Sidmouth
commander’s family’s link to Lockyer
Sidmouth
- the Nelson Connection Part Two, based on a talk by Julia Creeke
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Lord Henry Digby who lived at Old Hayes (Woodland Hotel today). |  | |
• JOHN Yule, who married into the Carslake family of Sidmouth, served
with Nelson in Copenhagenand was at Trafalgar. |
The
first part of our feature ended with John Carslake (who went on to found the Sid
Vale Association) being among those on board Prosperine to be taken as prisoners
by the French forces which attacked and recovered the British vessel... John
Carslake and two others were eventually given parole and lived in two tiny cottages.
They often went to bed with the sun. They did this to save their candle money.
They were given a small sum to buy candles. John saved this up and gave it to
other prisoners who wanted to escape, to help them on their way.
He never tried
to escape. They were locked away at Verdun for six years, but after the battle
of Paris, when Napoleon was sent to Elba, they finally came home.
John
Carslake spent only one short period at sea after this. In November 1816 he was
paid off for the last time and the war was over.
John, like many others,
was very annoyed that he had not been given promotion…most who were captured
honourably were given promotion on their release.
He campaigned throughout
the rest of his life to rectify what he considered a direct slight on his character,
writing to many shipmates, including Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy.
Finally in 1852,
the Admiralty acted and he was given the promotion he wanted to the rank of Commander.
With
the death of his uncle, Carslake inherited his estates at Cotmaton, and the following
year, Aunt Elizabeth, who was in the adjacent 15th century Old Hall, also died.
With
both houses he now felt able to marry his girlfriend Thomasine Leigh, who he courted
after his release in 1814.
They were married at Salcombe Regis Church on
September 30, 1817, and settled in a little house called Asherton on the estate
– in the Ascerton Road area.
John, whose son was born in January 1818,
built the family home of Cotlands but only lived there for short periods. He lived
the life of a country gentleman, became a JP and finally moved back to the Old
Hall where he remained for the rest of his life.
In 1846, he became chairman
of the Sidmouth Improvement Society, the forerunner of the Sid Vale Association;
and he was often consulted on local matters.
The garden at Cotmaton was a great
pleasure to Thomasine, and was apparently filled with roses.
The friendship
with Cdr George Brown continued. Like John, George failed to get another ship
when the Navy was reduced to peacetime requirements. He took a law degree and
in 1821 was called to the bar and successfully practised as a solicitor in Exeter.
His
son Samuel Leigh Brown joined the Navy and rose to a Lieutenancy.
He married
the Carslakes’ daughter Thomasine and they had two daughters, Annie Leigh
and Mary.
Mary was to marry Sir Norman Lockyer, the astronomer and founder
of the local observatory. Annie Leigh lived in Sidmouth for many years and was
a great benefactor, giving The Byes and May Cottage to the town. So there is a
long connection between this family and Sidmouth.
There is yet another
Sidmouth connection.
Lord Gwydir, who was in the household of the Prince
Regent, had died in 1820, leaving his wife his home Old Hayes, now Woodlands Hotel.
She
put it on the market and its buyer was Admiral Sir Henry Digby, son of the Dean
of Durham.
Like many others, Sir Henry joined the Navy at a young age,
served in innumerable ships and after 12 years received his first command.
An
enormously energetic officer, he had many captures to his credit. It was reckoned
in one year he captured 744 men from various ships.
In 1798 the Admiralty
was impressed by his actions in Minorca and he was sent off again, successfully
capturing the Thetis and Santa Brigida, which were carrying more than one million
dollars in bullion plus cargoes of great wealth.
The British captains involved
each acquired £40,000, becoming instantly rich. All the crew benefited,
as the money was divided according to a strict formula and Digby’s fortune
was made when he received his share of the prize money.
In July 1805 he
commanded the 64-gun Africa. It was taken in for a re-fit as the Navy was short
of ships with a third of the Navy at Trafalgar.
Timber had become so short
– all worthwhile timber in Southern England had gone - that the Royal Dockyards
were becoming desperate.
It took 500 oak trees to build Victory alone;
so some ships were built from unseasoned wood and within 18 months became so soft
they had to be taken back into the dockyard.
Digby finally caught up with Nelson
off Cadiz. The previous night he had lost sight of the fleet and ended up in considerable
danger. Nelson hoisted a signal telling him to make “all sail”, but
he misunderstood, and instead of returning to the main fleet as asked, set off
in the opposite direction into the thick of the action.
He was finally
rescued by the Orion. Despite huge damage to the Africa, Digby took on the Santissima
Trinidad. When no fire was returned and because he thought it had lowered its
colours, he sent a boat across with a Lieutenant Smith on board.
Smith
climbed to the quarterdeck to find a Spanish officer shouting “Non. Non.
Non.” He was courteously allowed to go back to the Africa and the battle
continued.
Next door to Old Hayes, where Admiral Digby lived in Sidmouth,
was another old house, Spring Garden. Into that came another great friend of Nelson’s,
Admiral James MacNamara, who had met Nelson in the Americas.
He was a real
‘daring-doer’ of the Napoleonic age whose successes came to Nelson’s
attention. His exploits of seamanship were legendary, but it was his Newfoundland
dog that made him famous.
Riding in Hyde Park with his dog, he met Colonel
Montgomery, a Life Guard officer, who also had a Newfoundland dog. The dogs had
a fight, the colonel dismounted, separated the dogs and both rode off after MacNamara
was asked to call off his dog.
Later the same day luck brought them together
again and Montgomery challenged MacNamara to a duel on Primrose Hill that evening.
The duel took place and the colonel died of his injuries. The injured
MacNamara was arrested for manslaughter.
When on trial at the Old Bailey
he sent for his old naval friends to act as character witnesses. The list included
Lords Hood, Nelson, Hotham, Mintoe, Sir Thomas Troubridge and General Churchill.
Conducting his own defence, the last part of it reads: “Gentlemen,
I am a captain of the British Navy. My character you can hear from others, but
to maintain any character in that station I must be respected. I hope to obtain
my liberty through your verdict and to be employed with honour in the defence
of my country.”
Ten minutes after retiring the jury returned a verdict
of Not Guilty. If England had people like this at sea, is it any wonder that they
won the Battle of Trafalgar!
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