| Thomas James Webber |
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| Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Sebastopol, unnamed as issued; Baltic 1854-55, unnamed as issued; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., V.R., wide suspension (Ts. J. Webber, Captns. Coxn. H.M.S. Fisgard 20 Yrs); Turkish Crimea, British issue, unnamed, |
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Thomas James Webber was born at Falmouth,
Cornwall, on 1 February 1832, and entered the
Navy as a Boy 2nd Class aboard H.M.S.
William and Mary on 15 July 1846. He served
as an Able Seaman aboard the Trafalgar at
Sebastopol, and aboard the Russell in the
Baltic. He served subsequently aboard the
Vigilant and, from December 1859, in the
Fisgard, continuously until his discharge, except
for a period of nearly two years in 1860-61
when he was employed as a Rigger at the
Woolwich Dockyard.
He was discharged from Fisgard on 29 October
1870, having been recommended for his
‘Pension, Medal & Gratuity.’
It was while serving on HMS Trafalgar that he
went to war in the Crimea.
In August 1854 even before the campaign got
underway, cholera, which was to kill more men
in the Crimea than enemy action, ravaged the
fleet, with Britannia, Trafalgar, Albion and
Furious experiencing the highest mortality
rates.
On the 17th October 1854 HMS Trafalgar, as
part of the combined British, & French fleet,
with the paddle ship Retribution lashed to her
unengaged side to provide propulsion, took part
in the bombardment of the forts protecting the
entrance to Sebastopol harbour. This action
opened at 13.55 and continued until the recall
at 17.30. Despite a fierce exchange of fire
between the fleet and the shore-based forts
Trafalgar only suffered two casualties, while
Fort Constantine was silenced.
His father Alexander was also a mariner and
does not appear in the census of 1841 which
included mother Elizabeth and younger siblings
Mary, Alexander, William and Edwin.
In the 1851 census Alexander and William have
left the home and younger siblings Richard and
Elizabeth are shown
Webber married Catherine MacCartey (from
Kinsale Ireland) on 23 Jan 1860 and they had
5 children in the period 1861-1868
He is shown in the 1881 census on marine
society ship Warspite . He died in early 1886
aged 54. The 1891, the census shows Catherine
and 3 of the children living together in
Woolwich.
His oldest son Alexander followed in his
father's and grandfather's footsteps and
joined the navy as a boy aboard HMS St
Vincent, the boy training ship moored at Haslar.
Tragically he was discharged dead aged 15.
Cornwall, on 1 February 1832, and entered the
Navy as a Boy 2nd Class aboard H.M.S.
William and Mary on 15 July 1846. He served
as an Able Seaman aboard the Trafalgar at
Sebastopol, and aboard the Russell in the
Baltic. He served subsequently aboard the
Vigilant and, from December 1859, in the
Fisgard, continuously until his discharge, except
for a period of nearly two years in 1860-61
when he was employed as a Rigger at the
Woolwich Dockyard.
He was discharged from Fisgard on 29 October
1870, having been recommended for his
‘Pension, Medal & Gratuity.’
It was while serving on HMS Trafalgar that he
went to war in the Crimea.
In August 1854 even before the campaign got
underway, cholera, which was to kill more men
in the Crimea than enemy action, ravaged the
fleet, with Britannia, Trafalgar, Albion and
Furious experiencing the highest mortality
rates.
On the 17th October 1854 HMS Trafalgar, as
part of the combined British, & French fleet,
with the paddle ship Retribution lashed to her
unengaged side to provide propulsion, took part
in the bombardment of the forts protecting the
entrance to Sebastopol harbour. This action
opened at 13.55 and continued until the recall
at 17.30. Despite a fierce exchange of fire
between the fleet and the shore-based forts
Trafalgar only suffered two casualties, while
Fort Constantine was silenced.
His father Alexander was also a mariner and
does not appear in the census of 1841 which
included mother Elizabeth and younger siblings
Mary, Alexander, William and Edwin.
In the 1851 census Alexander and William have
left the home and younger siblings Richard and
Elizabeth are shown
Webber married Catherine MacCartey (from
Kinsale Ireland) on 23 Jan 1860 and they had
5 children in the period 1861-1868
He is shown in the 1881 census on marine
society ship Warspite . He died in early 1886
aged 54. The 1891, the census shows Catherine
and 3 of the children living together in
Woolwich.
His oldest son Alexander followed in his
father's and grandfather's footsteps and
joined the navy as a boy aboard HMS St
Vincent, the boy training ship moored at Haslar.
Tragically he was discharged dead aged 15.
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