the cadets finding little pleasure or sympathy within the boundaries of the academy, naturally sought it, in their own way, outside. They frequented the low public-houses and billiard-rooms in the neighbourhood, and other worse places, and had frequent fights in the town with the roughs. Breaking out of barracks, and surreptitioussmoking and drinking more or less prevailed, and rat-killing was a favourite amusement. In short, the system of the institution was one of stern repressive punishments,combined with a good deal of indifference as to the real comfort and welfare of the cadets. It was, in my judgement and in that of most people, a bad system, and has happily passed away ... The great changes ... which have been brought about within the last few years are due partly to the force of public opinion, and partly due to the beneficial recommendations of the Royal Commissionof 1870, which latter were so carefully carried out by my predecessor. The general principle is, that careful attention is paid not only to the professional instruction of the cadets, but also to their comfort and general welfare.

Although Fitzmayer's report was presented to Parliament, it seems to have quickly been buried.

It is not clear whether there was any connection, but less than two years later, on 1 July 1881, "In conformity with the age clauses of the new army reorganisation scheme, which fixes the limit at sixty-seven years for the retirement of generals and lieutenant-generals," General Sir James William Fitzmayer, K.C.B., Colonel, Commandant Royal Artillery was placed on the retired list. [Source: The Belfast News-Letter, 28 July 1881] He retired with his wife to The Chase in the town of Ross, Herefordshire, and over the next fourteen years served variously as County Magistrate for Ross Petty Sessional Division, Commissioner of the Peace and Commissioner of Taxes for Ross Division, as well as being secretary of The West Gloucestershire Water Company for some years.


St. Mary's Church, Ross-on-Wye
Image © Copyright Pauline Eccles and courtesy of Geograph.co.uk
Licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
On 28 May 1895 several newspapers around the country reported that, "General Sir James Fitzmayer, K.C.B., died at his residence at Ross, Herefordshire, yesterday morning, in his 82nd year. Deceased served in the Crimea, and was for times mentioned in despatches." The funeral took place at St. Mary's Parish Churchyard, Ross, on Friday 31 May. His widow Lucy Fitzmayer continued living in Ross, and died there on 24 December 1911.


An enlarged view of the medals on Fitzmayer's chest, shown above, is possibly the best clue to the date of the portrait. I'm not by any means knowledgeable on military uniforms, medals and decorations, but I can make an attempt at identification of some of them, based on the images that I've found of medals that he was definitely awarded. Unfortunately some of the medals are at least partly obscured by the lanyard and tassels. However, I think I can make out the following:

• The Legion of Honour is at centre left.


• The Companion of the Order of the Bath is in the centre of the group. It appears to have a bar on the ribbon, which may be his subsequent Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, although I don't see the Star which should perhaps have accompanied that later award.


• The Crimean War Medal may be the one at lower right, although the ribbon with its three clasps is obscured by the tassels of the lanyard.


• The Order of the Medjidie is at lower left.

This composite image shows the medals that I have tentatively identified. I'm very happy to be corrected by anyone who can do so. Please email me if you have further information.


Officer of the Horse Artillery, 1854
Image © Wilhelm von Halem, from I.T. Schick's Battledress: The Uniforms of the World's Great Armies
I'd also be keen to hear from any experts in the area of military uniform as to whether that shown in the image above, from Schick's Battledress: The Uniforms of the World's Great Armies, is an accurate representation, both in form and colour of the dress uniform likely to have been worn by Fitzmayer around 1870. It certainly looks very similar indeed. What are the names of the various items, such as the head-dress, the odd-looking piece of floppy fabric hanging from it, etc? Can one tell the officer's rank from such a uniform? Is there anything else one should look for?

P.S. Megan Robertson of Medals of the World emailed me with the following information, for which I am most grateful: "Regarding the medals in the photo, he’s wearing the Companion of the Order of the Bath badge, which was originally a breast badge. The ‘bar’ you refer to is a top buckle which was an integral part of the insignia."

