Henry Gordon Gooch Ashton
Retired Captain late Welsh Guards, D.S.O.
A few incidents in his life - from 1868 to 19xx handwritten in five books, and subsequently edited by his grandson, Charles Richard Willoughby Ashton, in 1996.
(This document is only in draft form, with many corrections yet to be made. The first section needs considerable work done, but is included as part of the complete document. The manuscripts show various charts and illustrations which have yet to be incorporated, when all will hopefully become clear! RA)
A LATER STORY of some of the ASHTONS including the ADVENTURES of CAPTAIN H.G.G. ASHTON D.S.O.
Late of H.M. WELSH GUARDS.
19th Century PEDIGREE
James Ashtonfrom the Historical Family of LANCASHIRE.
ARMS
was early in life caught in Liverpool by the pressgang of those times and afterwards entering the Royal Navy, began the careers of his descendants in the Naval; Military; and other careers of his followers as given in this book.
MOTTO
In Domino Confido.
James Ashton killed in the action of the "Shannon" and "Chesapeake" 1st June 1813. (Sir )
see O'Byrnes Naval Biographies.
he married: Elizabeth Hill of the Plymouth branch of the HILLS of SHROPSHIRE
James Hill Ashton entered the Royal Navy as a volunteer 2nd July 1825,and served in several of H.M. ships until 1850, was invalided and appointed to the Coastguard. He died in 1857 at Ballywater. Co. Down. Ireland.
he married: Frances Ellena Corbett Barnes of Essex and Shropshire (see Brown Note Book)
James Walter Ashton John Ashton Francis Ashton Walter Ashton
R.N. R.N. M.N. etc. Lost in "City of Boston" died. 1881 Lost in H.M.S. See next page R.N. Atalanta 1880. (he was a passenger on his way home)
SADLER of EDMONTON and Saltash Cornwall
ARMS See Gold Seal in possessions of Ashton
Welston Court.
Fide et Amori
John S. (Lieut. R.N.) F.W.R.S. (Comm. R.N.) 1813 m: Elizabeth Gultery who died. 1870. Leg shot off at Trafalgar K.T.S. and Military K. H.M.S. Agansemmar. of Nindoor). died.s.p. Yarmouth R.N. born. 1790 at Saltash
Hospital and buried Cornwall. with military honours Both buried in Vault at Portsmouth. 3rd Feb. 1808. He served in every general action from 1793 until
his death.
John Morgan Edwards. S. 1842 married: Isabella Maria Porter d.q. Paul Buonaventura born. 1822. died. 1851. Porter of
Crest a PortcullisGloucestershire and
Trematon Castle
Cornwall
Fredk. Chegwgn. Milker.S. Helen Eliz.Isabella S. Maria P.John Paul S.
b.1843 Paymaster RN. Catherine S.b.1848born.1850
d. from effect of a large (see opp.d. 1920died. 1903
block falling from aloft page)d.s.p.Lt. Col.22nd
in H.M.S. Plover 1867.b.1845Middx. Rifle
d.s.p.d.1896Vols. I.S.O.
d.s.p.
m. Wilhehmina
Carolina
Duncan (a
descendant of
the Lochinvar)
J. W. Ashton John Ashton Francis Ashton Walter Ashton
and three sisters Frances Mary and Katherine.
d.s.p. d.s.p.
Crest a Brass . In Domino confido.
JAMES WALTER ASHTON = married. Helen Elizabeth Catherine Sadler (see opp. page)
born.1837. died. 1881. *(see below) d.1896.
entered R.N. 1853 Retd.
disabled 1870. d.1881
James Fredk. Porter A.
Henry Gordon Gooch A. VernonFrancisSadler A.
Walter A.
b.1866 (see next page) d.s.p. in Canada. d. and.s.p. in Cuba Sarg. to R.V.C. infant
Canada Canada d.s.p.
& Paym. R.N.V.R.
married 1st Janet Mary Ridley daughter of J.M. Forder Esq (Chichester)
died.1894
married 2nd Gladys Mary Letitia daughter of J.M. Phillips Esq. J.P. M.O. of
Cardigan and Pembrokeshire
ARMS of PHILLIPS
James Orm. Moroni Ashton Powell Arms
b.1908 Shield of
Lt. Col. Welsh Guards
Colonel (later Brigadier): 3rd Brigade Arab Legion.
