The Hampshire Family Historian | Vol.49 No.1 | June 2022

Member’s article

The last cruise of the Royal Navy’s Squadron

My maternal grandmother Madeline Gertrude JACKSON, nee, GORDON was born in Devonport in 1874 but lived most of her life in Portsmouth. Whilst her father was a Devonport man, her mother was from Barnstaple as was her paternal grandfather, Henry BLACKWELL . Both paternal grandparents, however, left north Devon and they died in Plymouth. Madeline's youngest brother was Richard John Blackwell GORDON . He was also born in Devonport but some six years after her. He also happened to be the father-in-law of Edward HARTE , who was at one time a member of Churchill's secret army during WW2 (see Hampshire Family Historian, Vol.48 No.2). Richard joined the Royal Navy at the end of the 1890s. Before steam was grudgingly accepted at the end of 1898, the Royal Navy maintained a squadron of four ships for the specific purpose of training to sail. There was indeed no prouder achievement for any young seaman than to complete his sail training in one of those barque rigged ships even when it was recognised that this was but an adjunct to his training in the art of gunnery and the purpose of steam and all it implied. The four ships that were officially designated ‘The Training Squadron’ was manned from the three main naval ports of Devonport, Portsmouth and Chatham. Each year two cruises were completed, the first from October to April, the ‘West Indies Cruise’ and the second, from June to September, the ‘Scandinavian Cruise’. The break between each cruise enabled the officers and ships’ companies to be relieved, the ships refitted

and provisioned and recommissioned with new crews for the next cruise. The last West Indies cruise, comprising HMS Active , HMS Calypso , HMS Champion and HMS Volage was completed in 1898 and the last Scandinavian cruise (in which Richard served) consisted again of HMS Champion and HMS Volage by then other two ships were replaced by HMS Cleopatra and HMS Raleigh . This was to end in the autumn of the same year. All the ships in the squadron were fitted with a propellor and lifting gear that was involved in the operational command. “Down funnel – up screw!” Once clear of the harbour, it was a case of making plain sail when the whole crew was at the mercy of the winds – for good or ill. In due course the ships assembled at Portland but it did not occur to Richard Gordon that the Commodore of the Squadron must have viewed his new young seamen with mixed feelings and the thought that “Well, here’s some young men that I’ll need to lick into shape before very long!” From Portland the squadron sailed to St Helier on Jersey, carrying out the first sail drill on passage. This was intended to get the soles of the young seamen hardened for climbing the rigging and manning the yard arms. Boots in those days were a luxury and only for Sundays and only then if weather permitted. Richard was not likely to forget St Helier. He was the stroke oar of a 12 oared cutter, a boat used in these circumstances for landing the ship’s postman to collect the mail and fetch any provisions that might be needed. On the previous day, Richard had been one of a painting party and had splashed some paint on his cap ribbon. The duty officer spotted him

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