William George Orchard's next ship was a very different vessel to
the Daphne. HMS Achilles was one of the 'dull iron-clads' so disliked
by the reporter of the Chronicle.
There is some discrepancy in the records over the date on which AB
Orchard actually joined the ship. According to his Continuous Service
record, he began service with her on 25th May 1870, the day after the Daphne signed off her crew. However, the entry in the ship's
Muster Book indicates that he transferred to HMS Duke of Wellington.
The Victualling List of Achilles covering the period from 1st July
1870 to 30 July 1871 shows that, although Geo. Orchard 'entered' the
ship on 25th May 1870, he did not actually 'appear' until 12th
August. This means that he was borne on the ship's books from the
former date and paid as a member of the crew. He was not physically
on board the ship, however, actually being victualled by her, until
the latter date.
In addition, a Description Book for Achilles has survived, and this
supports the above evidence. Captains were required to keep books
containing a physical description of every man on board (particularly
useful if someone deserted), but they were not required to return
them, and so few are preserved. Fortunately, the vital one for Achilles has survived. As well as providing an up-to-date
description of George Orchard (5ft 5ins tall, sallow complexion,
hazel eyes, brown hair) it also includes a summary of his service
record to date. Amongst other things, it records that George Orchard
was "Entitled to a share in all slave dhows &c captured by
'Daphne' between 2nd Aug 67 and 24 May 70". It also notes that he
arrived on the Achilles on 12th August 1870, having been attached to HMS Duke of
Wellington since 25th May.
Achilles was, in 1870, one of the Navy's newest and most
up-to-date ships, having been built seven years earlier, at Chatham
Dockyard, and launched on 23rd December 1863. She was a modification of HMS Warrior , the Navy's first major armoured warship to be built
wholly of iron, and now preserved at Portsmouth. Achilles was
originally designed to almost the same plan as Warrior , but a lack of
protection to the steering gear had been noticed in the earlier
vessel, and this was rectified, raising the weight of the new ship
from 6710 tons to 9280 tons. The armour belt was extended for the
whole length of the waterline and the guns placed behind armour. In
addition more powerful engines were fitted, but the vessel still
carried sail, and the sail area when completed was the largest ever
set in a warship. The design proved so succesful that three similar vessels,
Agincourt, Minotaur and Northumberland were built to the same
formula.
HMS Achilles under construction
At this time Britain was moving through a relatively peaceful
period in her history, and ships of the line saw little action, and
this is reflected in the Log of the Achilles for the time in which
George Orchard served on her. Assuming he joined the ship on 12th
August, this was when she was in Portsmouth for a time, having
arrived on the previous day. After just over a month in Spithead the
ship returned to Portland on 21st September, where she stayed until
2nd June 1871.
During this time the Ship's Log reports only routine, but some
notable events occurred in George Orchard's life. On 16th February he
was promoted to Able Seaman. A week later some mishap befell him,
either an injury or illness (later records indicate an injury) as the
ship's Victualling List mentioned above contains an entry in the
Muster Columns which reads 'S.S. 24 Feb'71 Haslar'. 'S.S' indicates
that a man had been 'sent ashore sick', although only for a short
time and was still entered on the ship's books for victualling and
muster purposes. The muster for the next quarter indicates that he
was still in Haslar in April, but had returned to the ship by 3rd
May. On both 21st and 24th May he was 'On leave'.
This entry links in with information from civil rather than naval
sources, as on 22nd May George Orchard married. His parents had by
now moved to Weymouth, and were living in Silver Street. In the
Census taken on Sunday 2nd April 1871 John and his wife Mary were in
the house with William's brothers, 17-year-old Joseph and 9-year-old
Francis, and his sister Ann, aged 11. Also in residence, officially
listed as a visitor, was Sarah Read, a house maid, born in London,
aged 22. Sarah was to be George's bride a few weeks later, the
marriage taking place at the local church of Holy Trinity. On the
marriage certificate, Sarah gave her age as 22, and her father's name
as John Read. In fact, her birth certificate shows that she was 26,
and her father was John Miller, her mother being Maria Read. She had
been born in Bethnal Green on 28th January 1845.
The Census on the night of Sunday 2nd April confirms that
AB Orchard was still in hospital at Haslar. The Census return for HMS Achilles has been filled out to show men NOT on board, and George
Orchard, Ordinary seaman, age 21, born Preston, Dorset, is on this
list.
Life back on Achilles continued to follow normal routine for the
rest of the year, except for an excursion to Plymouth between 2nd
June and 9th July, the remainder of 1871 being spent at Portland.
George Orchard's Continuous Service Record does show one break in
routine in that it notes that on 14th December he attended a Naval
Gunners course.
1872 carried on where 1871 left off, with Achilles in Portland
Harbour. Things were to take an unfortunate turn later in the year,
however. On 23rd May the ship left Portland and returned to
Devonport, this time for a longer stay. Five days later she was
alongside the docks at Keyham Basin, and on 6th June the task of
dry-docking the ship began. She stayed in dock until 24th July when,
with the assistance of tugs she was taken out to sea and the engines
tried out, returning to Plymouth Sound later that day.