John Forbes Ashton Lt.Col, 1st Border
Regt. Crest. a lion rampart ducally
m. and issue b.1898. gorged and chained.
Naval Lieut. J.W. Ashton had Crimea Medal with Sebastopol Clasp and was wounded
* by a Russian bayonet in the leg. China Medal Taku Forts
(see above) Clasp 1860. Seriously wounded in head, left shoulder and
back.
See Brown Note Book for further and earlier particulars of families connected with the Ashtons.
Book 1
Birth and Early life in Wales
I was born on the 25th November 1868 at the Mumbles N. Swansea, in a night stool - which sounds strange - the fact was my mother was in labour and the maternity nurse had placed her on the stool and though my mother asked to get up - the nurse would not let her : also the earthquake of 1868 was then in progress - so perhaps these two peculiar events at my birth may have had something to do with my somewhat stormy furture, I mention them.
About the year 1870 my father Navs. Lieut. J.W. Ashton R.N. was moved from the Mumbles, where he was temporarily acting as Inspector of Coast Guard - to the North of Ireland and we went to Bangor Co. Downs, and our nurse Fannie a Mumbler girl insisted on also going with my mother. My brother James Frederick Porter Ashton was then about two years old, and my brother Vernon Francis Sadler Ashton had not yet appeared.
N. of IRELAND
My father, who had been wounded in the head and considered by the Admiralty as unfit for Active Service, and thus relegated to the Coastguard (see Pedigree notes at Preface), was a man of great personal bravery and Spartan ways - and we were (three of us by that time) as the saying is "Brought up Hard".
There being at that time no other schools in Bangor - at an early age we were taught the rudiments of the three R's by the National Schoolmaster - also somewhat of a Spartan.
The refining and gentle influence of the home was my mother - who was kindness and gentleness itself - and, I must not forget, our dear nurse Fannie.
At the age of about four we moved to Ballywalter, and lived at Bank House, familiarly known as the "Salt Box" from its likeness from a distance to the old fashioned salt boxes of those days.
Here the Spartan training began - and we had to bathe in the sea winter and summer, go out with the lifeboat, drill with the Coastguards and do cutlass and arms drill.
SCHOOL N. OXFORD
At the age of eight it was considered necessary to send my older brother and self to boarding school, so my mother brought the three of us to England and the elder brother and I were sent to Lord Williams School (the old Thame, Oxfordshire, Grammar School) as boarders. There we were coached for the Royal Navy and at the age of twelve and a half I passed the Test Examination for Entry as a Cadet - the Competitive Examination not being necessary on account of my father's Services. Then the blow fell - my father, who had suffered a great deal from his old wounds, died, and we were left with little chances of Naval Careers or anything else of that sort.
Having always been keen on Athletics and Sports of all kinds, and a great admirer of the wonderful doings in Circuses, and having made friends with the Owner and "Whip" of the "Silver Plated Circus" - I took French leave and joined up as a useful boy who could, at a pinch, understudy many of the acts, and with practice and natural ability of sorts, managed to get through some of the difficult bareback riding feats, trapese work, clowning etc. and soon became a regular member of the Circus Staff.
The only person who knew of this move on my part was my mother, and though she was not at all happy about it, she did not put any obstacles in my way.
The Naval Career being lost was a great disappointment to me and the family as Admiral Oliver Jones of Fonmon Castle N. Swansea had nominated me and he also - with others was greatly upset about it all.
However I took to Circus life as a duck takes to water and spent many happy days - in fact years - with that nomad crowd.
I will not go into details of life in the Ring during this period, but refer to some of my Articles on the subject published in the Rangoon (Burma) Times and Gazette of a much later period.
With all the hard work, excitements, difficulties and trainings, the "Call of the Sea" was in my blood and in 1884 I joined the Barque "Orellana".
FIRE at SEA
I could fill pages with accounts of this my first voyage, round the world - sailing East the whole time, with never a Westerly course: it took eighteen months to complete, and I think I was turned out a good sailor at the end of it.
