MID OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

Je zoome, tu zoomes, il zoome, elle zoome, nous zoomons….. Mon dieu, I hear you say! What is this, a new Verb ? Oh heck, and all those blessed endings! Ben oui! Like tout le monde our French conversation sessions are continuing as best we can via Zoom mais ce n’est pas facile du tout, especially for those of us who are, shall we say, technologically challenged or who would rather do anything other than spend their time in front of a computer screen. But mes amis, under Covid restrictions, the phrase “C’est la vie” takes on an even more pertinent significance. It has been six mois, oui, six long months since “le confinement” was introduced. (Think of the poor French suddenly deprived of all that kissing on both cheeks!). After the sudden shock of not being able to meet up as normal I must confess I did not quite know how to move forward. Like most of us I had never heard of Zoom six months ago. Initially therefore, with so much extra time on my hands, I suggested half hour one-to-one mini-sessions over the telephone to everyone in both the Intermediate and Advanced groups. Each person was allocated a time slot on a twice- monthly basis. This worked really well and was much appreciated by almost everyone. After a couple of months, however, I realised that whilst this set-up was great for my group members it was taking up an inordinate and unsustainable amount of my time (I have well over 20 members in the two groups combined, you can do the maths…!). By this time too, I had reached the conclusion that Zoom was really the only alternative and had gained some confidence by using it elsewhere. It hasn’t always been straightforward, however, and without help I would have found it impossible. I am so very fortunate to have group members and also a fiancé who can set up the Zoom sessions for me (merci mille fois, Tim, Val, Vicki ,Gary et James) so that I can simply focus on the content. Zoom does feel like being back in an old-fashioned classroom in many ways, though, doesn’t it? Holding normal conversations as we have been used to in pre Covid days are nigh on impossible although I guess they might work better with those break out rooms. In order to make Zoom work at all you have to impose a discipline, establish a running order, perhaps even nominate people in order to avoid everyone talking over each other. (Perhaps I should add at this point that I spent the last ten years of my career teaching French and EFL in Adult Education where the chief reason why people give up on learning a language is because they found it so uncomfortable if they were put on the spot by the teacher. The psychology and group management of it all is so important). Mais voila! Pour le moment, it’s the best we can do. I am proud to say that the two groups seem to be flourishing although a couple of folk have chosen to do their own thing for a while. We were extremely fortunate a couple of years ago to find two excellent course books which continue to give us a structure to follow. We manage to incorporate a healthy dose of good humour and general bonhomie into our sessions thanks to my trusty deputy Elisabeth who can always be relied on to come up with le mot juste. Elisabeth , your help is “inestimable” . A final “merci mille fois” must go to you, my members,for sticking with me. Like all interest groups we look forward hugely to the time when we can meet up again in the real world. To finish here is un petit quiz to reward those of you who have read thus far:

Match these 3 verbs with the appropriate nouns below: A. Gardez …………….. B.Lavez …………….. C. Portez …………… (i) les mains (ii) la distance (iii) vos masques More especially, restez sains et saufs pendant les six prochains mois, AMITIES a tous , Carol Sheppard

