The experience of a Victorian imperial naval station

28 Aug 2013

The Royal Navy’s shift from sail to steam power, beginning in the mid 19th century, meant that naval ships had to regularly stop to refuel at coaling stations (shown below). A log entry from H.M.S. Argonaut reveals that these visits also allowed ample time for exploring the surroundings of the station: ‘A ship on a foreign station, moving from port to port, offers continual opportunity for diversion, and as an abundance of leave is granted to men of good character, they have ample opportunity to visit the different towns, see the sights, and study the ways of the natives.’[i] Little has been written about these experiences, but within the museum’s collections there are images and other ephemera which can offer an insight into life at these stations. This blog will therefore use these pieces to highlight various aspects of the activities of British sailors on foreign stations. Often, the first activity indulged in by sailors was to buy wares, services or entertainment from local peoples.  As the photograph below shows, native peoples would often come aboard the naval ships to offer goods, which would either be bought be swapped for sailor’s clothes, or to offer services such as laundering clothes. Similarly, at some stations local people would come aboard to offer entertainment such as snake charming, dancing, juggling or fortune telling. Sailors would also participate in these activities ashore, and often visited bazaars and markets, like the one shown in the photo below. At these, they would also hunt for souvenirs and marvel at the variety of races and customs present at these stations. Sailors would also seek out fellow Britons also at the station. Often these would be fellow servicemen: sailors from other ships, or soldiers based at stations with garrisons.  Although they would often meet in local hostelry, at many of the stations there were spaces designated for naval men, whether they were naval canteens, Junior Officer’s Clubs, United Services Clubs or Sailor’s homes, one of which is shown in the photo below. In general, these offered refreshments, billiards, bridge, reading materials, concerts and singing, as well as sleeping quarters. Sailors would also visit those places which made each station unique, whether they were historical, natural or cultural. Sailors had a particular interest in the history of stations, and often visited ancient buildings, and often there would be an established itinerary of sights to see.  On the Mediterranean Station, it was the churches, citadels and catacombs that were often visited, such as that shown below. Similarly, on the China Station sailors would visit temples, ruins and imperial palaces. Sport was also a popular pastime, and ships would often compete against other British ships, garrisons, and foreign naval men. Sailors would also play against local populations, particularly when they were in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, as shown below. Ships’ companies would also provide themselves and others on the station with entertainment, both on ship and in town. This usually took the form of theatrical performances, smoking concerts, banquets and musical recitals, such as the one advertised below. Often, sailors would leave the immediate vicinity of the coaling station to visit nearby cities, sights, or interesting landscapes. In general this would be by train, like the one shown below, and at some stations, sailors were given free passes to enable them to travel. Sailors would also take advantage of the opportunity to sample local forms of transport, such as the unusual method pictured below from the China Station. British naval men also had great interest in the landscape of the station, which they would explore by foot and bicycle, hunt in, photograph and paint. At more exotic stations, sailors would also go and watch wildlife, such as the elephant pictured. Ships would also often buy local animals from local traders and adopt them as pets. The most common of these pets were exotic birds, which could easily be taken home with the sailors after the commission, some ships had hundreds aboard. Also common, were monkeys, dogs and cats. A more bizarre but relatively common pet was the mongoose, which was ideal for catching the cockroaches and rats on board. Other stations were synonymous with animals. At Esquimalt, it was common to adopt a black bear cub, Malta was popular for adopting goats, and in the Falklands, one ship adopted penguins as pets. Surprisingly, these were not the strangest animals taken aboard; others included donkeys, squirrels, hawks, eagles, and gazelles, as pictured below. Perhaps the largest and most curious menagerie belonged to the Swallow which, whilst stationed at Cape Coast Castle in the 1870s adopted a chimpanzee, lizards, birds, parrots, a gazelle and a mongoose. [i] E. G. Anning, F. J. Bentley and Lionel Yexley, The Log of H.M.S. Argonaut, 1900-1904. China Station (London: Westminster Press, 1904) v..