Genealogy Chat

Has anyone got any idea where I should emial or write to to complain about the state of a navy grave.I have just been to see the grave of my g-grandmother's brother who died in 1900 in brighton in an accident while coming in for shore leave.There are 7 men in the grave and the only thing you can see now is a headstone.All the graves,which were arranged in a cross, having sunk into the ground.There are no markers for the individual people and the whole area just looked like a hay field where they have cut the grass and left it with just a headstone in the middle.To add insult to injury they have got his name wrong and the name of the ship they were serving on.I believe it was called 'HMS DISPATCH' they have put 'HMS DESPERATE'.Now who in thier right mind would call a torpedo distroyer ' desperate'.I have looked on the navy site to try and find a graves commision or something but it would'nt let me open up any of the pages from the site.If it was an army grave it would be better looked after than that I'm sure.

Is the grave in a municipal cemetary.If so you could contact the local council and ask who is responsible for the upkeep of that grave. It may be that its now lease time expired, and so has returned to the Council for them to just keep the area tidy and safe. Shirley

Hi Who would call a ship HMS Desperate? Well, the Royal Navy actually. Leaving that aside I suggest you contact: Ministry of Defence, NP-Sec2(b), Room 222 Victory Building, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 3LS Denis

Well there certainly was an HMS Desperate. I'm afraid after more than 100 years even some army graves are not what they should be, and sometimes with bad weather the ground sinks. Maybe you just went on a bad day. Lots of cemeteries look a bit of a mess when the grass has just been cut, and we have had awful weather lately. Kath. x

Desperate, 1896 Type: Torpedo Boat Destroyer ; Armament 1 x 12 pdr ; 5 x 6 pdr Launched : 15 Feb 1896 ; Disposal date or year : 1920 Displacement: 340 tons Complement: 58 Machinery notes: 5,700 FD ; Speed ; 30.4 knots ; Notes: 26 Jun 1897 Present at the Naval Review at Spithead in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee. Weekly Dispatch 28 Jan 1900 The destroyers Zebra and Desperate are also about to be attached to the flagship at Sheerness for instructional purposes in connection with the School of Gunnery. -------------------- News of the World 15 Apr 1900 Disaster to Bluejackets - Boat Swamped at Brighton - Seven Seamen Drowned. A deplorable disaster happened off the West Pier, Brighton, by which seven bluejackets of the torpedo boat destroyer Desperate were drowned. All the bodies have been recovered. During the morning four torpedo boat destroyers, the Bittern, Mallard, Desperate and Cheerful, belonging to the Chatham Division, arrived off the town and between four and five o'clock in the afternoon a whaler put off from the Desperate to go ashore. Twelve men were in the boat, six of them having obtained leave to go ashore, while the remainder were to tow the boat back. There was a fresh wind blowing, and just as the boat approached the pier a terrific sea swept over it completely swamping it. Immediately there was a scene of great excitement on the pier. One gentleman rushed off to the coastguard station, and the lifeboat was quickly launched. Other boats also put off to the rescue. Meanwhile, to the distress of the spectators, one by one the bluejackets were seen to sink under the waves until half their number had disappeared. The lifeboat rescued the others, who were nearly all in a state of insensibility. One was sent back to the ship and five others were brought ashore, three of these (John Smith, Albert Rowe, and Alfred Elliott) being taken to a house in Cannon-place, where they were carefully attended to, whilst the other two were conveyed to the hospital. One at the hospital was named Macallam. His mate's name has not yet been ascertained. One by one the sea began to give up its dead, and within an hour the mortuary near the Town Hall had received the lifeless bodies of four stalwart bluejackets. Their names were G. Smith, C. P. Fenner, J. Stuart and W. Hailstone. One the following morning the fifth body was washed ashore, that of R. E. Wells, whilst the body of a sailor named Hockham was found on the rocks. A Naval Committee of Inquiry has been opened. This drowning has come up on this site before. C

Well done Clive. It looks as if Lesley was wrong about the name of the ship. Kath. x

Yes this has come up on this site before,when I was trying to find more info about it.Very helpfull people were too.Now I want to find out how to stop the grave disapearing .I thought the ship was called 'Dispatch' as I have the original black edge Mourning cardWith a list of the men that drowned and the date of death and of the internment and where.On it it says ' late of the torpedo boat 'Dispatch ' that is why I thought they had got the name of the boat wrong as they couldnt even get his name right.Was ther even a boat called 'Dispatch ' out from Chattham.

There would appear to have been a Despatch around 1780 to 1817? possibly ended erlier. and then again from 1917ish when 3 light cruisers were built - not sure when the ship became HMS (ie was commissioned) but that was when she was built. No Dispatch but 'e's and 'i's were interchangeable. Clive

Thanks Clive. So, it looks like the same boat under two names.Very helpful.I will have to remember both now.I'm sorry if I appear to be a bit off tonight but I have just had a lovely day out with my family and on the way back we came off a roundabout in the outside lane and obviously wer'nt moving quick enough for some ,as a white van tooted us to get out of the way and as we moved over to the nearside lane as soon as there was space he swerved the van in front of us and back out again so as to run us off the road . We had to brake so we did'nt hit him.I'm still shaking and dont feel too good.We had a little baby in the car too.I was'nt quick enough to get his no and there was no writting on the van. Shirley,yes it is a municipal cemetary and the council have started to re-use some of the ground where the old graves are but it was reported in the local paper that graves of historical importance would be saved.The one I am on about was one named.Do you think I should try Brighton council.

Lesley Yes i would certainly ask the Council what their agenda is for looking after this Grave site . They may not be reusing the ground but then they may not be preserving the old historic ones. just keeping the area tidy and safe, Shirley

Thanks Shirley,I 'll give that a try.

Maybe the small landing boat that they were coming to shore on was called the 'Dispatch', but the ship they were actually serving on was the 'Desperate'. Kath. x

Desperate was as Sheerness/Chatham area quote Weekly Dispatch 28 Jan 1900 The destroyers Zebra and Desperate are also about to be attached to the flagship at Sheerness for instructional purposes in connection with the School of Gunnery. Whalers are ship's boats and do not have names. Normal whaler crew 1 coxswain and 5 oarsmen. Clive

Wow Clive,you know a lot about the navy don't you.I tried looking at navy site but couldnt get in any further than the opening page.I don't think my reli has any reletives left as he wasn't married as far as I know,that only leaves the decenants of his sister which is myself and another lady and we cannot afford to re-do the grave even though I feel it should be done.It would cost thousands to find them and edge each grave.So with the best will in the world it's just not possible.