Lockdown musings on our U3A There we were, confined to ‘barracks’, not allowed to see friends and socialise, and certainly not allowed any U3A gatherings. So what to do? Standing back from life’s daily events and demands allows you time to think and to take the long view, and I did just that with our U3A. It seems to me that Ems ValleyU3A is a victim of its own success! And I doubt we’re alone in that. Having started in 2006 we now have well over four hundred members and 40-odd groups, several of which have been running since its inception, their leaders giving generously of their time and expertise. That’s all fantastic, but unfortunately we’re all getting older (a sad fact of life!) and therein lies the rub. Those of us of more advanced years have less energy than we had back then, and maybe even health issues. As we age we become more reluctant to take on new responsibilities, or even continue with existing ones. Some might even like to relinquish their role as a group leader, having fulfilled that role for some years, but fear letting group members down. As I thought about this I had a few ideas which I wrote down and sent to our Chairman, Anne Powell. Her response was one of great enthusiasm. When an organisation runs so successfully it is tempting to maintain the status quo and continue in the same vein. However, I believe that way can lead to stagnation and eventually boredom and a decline in members attending groups. So how could we keep things fresh, alive, and vital? That is the question I was pondering. I confess to being rather ruthless in my outlook, and you may find this uncomfortable or unpalatable, but nevertheless the idea is still worth consideration. I believe that if a group has run for a number of years, enthusiasm for it is waning among the members, and numbers are dwindling, then serious consideration should be given to closing it, rather than just perpetuating it for the sake of it. Discussion, at a group meeting, to address the matter does not always bear fruit or prove helpful, and perhaps requires some advice or guidance from the parent U3A committee. Understandably, long-running groups do get ‘tired’ and then need the fresh impetus and injection of ideas that could come from a new leader – someone with a different approach. Not ‘better’, just ‘different’ –this is neither a competition to find the best group leader for a subject nor a denigration of the hard work put in by existing leaders. Also, if a group leader wishes to stand down, for whatever reason, and no-one comes forward to take over then I believe the group should simply close having, perhaps, run its course and fulfilled its objective. But that might be a step too far, with members feeling they are being coerced into volunteering to take it on in order to keep it going– not good! This also begs the question of what is the optimum term of any group. Should all groups be open-ended, as they are now, or can they be of finite duration? It is obviously, to a certain extent, dependent on the subject of the group. Those like Mah-jong or Discussion lend themselves to being open-ended, whereas other groups that rely on one person’s specialist knowledge may be better running for a finite period. I currently see several possible ways of addressing this problem. The first is to do as I believe Havant U3A has done and that is to disband each group after a year, every year. If the group leader is happy to continue for another year then that’s great, but it does give them the opportunity to bow out if they want to. If members want to continue the group but the leader has stepped down, then the group can run for another year if someone else agrees to lead it. I’m sure more people would be willing to ‘give it a go’ if they were safe in the knowledge that it was only for a year, that is unless they were willing to continue further. Yes, this idea has its down side in that there could be a lack of continuity, but that is not for discussion at this point. The second is to have ‘beginner’ groups of a finite duration that can then feed into the main group on the more ‘academic’ subjects. This would address the question of beginners in, for example, Family History coming along for their first meeting and being completely mystified by the jargon and what’s being spoken about. The third is to run ‘short courses’, possibly through the winter months since most of us aren’t disappearing on holidays then or quite so responsible for minding grandchildren. These could be say four to six sessions, once a month as now, and could either end then or act as a kind of introduction to a subject, depending on the scope of the subject and the leader’s knowledge. If the ‘short course’ subject was well received and there were others who thought they would have liked to have had the opportunity to be part of that group then, depending on the willingness of the leader, it could be run again using the same material. No further preparation would need to be done for it, and therefore it shouldn’t be a burdensome thing. Some people might feel that they could run a short course of limited duration, on a subject that interests them, or of which they have personal experience, whereas they definitely wouldn’t want to commit to running a group for the next ‘X’ years. Do we, for example, have any former Maths teachers among our members who could help us revive our O-level skills? Or Geography teachers who could give us a short course on ‘Landforms of Britain’. Maybe someone worked in the finance or manufacturing industries, or in retail, and could give us a glimpse behind the scenes over a few sessions. Food for thought. My final thought on this is purely embryonic at the moment. Inevitably the question of venue would arise, but maybe we could hire a room at the Community Centre and have a rolling programme of subjects –same room, same day and time. Though that may not be a particularly practical approach, and the reasons are self-evident. I have submitted this for general circulation at the request of Anne Powell in order for it to have a wider audience, and to stimulate discussion among members. Your feedback, positive, negative, or even outraged, would be welcome. Jill Stanley

John Reynolds’ great grandmother said goodbye to her sister in 1861 as Anna and Edward Vellenoweth decided to set off from Cornwall for a new life in New Zealand. John is a long time member of our Family History group and now a committee member. Through him therefore, we now have access to a diary which Anna sent home to her sister, Katherine. It provides a fascination insight into the social scene of that time when many would make the courageous decision to emigrate. We present it exactly as it was written. With thanks to John Reynolds!