References & Further Reading

International Genealogical Index (IGI), from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on FamilySearch

Index to the General Register Office (GRO) Civil Registrations of Births, Marriages & Deaths, from FreeBMD

Indexed images of the 1841-1901 UK Census, from the National Archives & Ancestry

19th Century British Library Newspapers collection, from Gale Cengage Learning

The Times Digital Archive, 1785-1985, from Gale Cengage Learning

Hussards Photos

Soldiers of the Queen, a Virtual Museum of Victorian-era British Military Photographs

Fenton Crimean War Photographs - 263 photographs of the Crimean War, 1855 by Roger Fenton, from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog

Death Notice for Sir J.W. Fitzmayer in the London Times, dated 28 May 1895, transcribed and reproduced online by The Guyana/British Guiana Genealogical Society

Barham, John (n.d.) The Battle of Inkerman, Part 2 - The Fog of War, reproduced online by Suite101

Blum, Stella (ed.)(1974) Victorian Fashions & Costumes from Harper's Bazaar: 1867-1898, Dover Publications, ISBN 0486229904

Browne, James Alexander (1865) England's Artillerymen, An Historical Narrative of the Services of the Royal Artillery, publ. Hall, Smart & Allen, London, from GoogleBooks

Calthorpe, Somerset John Gough (1858) Letters from Head-Quarters; or, The Realities of the War in the Crimea, by an Officer on the Staff, Third Edition, Condensed, With Plans, John Murray, London, reproduced online by Google Books

Duncan, Francis (2008) History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, online preview by Google Books

Hart, Lieutenant-General H.G. (1888) The New Annual Army List, Militia List, Yeomanry Cavalry List, and Indian Civil Service List, for 1888 (Vol 49), John Murray, London, online version from Google Books

Laws, Lt.-Col. M.E.S. (n.d.) The Royal Artillery at Copenhagen 1801, in The Journal of the Royal Artillery, Vol. LXXVI. No. 4., publ. The Royal Artillery Institution, reproduced online on Napoleonic Literature

Mollo, John (ed.)(1993) The Rise of the Mass Armies, 1815-1860 (Chapter 6), in Battledress: The Uniforms of the World's Great Armies, 1700 to the present, ed. I.T. Schick, illustr. Wilhelm von Halem, Artus Books

Philippart, John (1820) The Royal Military Calendar, or Army Service and Commission Book, 3rd Edition, Volume V, online version from Google Books

Watson, G. (n.d.) The Artillery Batteries at Mey and Castletown, on the Caithness Community Web Site

A mystery marriage in Barton-under-Needwood (Part 7)

In Part 5 I described how Nigel Aspdin identified a possible location for the wedding portrait at Upper Blakenhall Farm, west of the village of Barton-under-Needwood. I would now like to describe how Nigel and I have investigated this aspect in considerably greater detail.


The wedding portrait has clearly been taken outdoors. The lighting and the shadows on the subjects' faces suggest (a) that it was taken against a south-facing wall, and (b) that the sun was behind and a little to the left of the photographer. In other words, the photographer was facing in a northerly direction, the sun was in the south-west, and it was therefore almost certainly taken in the early afternoon.


After examining the south-facing wall of the main house at Upper Blakenhall, Nigel made the following comments:

Looking at the brickwork as it now is on the middle structure it is clear that there has been re-modeling in the south wall, possibly more than once. The small window is a cellar window now, and I believe it was in the Farmer photo, as it appears not to be glazed but barred with perhaps perforated zinc netting to allow air and not insects. I would suggest that in the Farmer photo the door was the entrance to the cellar, the steps proceeding down and to the left as one went in, lit by the small window. Later re-modeling has made the cellar access from inside the building, and the small window has been moved right in this exercise. The original door opening seems to be evidenced by the horizontal fillet of roof tile edges set between 2 course of brick.

The wall dividing the farm yard from the farm garden/vegetable plot with stone copings would not have been there at the Farmer photo time.

