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HMS Asia: ERA's & Stokers World Naval Ships Forums Archive

HMS Asia: ERA's & Stokers

Posts 1 to 35

Here is a group photo of the ERA's (Engine Room Artificers) & Stokers of HMS Asia. HMS Asia was the depot ship at Portsmouth for ERA's & Stokers form approx 1862 to 1905. I am guessing this photo was taken circa 1880's. Several are wearing what appears to be Naval LS medals but none are wearing the Egypt (1882-85) medal or Khedives star, & I would think in a grp this large that some would have seen service in this campaign & wearing their campaign medals. So I am guessing its prior to 1883 (when the first issuance of the Egypt 1882 medal took place). The gangway of Asia is just visible in the lower right of the photo & to the right background is another big three decker receiving ship. I have no idea of the identity of the ironclad in the background but it appears to be Warrior class. Sure would be nice to put names to these faces!!! Bryan
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Was this the old fashioned way of standing easy with the hands clasped tothe front of the body? Bob.

Old fashioned way? I thought it was still done.

[QUOTE=Batstiger;9336]Was this the old fashioned way of standing easy with the hands clasped tothe front of the body? Bob.[/QUOTE] yes & right foot behind the left. Bryan

My great grand father John Miller was Leading Stoker on the HMS Asia in 1889 and on a crew list in 1881 as a stoker age 27, so chances are he is here, sadly I am unable to identify him - but thank you very much for posting this picture as I am building our family tree and I can now add this to the images - If anyone has any other pictures of the HMS Asia from this period they can post here that would be a brilliant addition to my studies. Thank you Phil

Hi All Recently joined and first post. Have been looking online for info on HMS Asia after finding the service record of a distant family member. John Cotton was listed as a Stoker on board HMS Asia for a large part of his 20 odd year naval career, 1880 onwards. It seems that he never spent much time away from home as he was a Portsmouth lad and the Asia was based in Portsmouth Harbour. I'm summising, after some online research, that he either had a teaching role or worked on the small ships that served the harbour and was attached to HMS Asia for clerical reasons. As a side he did win a South Africa Medal, probably the Queens SAM, for service during the 1st Boer war or Zulu war. This may have been whilst he was serving on board HMS Boadicea which i know took part in operations in SA. Attached a few pics i have found online during research. Love the stern[ATTACH]44449[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]44450[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]44451[/ATTACH] shot, really a beautiful design.
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Hi Steve welcome to the forum. I dont know if you have seen this picture...
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[QUOTE=steverudkin;49955]Hi All Recently joined and first post. Have been looking online for info on HMS Asia after finding the service record of a distant family member. John Cotton was listed as a Stoker on board HMS Asia for a large part of his 20 odd year naval career, 1880 onwards. It seems that he never spent much time away from home as he was a Portsmouth lad and the Asia was based in Portsmouth Harbour. I'm summising, after some online research, that he either had a teaching role or worked on the small ships that served the harbour and was attached to HMS Asia for clerical reasons. As a side he did win a South Africa Medal, probably the Queens SAM, for service during the 1st Boer war or Zulu war. This may have been whilst he was serving on board HMS Boadicea which i know took part in operations in SA. [/QUOTE] Hello Steve, Cotton's record should be available in the ADM 139/188 series & it should be available online, cost I believe is £3.50. This will indicate all of his ships & bases with dates that he served on. Boadicea did participate in the Zulu & Basuto Wars (2nd South Africa campaign, the first being in 1853) & qualified for both the no clasp & 1879 clasp medal. The medal rolls for the ships that participated are in the ADM 171 series but not available online. HMS Asia was the depot/receiving ship for Stoker/ERA ratings. When a rating was drafted off a ship he went to his depot - for Stokers & ERA's this would have been Asia - until being drafted to his next ship. So Asia could show up on his SR several times. He would not have been employed as an instructor unless he was a senior rating - ie: PO Stoker or Chief Stoker. Again, his service record will indicate all of his rank & rate progressions with dates. Bryan

Thanks Terry and Brian. I'm going to get hold of the service record and see which other ships he served on. Will post when i've got a copy. Agian many thanks for your input.