The Diary: November 14th 1861. Left home for New Zealand by the Packet Foyle for London, felt very sad thinking of home. Nov 16th. 10 in the morning near London today. My dear Edward and self feel we are alone in the world. He is so kind. Nov 17th. Saw our vessel today and have high opinion of this company we are going under. Nov 18th. Took our things on board – spent evening with Miss Mitchell. Nov 19th. We went out of the Docks – fell asleep in London. In the morning found ourselves at Gravesend. Noon – the inspection is a muster form. The inspectors are now left. Anyone can bring what they like with them. Find no doctor is provided, neither stewardess. Things are very different from what we were told. Everyone is deceived in the arrangements. Some of our companions are simpler sort. We feel strangers indeed. Nov 21st. Took pilot on board and we began our voyage. And two more people. We may have a prosperous one. Stormy. Nov 22nd. Very rough, feeling sick. Some are very sick already. Edward quite well and in good heart. Nov 23rd. Sunday, a storm in the morning, it seems a strange Sabbath day. Pilot left in the evening. Nov 24th. Storm – most very sick – head wind – blown back from where we came. Nov 25th. Gale in the night but did not feel afraid. Dear Edward quite well – off the Isle of Wight. Nov 30th. Still in the Channel, everyone sick but Edward and one other. Some very ill. Sunday again I am ill today. Dec 6th. Still in the same place – beating from one side of the Channel to the other. Everyone out of health. It seems as if we are not to go on our journey. We miss many home comforts indeed. Dec 7th Sunday. Wind never favourable as far as Plymouth. Dec 8th. Wind fair. Able to get up in the morning. Past Scilly. Dec 9th. Still fair – everyone better. Dec 10th & 11th. Beautiful days – able to go on deck and look around us, and meet each other at table. Dec 12th. A stormy night and day. I am again unwell. Dear Ned is the best of the bunch – he hands me everything, fresh water. How thankful I am that he is well. Wish we had brought more things with us to make use of, provisions are very poor. I am not able to do anything and my dear Ned has all to do. I did not think he would get on so well with strangers as he does. Dec 13th. Find our next door neighbours very nice people. Mr and Mrs Leonard. Our captain seems a careful man but a proud one. The cabin passengers are all Brits, one is an old Colonial, he often talks well of the country. I think so much of home we ought to do well after going on a seas voyage. We do not find it a pleasant life. Dec 14th. Rough and stormy. Dec 15th. My birthday. I think of all at home today. I hope dear Mother and Father will remember me today. We have just passed Madeira Island. We have a Jersey family on board, they have a black little dog with them. I should like my “old Don” to be with me. I often look at his picture. How I wish we had my parents likewise with us. When I see others showing their friends it makes me feel so much I cannot fancy we have left home altogether. Dear Mother and Father. Dec 16th. A splendid morn. E is calling me on deck. We are now passing the Canary Isle and the peak of Teneriffe. How I wish Kate could see it and the deep, deep blue seas that we have often heard about. No one unless they see it can form any idea of it’s beauty and the moonlight on the ocean, and James prophesy is not come to pass. We have neither fleas or bugs. Dec 17th. A calm day. Dec 18th. A fine breeze. We often hear of the conduct of passengers but nothing can equal the games here. We are 79 passengers and 26 belong to the ship. After being here I would never advise any female to come alone for the treatment of the women is shameful, although there are some nice people. Dec 19th. Weather rough indeed. I went faint this evening. We are beginning to feel the hot weather coming. How strange this seems. Dec 20th. Stormy. I am not well. Edward is bad in his head. Dec 21st. Fine. Flying fish about the vessel but did not see them, also a whale late in the evening. We go to bed early to keep out of bad company for there is no order on the ship. Broke my …., on my finger, it made me sad. Dec 22nd. Sunday. We have been to prayers on the poop today. It was comfortable and nice flags covered the seats and the desk for the captain. Hope we may go again, all the sailors dress in best clothes. Dec 23rd. Going slow, saw some flying fish. Would not catch them, should like all at home to see them, they were striped with silver and purple – beautiful. Dec 24th. Xmas eve – feel low indeed, wonder who is gone to market and who dear Mother has with her now, should like to be with all at home this evening. Very hot and I should like Mother to see E how kind he is to me in everything. He cannot bear to see me to look sad and he watches every look. Dec 25th. Xmas Day. Fried rasher for dinner for a change, we made a nice pudding but had nothing from the ship although there are plenty of ships pigs and poultry on board – we had an apple tart for last. We have a nice German lady and her husband here – a Mr & Mrs Biddings. The only aliens I believe on board. No service today. Dec 26th. Very hot cannot sleep at night. Dec 27th. Still hotter, saw some flying fish and such a lot of great porpoises. One sprang out of the water as if to show itself. We have seen large albatross and E has seen a shark. We spend our evening on deck for our small cabins are very close now. Mr and Mrs Biddings, Leonards and ourselves and they are good company indeed. Dec 28th. We cannot do anything it is so hot. We suffer scarcely any clothes on – it is killing hot. We hope to cross the line soon. A vessel in sight hope she is bound home – went to prayers and had a sermon heard the text Colossians Ch.1-16. The vessel is American am dismayed. Dec 29th. Heard today while in the channel a vessel came near running us down in the night, they kept it close because the people should not be alarmed! Dec 30th. So hot we cannot move the water is going very bad. Lime juice is all we have to drink. I miss my water at dinner times so much. A vessel past for home but not near, a vessel on each side one on our water the other an American ... an eclipse coming they say it will be total. 4 vessels in sight. Jan 1st 1862. The New Year has begun. I feel all at home think of me such days as this. I can fancy dear Mother’s voice speaking of me at meal time. Thunder and lightning, much rain in torrents. It never rains but it pours here. Finished our apples today. Jan 3rd. Squalls all day, both well. Jan 4th. Water so bad nothing to drink. The ducks at home would pass by our water it is a shame for they are afraid for good provisions. Hope some of our friends will come out under Willis Goss and Co. I dream so much of home never of Treleggan always Treworthal, strange for I do not think much of Treworthal. Jan 5th. First Sunday of the New Year one o’clock past the Line. Neptune did not come on board neither did he demand any tolls as it was Sunday, went to prayers. Vessel in sight. Editor: This is half way on that epic trip - the second half of the diary will be published in the next newsletter.