If the wall in the Farmer photo is lime washed, this may be consistent with what may have been a dairy area, perhaps for cheese preparation, possibly covered by a lean-to roof or walls not visible. This would have been the obvious place to site such an area between the milking/cattle sheds and the farmhouse. There is no sign of lime wash now, but such would have washed off easily given the 130 years time span.

Our initial attempts to match the doorway and cellar window in the wedding portrait to the existing south wall of the farm house met with some difficulties.

In the Farmer photo there are about 28 courses of brick to the top of the door frame. In the current photo there are about 26/7 to the fillet. The difference is easily accounted for by rise in ground level by subsequent surfacing, indeed the current surface of concrete paving blocks would itself have added 1.5 courses.

However, an initial overlay of the portrait onto the wall (shown above) demonstrated a problem with this interpretation, i.e. the people would have had to be midgets! In the overlay, if the height of the wall is a little over 2 metres above current ground level, this would suggest that the tallest of the standing men was only 1.45 metres (or only 4 feet 9 inches), which seems unlikely. The problem lies in the replacement bricks which are appreciably smaller than the ones used in building the original farm house.


I started again by comparing brick sizes, number of brick courses, etc. In the old photograph, the top of the doorway appears to be 28 brick courses above ground level. Using only "original" courses from above the outline of replaced bricks in the new photograph (shown above), the highest point in the bricked in outline - adjacent to the wall, is only 22 brick courses above ground level. This suggests that the current ground level may be at least 6 brick courses higher than the ground level in 1870. According to my calculations, using a brick height of 2½ inches and a nominal 3/8 or ½ inch mortar joint, that would make just under 18 inches (or 44 cm) raising of height of the ground level between 1870 and 2009.

With regard to the probable heights of the three men, I have done another exercise, based on my estimations of a brick course height of 73.2 mm. This would make the height of the top of the door 2.05 metres above ground level, and the average height of the three men approximately 1.75 metres, or about 5 feet 9 inches tall. I have taken into account that they are standing away from the wall, rather than against it, but not nearly as far away as the feet of the groom. They would therefore be of fairly average height.

Nigel used an alternative method of calculation, coming up with a very similar result:

A standard length of cast iron downpipe is 6 ft, i.e. from the top of the collar to the end of the uncollared end. The only length in the photo I can be reasonably certain is an uncut length is the top section of the right hand drain (the drain that runs near to the left of the old door opening). It would be normal to fit the un-cut lengths first, cutting only the bottom length.

That 6 ft length of pipe spans 23.6 courses of brickwork, or 1.83m.
=> 28 courses of brickwork = 28/23.5 x 1.83 = 2.18 m (i.e. the height of the door opening)

Average height of the men = about 22 courses of brickwork.
=> Average height of men = 22/23.5 x 1.83m (6 ft) = 1.71 m = 5' 7"

With regard to the current ground level, Nigel estimates:

The old door opening appears to be currently 25 brick courses high [in the new photo], but of smaller bricks or coursework than the original wall. Panning left past the re-modeling to original brick work, I estimate that the current "door" is 22 brickwork courses high.
=> current "door" height is 22/23.5 x 1.83m, = 1.71m
=> ground level has risen by (2.18 - 1.71) = 0.47 m or 18.5 inches, and that seems to accord with your calculations.

I must say that an 18 inch increase seems significant, but if the building has no damp course, which I suspect is the case, then there is no reason not to allow the level to rise. The farm yard is concreted, and that probably extended to the area of the photograph at the same time, that would have added perhaps 9 inches (say 4 inches rubble, 5 inches concrete)

Then there is the current concrete block work paving. My research shows that this would have required:
Granular sub base (100mm), Gritty sand 25-40 (say 40mm), Block 50-100 depending on expected traffic (80mm)
Total thickness = 220 mm = 8.5 inches.

So in total the concreting of the yard, and later block work, may easily account for 16.5 inches of our 18 inch rise.