The refit complete, Achilles returned to Portland on 27th July, and
anchored in the Harbour. Two days later, on Monday, 29th July 1872,
she took part in an historical event. For several years a breakwater
had been under construction across the entrance to Portland Harbour,
and it was now complete. The Channel and Reserve Squadrons assembled
in the harbour, and the Prince of Wales arrived aboard the Victoria
and Albert to a no doubt thunderous royal salute from the ships' guns.
Amongst the ships gathered to watch the Prince lay the last stone
were fifteen battleships, including Achilles and her sister
ships Minotaur and Agincourt.
Portland Breakwater
Whether as a result of these celebrations or not is uncertain, but
George Orchard landed himself in serious trouble at this time, as the
Ship's Log records that on 31st July the Captain sent AB Orchard and
two others to Gaol for 49 days. The entry in the Ship's Log reads as
follows:
"Tuesday 30th July 1872 at Portland. Read the following Warrants:
Alan Martin, Musician, to be reduced to Bandsman and 2nd Class for
conduct. Go. Orchard AB, V Cornelius Smith AB, and Jas. Orley AB, for
confinement in Lewis Gaol for 42 days and reduced to 2nd Class.
"John Philips AB, to be confined in cells on board for 10 days and
reduced to 2nd Class."
And on the following day:
"Wednesday 31st July 1872. Sent Go. Orchard AB, Jas. Orley AB and
Cornelius Smith AB, to Lewis Gaol for 42 days."
Unfortunately this meant that George was not present at the
baptism of his first child, daughter Ada Georgina, at Holy Trinity
church on 1st August. Whilst he was absent from his ship, he also
missed a further expedition away from Portland, this time into the
North Sea, visiting Yarmouth on 28th August and the Nore, at the
mouth of the Thames, on 31st August, returning to Plymouth on 2nd
September and Portland on 7th. The Log records that at 8.40 pm on
12th September HMS Salamander came alongside with prisoners being
returned from gaol.
The Salamander 's own Log shows that at 8.00a.m. on 12th September
1871, at Portsmouth, she 'Embarked Officers and Seamen for passage to
Channel Squadron at Portland'. The ship cast off from the hulk to
which it had been moored at 9.30a.m. and steamed out of harbour 20
minutes later. After an uneventful trip she rounded Portland
Breakwater at 8.15p.m., shackling onto a buoy in the Roads a quarter
of an hour later, when supernumery officers and seamen were
discharged.
No further events of note occurred that year, Achilles remaining at
Portland until, in fact, well into 1873.
In 1873, the Royal Navy simplified the records of men serving on
Continuous Service, and the new entry for William George Orchard
shows that he was now 5ft 5ins tall, and had a scar on his left arm.
Eyes and hair were entered as the same colour, and his complexion was
described as fair. He had no recognised trade, and wore no Good
Conduct medals.
1873 again saw Achilles mainly moored at Portland, although two
excursions were made. She left Portland at 12.45 pm on 28th May,
arriving at Spithead at 4.50 am the next day. She remained there
until 6th July, when she moved to Plymouth. Three weeks were spent in
Devonport Dock, the ship returning to Portland via Torbay on 6th
August. After only a few days the ship was on the move for her 1873
'Summer Cruise', as on 16th August she was off the south coast of
Ireland. After a couple of weeks in the area, a stop was made at
Plymouth Sound again, with a return to Portland on 13th September,
where the ship was to remain for the rest of the year.
The Quarterly Ledger of HMS Achilles for the period 1st July to 31st
December 1873 gives an idea of how much a seaman was paid. For the
period 1st July to 30th August AB George Orchard received full pay
and allowances for 92 days at 1s 7d per day. From the total pay due,
in July he was given 8s 0d, in August 18s 8d and in September 14s 0d.
From the remainder was deducted £4 10s for 'Tuition of young
gentlemen' and £1 8s 8d to cover clothing issued. At the end of
September this left a Net Sum Due of £1 4s, which was transferred as
a credit to the next quarterly account.
Early in 1874, on 8th January, HMS Achilles and her crew left
Portland, bound once again for Plymouth. On 12th January she was
moored in the Hamoaze River, and three days later she moved to Keyham
Yard and then Keyham Basin. The final entry in the Ship's Log was
made on 12th February 1874, and notes that the ship was being laid up
and the crew were turned over to HMS Royal Albert. With that entry,
George Orchard's service on a modern battleship came to an end, a
service which should have been interesting, but which, if the daily
Log Book entries are any indication, was in fact a very dull and
routine three years service.
The Achilles remained in service with the Navy for several years.
Made obsolete as a battleship by improvements in steam power and the
advent of the dreadnoughts, she was converted to a base ship and renamed
Hibernia in 1902. Further name changes took place, Egmontin 1904, Egremontin 1918 and
finally Pembroke in 1919. She was finally sold
on 26th January 1923.
...
Chapter 4
...
 Back to Chapter
Index
|
Back to Homepage