Steve, ADM 139 will be his pre Jan '73 record & Attestation papers, & Adm 188 after that. I dont think ADM 139 is online yet. Bryan

[QUOTE=RCN;9332]Here is a group photo of the ERA's (Engine Room Artificers) & Stokers of HMS Asia. HMS Asia was the depot ship at Portsmouth for ERA's & Stokers form approx 1862 to 1905. I am guessing this photo was taken circa 1880's. Several are wearing what appears to be Naval LS medals but none are wearing the Egypt (1882-85) medal or Khedives star, & I would think in a grp this large that some would have seen service in this campaign & wearing their campaign medals. So I am guessing its prior to 1883 (when the first issuance of the Egypt 1882 medal took place). The gangway of Asia is just visible in the lower right of the photo & to the right background is another big three decker receiving ship. I have no idea of the identity of the ironclad in the background but it appears to be Warrior class. Sure would be nice to put names to these faces!!! Bryan[/QUOTE] hi. Just seen your photo my great great grandfather was Chief ERA on HMS Asia from the 1880's till 1903 when he died on board in Portugal. I guess he is one of the men in this photo but have no idea which one!

Likewise great Grandfather Lding Stoker on Asia..appears several times on his record between other vessels including Excellent and the intimidatingly named "Devastation" I take the Stokers are in the front and ERA's at the rear? Thanks for keeping the history available. ian999

My great great granfather was a stoker 2nd class on the HMS Asia from 27th April 1882 to Nov 1882, then as a stoker again from 27 June 1890 to 30 June 1890. He became a leading stoker 1st July 1890 and remained on the Asia until 30 Nov 1890. His name was Edwin William Beale

Many thanks. The William Douch 120799 who began service on Asia in 1882 as a stoker and served on her again in 1889, as a Leading Stoker, appears to have been my grandfather. HE left the service from Hibernia in 1892, probably in Malta. From there he went to Constantinople where he became a very successful engineer. My mother was born in Constantinople. Unfortunately we cannot be completely certain, although we know that he served either in the Royal Navy or on merchantmen. It would seem a big step from being a stoker to working successfully as an engineer and living in a large double storeyed mansion that he built himself in Constantinople. David Treloar

Bryan, Thanks for your information re HMS Asia, in particular about stokers. however I need to ask if you would clarify what was happening on this vessel. I have an ancestor Edward Sims who was a leading stoker on HMS Asia Dec 1861-Dec 1862, Nov 1864-Dec 1866 and Jan 1867-Jan 1868, when he joined HMS Royal Oak. Am I to understand that HMS Asia during these times was providing accommodation for the seamen in between service at sea? Also I have read on line that HMS Asia was a sailing ship without steam power, so what were stokers doing on this vessel? My ancestor also served on the voyage around the Mediterranean on HMS Hannibal from 25 April 1859 to 24 December 1861, and the fascinating story of this voyage was written up by Rear-Admiral Sir Rodney Mundy and this complete book is available to read online. Google HMS Hannibal at Palermo and Naples for a good read. Those were the days when Brittania Ruled the Waves. Fascinating read. Thanks, Roger

Some great information about HMS Asia in this forum. I am a little confused however about some of the comments that Asia was only for ERA and Stokers. My great great grandfather served on Asia twice, as a Shipwright. He first joined it in February 1868 to July 1868 and from there went on to the Warrior and a host of other well known ships before leaving active service on the Asia in 1878. He stayed on Asia as a Pensioner Shipwright from 1878 to at least July 1885. The records then show him rejoining Asia in August 1885 but we dont know for how long or why the one month break. I saw a comment that the Asia was probably as dock based vessel. (I think the current term is concrete ship) If this was the case then why would they need a shipwright for such a long time? Could Asia also have been a general trade training ship?

Hello Bryan, I love the photo of the Stokers and ERAs of HMS Asia. Charles Edward Walton, was married to my Great Grandfathers sister, and he started his career on HMS Asia as an Artificer at the start of 1881 reappearing several times the last being July 1891. By 1911 he was Chief ERA on HMS Espiegle. Many thanks for your information and that of others. I'm building a family tree with Charles in it,I hope it's alright to include the photo he could be in there somewhere. Many thanks, Dave

I am new to this web site so hello to everyone. My interest is that a relative of mine George Kearn shows HMS Asia as his place of residence on his marriage certificate dated Sept 1881 his rank is stoker he might well be in the photograph. The web site suggests that HMS Asia was not stem powered but used as accomodation for sailors between drafts. So thanks very much for the information my family has been naval personnel from way back my father left as Master at Arms after many years service and moved to Australia his brother was a CPO Artificer on the Bulwark. I shall be returning with questions I am sure Thanks again Ray