LANGSTONE TO ISLE OF WIGHT 1885 We think that we live in the advanced age. But did you know that in 1885 there was a train ferry at Langstone, just down the road from here, using the principles and equipment developed for the very first world’s first roll on roll off train ferry. This idea was developed by a man named Thomas Bouch, who however, did not always enjoy a good press: On the night of December 28, 1879, the unthinkable happened in Scotland. Battered by a ferocious storm, the 13 central girders of the Bridge over the Tay Estuary collapsed into the river below, carrying with them a train and all its passengers and crew. Despite one hundred and forty one years of subsequent train travel, the disaster remains one of Britain’s worst ever railway accidents. A terrific storm, which had spread mayhem and destruction throughout central Scotland, was howling down the Tay just as the train was crossing the bridge. As the train reached the girders at the centre of the bridge, they suddenly collapsed – plunging the train and its seventy- five passengers and crew into the icy waters. There were no survivors, and only forty-six bodies were ever recovered. The bridge, which had been hailed as an engineering masterpiece on its opening the previous year, was found to have been severely flawed. The official enquiry discovered that the iron superstructure was of inferior quality and had been badly maintained. Most damning of all, little or no Sir Thomas Bouch account was made of wind pressure in the design of the bridge. The enquiry firmly laid the blame at the door of the designer, Sir Thomas Bouch. Bouch vehemently denied the charge, but his career was in ruins. He died just ten months after the fall of the

The night of the disaster. The replacement rail bridge great bridge. Though none of the passengers were saved, there was a survivor of a sort. The engine that had hauled the train to its doom was recovered from the river bed and put back into service. Sardonically nicknamed “The Diver” by railway staff, it carried on working for the until 1908! A famous poem was written about the disaster and often recited by Billie Connelly. It started:

Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay! Alas! I am very sorry to say That ninety lives have been taken away On the last Sabbath day of 1879, Which will be remember’d for a very long time.

’Twas about seven o’clock at night, And the wind it blew with all its might, And the rain came pouring down, And the dark clouds seem’d to frown, And the Demon of the air seem’d to say- “I’ll blow down the Bridge of Tay.”