Wedding portrait image projected directly onto south wall of farmhouse with appropriate scale and perspective adjustments
With this knowledge and information I was then able to relate the scale of the wedding portrait to that of the recent photograph of the south wall. Using a vertical line through the left hand door jamb - since vertical dimension is not affected by perspective in either of the two photographs - I adjusted the scale of the wedding portrait to that of the recent photo, and superimposed the former on the latter using Adobe Photoshop. In other words, I have matched the top of the old doorway to just below the upper limit of replacement brickwork, and the base of the 22nd brick below the top of the old doorway (in the old photo) to the current ground level. This, of course, results in everything below waist level in the old photograph being below current day ground level, which is a little difficult to envisage.

For those who might interested I carried out this digital manipulation using Layers in Photoshop, as this feature greatly facilitates the manipulation of the various parts of the image:

Base Layer: Original colour image of south wall of farm house
Layer 1: Outline of replaced brickwork
Layer 2: Lines of perspective (later deleted)
Layer 3: Image of wedding portrait (50% transparent)

I manipulated the image in Layer 3 to cater for the perspective using Photoshop's "Distort" tool, fitting it to the perspective lines that I had drawn into Layer 2, which were later removed before producing the final image. I'm sure the same could be done with any of the other popular digital image editing programmes available.

The position of the old photograph laterally along the line of the wall is, of course, somewhat arbitrary. However, I believe it very unlikely that the doorway could extend between the two parts of the building. The lines of bricks do not match up at all, and there is probably an internal structural wall between the two parts, in line with the vertical down drain pipe, and immediately on the other side of the low external wall extending to the right.


It is also important to examine the proposed location of the wedding portrait in a three-diemsional sense, rather than merely in the plane of the wall. For this purpose, I have produced a simple plan showing an outline of the farm buildings, overlain on a greatly enlarged satellite image for reference to the original location shots shown in Part 5. The plan immediately demonstrates a difficulty with the proposed location - there doesn't seem to be enough room for the photographer, as the distance between the farmhouse and the outbuilding is only about 3 metres. I don't have enough technical knowledge to be sure, but I estimate that the photographer would have set up his camera and tripod between 4 and 6 metres away from his subjects. If the identification of the location is correct, there appears to be no place for him to stand in the current arrangement of buildings.


Nigel spotted that the brickwork on the west wall of the outbuilding (image above) showed evidence that several substantial modifications had been made to the structure over the years.


In particular, the portion of the wall covered with fine lattice work shown in the enlarged image above clearly has a join between walls of two quite different styles and, presumably, dates. This join continues up and to the left diagonally into the shingles on the roof. Nigel and I believe it very likely that the the part of the outbuilding to the left of the join, i.e. the northern part of the building, is of later construction, and at the time the wedding portrait and associated photographs were taken, the outbuilding probably ended at the join. This would increase the "1870" distance between the farmhouse and the outbuilding by 6-8 metres, giving plenty of room for the photographer to set up his camera and tripod, and as a consequence removing a significant obstacle to this being the location for our our wedding portrait.

Upper Blakenhall Farm therefore matches so many aspects of the three portraits in this group, and the extended Hoult and Smith families fit very nicely what we have been able to deduce about the subjects of the photograph, that I feel pretty confident that we have solved the mystery. The only lead that we haven't yet followed up is to investigate whether the buildings at Barton Park Farm (discussed and illustrated in Part 4) include any cellar windows and other features which could match. Nigel may be able to check out that property at some stage in the future, but the families of the Archer-Ball marriage from Barton Park did not correlate well with the subjects of the old photographs, so I regard it as a very long shot.

For the moment, I am very happy to remain with the identification of Mary Ann Hoult and Jacob Botham Smith as the bride and groom, and the location of all three CDVs as Upper Blakenhall Farm near Barton-under-Needwood. In the last of this series - yes, I promise it will be the last - I'll outline what happened to the Smith and Hoult families after this marriage, through into the 20th and 21st Centuries.