Just came across this photo of HMA Asia re 1881, a relative of mine James Haffenden was a stoker on her, later served on board HMS Euryalus as a leading stoker, awarded in 1883 the Egypt Medal and on the same ship in 1885 the Sudan Medal. What has completly confused me, is that on 2 Nov 1926 he was awarded the RN LS & GC medal, but he died in Sept 1916 attached to HMS Ganges and is buried in Woolwich Cemetery. Why was it so late in awarding the LS &GC medal. His service number was 114447 and was born in 1861. Can anybody explain this to me. R A Jenkins RN Commander Rtd

[QUOTE=Batstiger;9336]Was this the old fashioned way of standing easy with the hands clasped tothe front of the body? Bob.[/QUOTE] Bob, If it was someone should have told the chap at the end of the front row.

[QUOTE=ian999;80534]Likewise great Grandfather Lding Stoker on Asia..appears several times on his record between other vessels including Excellent and the intimidatingly named "Devastation" I take the Stokers are in the front and ERA's at the rear? Thanks for keeping the history available. ian999[/QUOTE] No Ian, The lads in the straw hats would be stokers and those in the six buttoned suits the ERAs.

Hi mates, Have been away for a while so just getting back to this topic, pleased to see there is still interest in it tho..... I will try to post some responses tomorrow, Concerning Stoker James Haffenden --- assuming he joined circa 1880 , then an award of an LS in 1926 seems very very unlikely to me, I would have to view his ADM 188 record to sort that one out for you, PM me & I will give you my email & perhaps you might send a copy of his ADM 188 to me & I will have a look at it & try to assist you, Bryan

Hello All Newbie here. I am looking at my Great Grandfather's Service record. He was an AB on Asia between 1st September1883 and 31st january 1885 when I believe it was a guardship. What is a guardship? You must be right about the dates as he had the Egypt medal and Khedives star inscribed 'W.F. Dixon; HMS Beacon 1882' (which I have). So His dates are probably after this photo. Family legend has him going ashore in Egypt in Alexandria to fight, is this likely? Also he has 10 years service but appears to have served 3 years from age 15 -18 before his 10 years started - is this because he was a 'Boy sailor'? Sorry for all the questions Any help would be apreciated Mark

The ASIA was an 80 gun ship of the line built in Bombay in the 1820s. She became guardship (a warship appointed to superintend the marine affairs in a harbor) at Portsmouth in 1858 and wore the flag of the Admiral Superintendent of the Dockyard from 1862 to 1905. She was also used as an accommodation ship (note the row of scuttles at orlop deck level in the appended IWM photo). As she had no engine, the stoking would have been done elsewhere. The BEACON was one of the six ships which provided a landing party of 150 seamen and 450 marines at Alexandria on 13th July, 1882, after the bombardment of the forts. The BEACON was also involved in the securing and patrolling of the Suez Canal in August.
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Hi Patroclus Thanks for the clear answers. I think it is safe to say he isn't in the picture at the top of this thread, but may well have gone ashore from BEACON; perhaps this is the wrong thread to continue my quest on, but would there be a list somewhere of those in the shore party? For refernce he was also on the following: FISGARD BOSCAWEN D[uke] of WELLINGTON VOLAGE AMETHYST DUNCAN DEVASTION TENDERS(?) BEACON MERCURY

[QUOTE=markdixon;10102553]Hi Patroclus Thanks for the clear answers. I think it is safe to say he isn't in the picture at the top of this thread, but may well have gone ashore from BEACON; perhaps this is the wrong thread to continue my quest on, but would there be a list somewhere of those in the shore party?..[QUOTE] I think it very unlikely that there would be such a list of the landing party. Your best chance would probably be the log of the BEACON in the hope that the names of her contingent are recorded as going out of the ship.