When the train left Edinburgh The passengers’ hearts were light and felt no sorrow, But Boreas blew a terrific gale, Which made their hearts for to quail, And many of the passengers with fear did say- “I hope God will send us safe across the Bridge of Tay.”

Yes, there was a roll on roll off Train freight ferry, Mainland to IOW, in 1885. It was sited immediately to the west of the Hayling Billy line. You can read all about it in the next edition of this newsletter! How many readers knew this????

Last of the Summer Cycles Who said, 'There will be no Indian Summer in 2020'? Well they were certainly wrong today. The U3A Cycle Group enjoyed 25C, sunny with a light breeze for a smashing ride today, led by Ray Davies and John Auric in the absence of our regular leader Gary Willard. We set off with a ride Northwards through the parks and play areas of Emsworth to

Voodoo Vibes at Racton Monument

savour a steady climb up Hollybank Lane and on through the woods, taking extra care crossing the fast Emsworth Common road and then down along the rough but pretty woodland track to Stansted House, skirting around the former mews buildings and on, still on tracks and bridleways Eastwards towards Racton.

3½ of us at Stansted House

In the interests of social distancing regulations Ray decided that maximum group size should be 6 so we rode as two groups and each group, despite the excellent route maps provided did manage to stray from the intended route but all made it through Ractonpark wood, a must for springtime bluebells we remembered and all agreed to repeat the ride then to enjoy that spectacle. On South from there and as if by magic coming upon The Woodmancote Inn where well spaced tables on the outdoor sunny verandah allowed us to enjoy table service with a smile for beers, whitebait and so on. Three of the party wimped out at this point with excuses like, 'I need to go to the hardware shop' and 'I must get back in time for a swim at High Water'. The rest were able to reverse the route used a couple of times previously as a Xmas ride around past watercress farms and by winding lanes to Southbourne returning to Emsworth through Prinsted and Emsworth Yacht Harbour. What a smashing ride on a fine day. Thank you Ray. Neil Cowell

Editor: I can hear the cry now, how do the Cycling group always monopolise the newsletter. Very simply, they send their reports in! How many groups out there are not sending their reports to the editor??

Let1s be hearing from you!

We continue the serialisation of Jim Day’s research into the naval career of his maternal great Grandfather, John James Kennedy, the first two instalments appeared in the previous two newsletters:

On 13th November 1854 John James was promoted to Commander, "for courage and endurance displayed by him whilst serving in the Naval Brigade in the trenches before Sebastopol". Shortly afterwards, on 1 February 1855, he was appointed as Commander of HMS AGAMEMNON 91, the first ship of the line to be designed for screw and sail. AGAMEMNON had been laid down at Woolwich in 1849 and launched in 1852. This would have been a significant promotion for him. On 1 October he was at last given command of his own ship, HMS CURLEW, a sloop of 22 guns. The CURLEW took part in the naval actions in the Sea of Azoff. A report of these actions was sent to the Admiralty by Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, the Commander in Chief, which appeared in the London Gazette of 8 December 1855. HMS AGAMEMNON

The report summary reads as follows: DESTRUCTION OF CORN ETC. IN GHEISK- LIMAN November 24 1855 Sir, Their Lordships are aware that when the small gun-boats were no longer required at Kinburn I sent them back to Captain Osborne, to afford him the means of destroying, at the latest period of the season, the harvest of this year, which I understood to be collecting in the neighbourhood of Gheisk-Liman, for the purpose of being transported in the winter months, partly to the enemy's army in the Crimea over the frozen Gulf of Azof and partly to his army in the Caucasus by the military road. 2. The enclosed copy of a letter from Captain Osborne will show their lordships that in this, as on many former occasions, he has fully justified the confidence I have placed in him. The skilfulness of the arrangements made by him, and the admirable way in which they were executed by himself by Commander Kennedy, of the Curlew, and by the officers and men under their orders, completely frustrated the efforts of the large force that was brought against them in the defence of the stores, which the enemy appears to have considered safe from any naval attack in consequence of the shallowness of the water. 3. The effects of this brilliant enterprise, in the destruction of so much corn and forage at the commencement of winter, cannot fail to be severely felt by the Russian armies both in the Crimea and the Caucasus. 4. Commander Kennedy, in reporting his large share in the proceedings of the day in the command of the Curlew, states to Captain Osborne that at one place alone the rows of stacks were six deep and extended two miles, and it appears that for economy in transport and storage the straw was cut near to the ears of the corn. 5. As ice is now forming on the shores of the Sea of Asof and the squadron is withdrawn, I feel captain Osborne, under circumstances of great difficulty, occasioned by unusually tempestuous weather, has most ably brought to a successful close operations novel in their nature and extremely detrimental to the enemy; nor is it too much to say, that both commanding officers were supported throughout, by as dashing and intelligent a band of young officers, seamen, and marines, as ever shone in the British Navy. (Signed) EDMUND LYONS Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief

There is a strange set of coincidental circumstances attached to these actions in the Sea of Azoff and I would like to quote from the body of the report: "On the right and centre the enemy mustered strongest, and at one time observing a column of some 1500 Cossacks moving rapidly off the left, I directed Commander Kennedy (who by that time had connected his fires with Lieutenant Day) to re-embark all but the marines, and with them to proceed to his right, and I reinforced him with the marines of the Recruit and Weser, under Lieutenant Campion. This answered perfectly; the enemy arrived too late to save anything on the left, whilst our men steadily worked towards the right division, under Lieutenants Strode and Ross, who, in spite of a heavy but badly directed fire from the houses on the heights, steadily held their ground and effectually destroyed a great accumulation of materials for boats and ship building, fish stores, cavalry camp gear and granaries." In consideration of the services mentioned in the above Despatches, Commander John James Kennedy will be promoted to the rank of Captain, so soon as he shall be qualified; and Lieutenant Hubert Campion has been promoted to the rank of Commander." John James would then have been 34, one of the youngest Captains in the Royal Navy. His superior officer, Captain Sherard Osborne, had been a Midshipman with him at the storming of Canton and Chinghae in 1841.

Left: HMS CHALLENGER in 1861 The strange coincidence is that Lieutenant George Fiott Day (mentioned in the third line of the report) was a brother of Charles Arthur Day, my great-grandfather on my father's side, and for his part in this action he was subsequently promoted to Commander. He eventually rose to become a Captain and had twelve medals in all (five more than John James Kennedy!), including the Victoria Cross, which he had been awarded for an earlier British sailors towing warships toward the besieged city of Canton action in the Sea of Azof.

