Service documents belonging to Captain (Fore Top) John Joseph Jackman, Royal Navy and later Chief Seamanship Instructor, Chinese Imperial Navy.

(1, 2, 3, 4 & 5) United Service Lodge no. 1341 receipts, Hong Kong, 1881-1882; 6, 7 & 8) Certificate on parchment for wounds and hurts dated 20 September 1882 (with an envelope) for a chain cable striking his leg, resulting in a fracture. Also a printed copy of the certificate; 9) Certificate of John Jackman’s service in HMS IRON DUKE as Captain of a Top and Boatswain’s Mate, and Seamanship Instructor to the Chinese training ship, Hong Kong, dated 15 January 1884; 10) Petition, Hong Kong, dated 9 January 1888, to Lord Charles for ‘a man, late Captain Fore Top of AUDACIOUS in China’ to be allowed to rejoin the Navy; 11) Photograph of Mr and Mrs Jackman, taken in 1888; 12, 13, 14 & 15) Documents relating to Jackman being awarded the Insignia of the Third Class of the Third Division of the Imperial Order of the Double Dragon, 12 August 1891; 16 & 17) Handwritten copy and printed copy of a despatch dated 8 September 1894 from Admiral Ting, Commander-in-Chief of Pei-yang Squadron regarding Mr Jackman, chief seamanship instructor who volunteered for the war, and was to be transferred from H.I.M.S TING-YUAN to Liu-kung-tau to assist Commander Chin of Ordnance, and take the rank of Senior Lieutenant in H.I.C. service; 18) Translation of the despatch from the Directors of the Naval and Military College at Canton to the Admiral Ting of the Pei-yang Squadron, regarding the appointment of Mr Jackman, the Chief Seamanship Instructor of the Pei-Ying Squadron, to make repairs and alterations to the cruiser KWANG-KA; 19) Copy of letter dated 12 February 1895 from Admiral Ito, commanding Japanese Fleet off Weihaiwei, to Admiral Ting, Commander of the Chinese fleet; 20) Copy of letter from Admiral Ito to the Officer commanding the Chinese fleet after the suicide of Admiral Ting; 21) Envelope for Admiral Ting's letters; 22) Chinese letters and correspondence.

Translation note:
22) Chinese archive contents include:

1. Draft letter describing a property dispute between John Joseph Jackman and a Chinese man named Wang.
2. Letter to Luo Fenglu discussing the new job and salary of John Joseph Jackman, arranging for him to go to Tianjin due to the unsettled war between China and France;
3. Letter from Li Hongzhang, Beiyang Trade Minister, copied to John Joseph Jackman, concerning the management of the Weihaiwei Navy and the working arrangements for expatriate naval personnel.

[Acknowledgement: catalogue translations for the above documents in Chinese script kindly provided by Siqing Zhan, RMG Volunteer, 16/07/2024].

Object Details

ID: ADL/Z/43
Type: Manuscript
Display location: Not on display
Date made: 1881-1895; 1888-1892 1891-1892
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: 2 boxes
Parts: General and Small Collections (Manuscript)