@Mark Yes, a boy signed on, typically at about 15 1/2, for a period which started from that moment of signing and went up to a date 10 years after his 18th birthday. ‘Guard ship’ is one of those annoyingly slippery terms. Often though not always it was used interchangeably with ‘flag ship’ or ‘coast guard ship' or ‘base ship’. The concept is explained in this extract from an anonymous article [I]A Run Ashore at Queenstown [/I]in the American [I]Harper's New Monthly Magazine[/I] of September, 1884: [INDENT]An obsolete old warship is moored in the harbor, and though it is nominally a guard-ship, its principal use is as a vessel on which the admiral can fly his flag. Practically he might fly his flag with no less effectiveness from any pole on land, but that would be an infringement of naval usages, and the harmless old frigate is maintained, with a crew of two hundred or more men, to fulfill a tradition. [/INDENT] Thus the flagship or guardship of a port was the venue for events of social or ceremonial character: a dinner on Trafalgar Day; a court martial; a presentation of medals, and so on. For this purpose an obsolete but still impressive ship was the natural choice. This was easily arranged: since the pace of technology change was rapid, there were at any moment plenty of ships available that had been state-of-the-art quite recently but were now no longer so. A complication is that such a ship might be used at the same time for other purposes such as training or accommodation.

Thank you both for your eloquent and interesting responses.

You’re welcome, Mark. I’ll mention another thing. The place in the dockyard where HMS ASIA was moored and where the photo was taken is now called Fountain Lake Jetty. In ASIA’s time this place was known as ‘Asia Pontoon’. However, the name Asia Pontoon persisted long after 1906 when ASIA left, in fact well into the 1960s. I’m pretty sure that is so; I remember my father using the name. But it seems so odd that I’d be interested in any confirmation or correction. Bart

having just started to look at the family history I was fascinated to read all the comments regarding HMS Asia as my grandfather (Alfred Osborne 148027) started his naval career as a stoker 2nd class on that ship in January 1889 and returned on three other occasions before June 1891. The comment about a ship being the address on a marriage certificate as on his return from the China Station in 1894 his marriage address was that of his family could this be because he was on leave. The marriage took place 9 days after his return 'after banns'? Very glad I joined this forum. Mike

I have been researching my family history nearly 18 years and 'stumbled' across this forum while looking for photographs of HM Ships on which my grandfather served between March 1889 to Apr 1895. (He signed on for 12 years but 'purchased his discharge' for the princely sum of £12 - I guess a lady might have been involved!) Grandpa joined the RN 26 March 1889 and was posted to Asia on the same day. He was transferred to Northumberland 21September 1889. One thing I have noted on this forum is that there are details of the voyages these vessel made during various commissions. Can anyone advise where that information might be obtained from please?

Hello Hugob268 and a very warm welcome to the Forums. If you would like to post a copy of his Service Record in the Service Records/Naval Relatives and Friends section, we will endeavour to fill in some of the gaps for you. Jim

[QUOTE=RCN;9332]Here is a group photo of the ERA's (Engine Room Artificers) & Stokers of HMS Asia. HMS Asia was the depot ship at Portsmouth for ERA's & Stokers form approx 1862 to 1905. I am guessing this photo was taken circa 1880's. Several are wearing what appears to be Naval LS medals but none are wearing the Egypt (1882-85) medal or Khedives star, & I would think in a grp this large that some would have seen service in this campaign & wearing their campaign medals. So I am guessing its prior to 1883 (when the first issuance of the Egypt 1882 medal took place). The gangway of Asia is just visible in the lower right of the photo & to the right background is another big three decker receiving ship. I have no idea of the identity of the ironclad in the background but it appears to be Warrior class. Sure would be nice to put names to these faces!!! Bryan[/QUOTE] forgive me if I don't quite get this right . I`m new here first post . one of those men could be my great great grandfather Henry Sheppard he served on her a few times .

[QUOTE=ian martin;10136531]forgive me if I don't quite get this right . I`m new here first post . one of those men could be my great great grandfather Henry Sheppard he served on her a few times .[/QUOTE] Hello Ian, Welcome to the Ships Forum. lots of very knowledgable mates on the [COLOR="Navy"]Forum, don't be afraid to ask questions. Your g'g'father would definitely have been on HMS Asia at some time (or times) in his career as it was the Port Depot ship for ERA's & Stokers. They were sent to Asia between ship postings or when they were on promotion or other courses. Don't be afraid to post any questions you may have on Henry's career - his 'Service Record' will be in the ADM 188 series in the NA. RCN Bryan[/COLOR]

My 2x great grandfather served as a midshipman on the HMS Asia from 1847 until 1852 or thereabouts. They were primarily in the Pacific during this time. Any idea where I might find crew lists or evidence about when he was on the ship?

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