This was in an era when few campaign medals existed and medals were not given away lightly. Altogether seven or eight VCs were won in the course of the expeditions to Kertch and the Sea of Azof. It is strange that these two, one a great-grandfather on my mother's side and the other a great-great-uncle on my father's side, should have been so intimately involved in the same enterprise! There is an amusing story in connection with George Day and his medals. In a head and shoulders photograph he is dressed in Captain's uniform with the medals spread randomly across his chest. This photograph was displayed in the window of E & E Emanuel, Goldsmiths and Jewellers to the Queen, of 3 The Hard, Portsea. Apparently, Prince Louis of Battenberg, a naval man himself, saw this and showed a copy to the Prince of Wales, as a result of which the order was originated for medals to be hung overlapping one another from one bar. George Fiott Day, who earned the nickname 'Daredevil Day', was in the first list of VC recipients published on 24 February 1857 but unfortunately could not attend the first investiture by Queen Victoria (who had instituted the award) in June of that year as he had to leave for the West Africa Station in command of the FIREFLY, steam sloop, at the end of May. It is interesting to note that the first expedition to the Sea of Azoff in May of 1855 had been called off by Napoleon III sending a telegraph message recalling the French Naval contingent. This was one of the earliest messages sent via a newly laid cable to the seat of action. As a result of this interference in the conduct of the local operations, the French Commander resigned! John James Kennedy gained bars for his Crimea medal for Sebastopol, Inkerman and Azoff. He was awarded the Order of the Bath, the Legion of Honour as well as the Turkish and Sardinian medals for the Crimea. In addition he also had the China medal for his service in China in 1840. The Sardinian Medal was actually a decoration for 'valour' for the `Expedition to the East'. There were only 400 given to the army, 30 to the navy and 20 to the marines. Each had individual citations. John Kennedy's read as follows: "Captain John James Kennedy RN served on shore from the time of the landing to the debarkation of the Naval Brigade. He bore a part in every bombardment and is represented by Rear Admiral Sir Stephen Lushington to have set a most praiseworthy example of courage and endurance". The British Crimea Medal with the Azoff bar is very rare (about 2000) and very few of these were inscribed. JJK's is inscribed "J.J.Kennedy, Commander HMS Agamemnon": This wasn't the end of John James' services! In 1861, Napoleon III had begun a Latin American venture by proposing to make the Austrian Archduke, Ferdinand Maxmillian Josef, emperor of Mexico, hoping by this means to check the growing influence of the United States in Latin America. The following year Great Britain contributed a battalion of Marines and three ships from the North America and West Indies squadron to the joint exercise with Spain and France. The flagship of the group was the CHALLENGER 22, screw, commanded by Captain John James Kennedy, CB. The British participated in the occupation of Vera Cruz but very wisely decided, in concert with Spain, to withdraw in the following April. As soon as the US had concluded its Civil War, it forced the French to withdraw from Mexico with disastrous consequences, both to France and to Napoleon III's protégé, Maxmilian, who, having been abandoned, was executed by his successor. John James' later service was with the coast guard service off the south coast of Ireland, which was then under the control of the Navy. In January 1866 John James Kennedy was Captain of the FREDERICK WILLIAM, 3241 tons, 500 HP, on coast guard service based at Foynes, on the river Shannon, southern Ireland. So he had now converted over to steam completely, having started his career in sail! His final posting in September 1868 was to the VALIANT, 4063 tons, 800 HP, for a further three months coast guard duty before retiring as a Captain in 1871. He was awarded a special Good Service Pension of £150pa for distinguished service at sea. That, together with his Captain's pension of around £500pa, would have made him comfortably off. Having during his long service achieved the rank of Captain, he gradually progressed up the promotional ladder in retirement until in February 1879 he became a Vice Admiral on a pension of £725pa plus his Good Service Pension of £150pa. Archduke, Ferdinand On 21 April 1866 he had married at Christ Church, Cheltenham, Isabella Maxmillian Josef, Frances Evans, the daughter of the Reverend Francis Evans, who was descended from a line of Herefordshire churchmen. By her he had three children who survived, of which my grandfather was the eldest. The Admiral died at Harrogate on 18 August 1885 at the age of sixty four. There is a plaque to his memory in the RN church of St Ann's in the dockyard at Portsmouth. I discovered this plaque when trying to research the Sardinian medal for the Crimea. Before that I knew nothing about it, who had placed it there, or anything! This summarises his career and had I known about it earlier it would have saved me a lot of hard work! Jim Day

(Editor: our thanks to Jim Day once more for sharing his research with us. An amazing naval career (John James) and an even more amazing coincidence in the twist at the end, his maternal great grandfather working in conjunction with his paternal great grandfather’s brother to destroy the winter food stores of the Russian army! Surely stories such as this can only come to light through the medium of Mary Mumby’s Family History Group!!!)

Seen outside a pub in Arundel last week:

Wine Appreciation One

We are holding a Zoom meeting on Tuesday 20th October at 3.00pm, when we shall discuss the results of our CUST meetings over the past month. (CUST stands for Covid Ultra Safe Tastings!). In addition we shall be passing on advice re any wines we have tasted lately.

Hope to see you all on 20th, It is such a long time since we last met, one forgets what we all looked like…..

Zoom joining details will be sent out nearer the time.

ALAN BORROW

Journeys in Biology: DNA and the Genome Revolution – Monthly meeting

Our speaker at the October monthly meeting is Darren Gowers who is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biology at the University of Portsmouth. He has followed a path in bioscience research and his current research area is Biochemistry – the study of macromolecules, genes and cells. His group work on proteins that bind to DNA, with the aim of understanding how these affect gene control in healthy and diseased cells. He will also talk about the molecular biology and structure of the Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus.

The meeting will be held on Zoom at 14:00 on Thursday 22nd October. You will receive an email with an invitation to the talk a couple of days before the meeting with the details of how to log into the Zoom meeting.

If you are not familiar with Zoom, there is a tutorial on the website - go to the “Welcome page” and it is listed under the Links section of that page. Jane Yoward