Testimonies relating to acts of lifesaving, 1828-1836.

Testimonies relating to Dobbie's acts of lifesaving:

(1) Four copies of the testimony of Lieutenant Edward Collier, approved by Captain William Walpole, dated 24 October 1828. It provides an account of how Dobbie, serving as a midshipman on HMS RANGER (1820), rescued Abraham Hutchins from drowning at Chatham on 17 October 1828. With the added signatures of his father Captain William Hugh Dobbie, grandfather Bartlett Goodrich, uncle Captain John Dick, and Thomas White, Justices of the Peace for Essex, certifying the documents to be true copies of the original, given at Saling, Essex, dated 31 October 1828 and 2 November 1828.
(2) Five sheets with copies of the testimonies of Volunteer First Class Alfred Boyer and Captain Charles Napier, dated 17 February and 7 March 1830. They provide details of the incident in which Dobbie, serving as a midshipman on HMS WINCHESTER (1822), saved Boyer from drowning after he fell overboard from HMS GALATEA (1810) at Portsmouth on 4 February 1830. With the added signatures of his father and grandfather, Justices of the Peace for Essex, certifying the documents to be true copies of the originals, given at Saling, Essex, dated 18 March 1830.
(3) Dobbie’s own account of the incident on 8 September 1835 when the jib boom on HMS MAGICIENNE (1831) was carried away in a heavy squall off Fort St. Julian, and he jumped overboard to assist three men who had gone into the water. Sent to his family from Lisbon, dated September 1835.
(4) Copy of a letter from Agatha Shedden Dobbie to Captain George W.S. Mildmay in command of the MAGICIENNE. She asks him to provide a record of the above incident, thus assisting with her son's chances of promotion to lieutenant.
(5) Three copies of a testimony and cover letter sent from Cadiz by Captain George W.S. Mildmay, addressed to Mrs Dobbie at Saling Hall, Essex, dated 14 and 15 June 1836.