We had one memorable experience in the "Orellana" - a fire at sea - one of the worst enemies of a sailing ship sailor - it happened thuswise - after getting out of the tropics - where all the pitch bubbles out with the heat of the sun on the deck seams - it is usual to "repay the seams" as it is called - the carpenters job.
A fire is made at the break of the fo'castle to take a large chaldron of pitch, to melt it and make it available for pouring into the shrunken seams.
This particular pot of pitch rolled off the fire when the ship gave an extra roll, and caught fire - it blazed up and nearly caught all the freshly tarred fore rigging. All hands were piped to put out the fire before it spread: this we luckily managed to do and so saved our lives - but it was hard and hot work and a great many burns were the result.
"ORELLANA" and EARLY LIFE at SEA
Chartered by Messrs Anderson, Anderson and Co. - an Australian Clipper, as Apprenticed Midshipman, having just come into a windfall of 600 pounds from my Godmother Mrs Gooch of Southsea.
We left Glasgow for Brisbane with a cargo mostly of whisky and the like, not getting a returm cargo in that port, we ballasted and went to Newcastle, or Port Hunter as it was then called, and to our great disgust loaded a cargo of coal for Valparaiso (for orders).
We had an exciting time on the passage from Brisbane to Newcastle, as we were caught in a "Southerly buster" and our ballast shifted - all hands being employed below with shovels trying to straighten up the ship by shovelling the sand ballast up to windward.
We made a good passage to Valparaiso and got our orders to go to Iquiqui to discharge and load saltpetre for the English Channel again for orders.
We had a good dusting rounding the Horn and were one hundred and eighty-two days on the homeward passage, with only three months provisions on board. Most of the crew were down with scurvy - I expect our youth saved we younger people.
At the Entrance to the English Channel a Channel pilot met us and said our orders were for London. With great joy we reached London and docked; by this time I had discovered that an apprenticed midshipman in the Merchant Service was expected to do more, know more, and be at all the officers beck and call, than the seamen, so I decided to give it up and start afresh.
After this my discharges as Able Bodied Seaman, Officer, Royal Naval Reserve, and eventually Service in the Royal Naval Surveying Service are all given in my discharges and certificates in the safe in the Hall at Welston. But, and a very big but, most of the adventures hereafter given happened betwixt and between many of the voyages, and must be read as such. I need hardly say that between various voyages I took the opportunity of revisiting my old friends of the Circus and spent many happy days with them all.
MY MOTHER and BROTHERS
Like many of my Circus stories, several of the intermittent adventures given herein have been printed and published in the two Burma newspapers the "Gazette" and "Times", and cuttings of them together with various nonsense rhymes are together in a book of cuttings in my bedroom cupboard - for they are all true - even the rhymes are truthful skits on affairs that happened mostly in Rangoon where I was later Deputy Conservator of the Port.
I may add my mother had a wonderful coloratura voice, and was a wonderful musician, and many musical people were attracted to the house - my mother sang at many concerts and festivals and thus brought grist to the Mill.
Amongst many who often turned up in the evenings was Dr. Frost - then organist of the Chapel Royal Savoy and he suggested that I and my younger brother Vernon should be tested for the Savoy Choir - Vernon passed, so did I, but I was then (between the "Orellana" and the Circus) too old to begin - so Vernon went to the Savoy Choir School and afterwards for a term at Oxford, intending to go into the Church - but he was inclined to consumption, left Oxford and was nominated for the National Provincial Bank - to cut a long story short, he was invalided, went to Canada (was Secretary of the R.C. Yacht Club) joined the R.N.V.R. as paymaster and eventually died of consumption.
Whilst at home between voyages I used to see Dr. Frost and often donned Cassock and Surplice and sang in his Choir at various services. Vernon had a lovely voice and sang most of the anthems.
My brother James (the eldest) was for the Army - he passed (direct entry) and joined the Cheshires - learning through some skirmish or other - he went to Canada and joined the Mounties (N.W. Mounted Police) later he became a Sergeant and eventually joined Rouserfelts' Roughriders and fell gloriously in Cuba during the American Cuban War - I mention this as in my narrative it gives the reason for my visits to Canada and Nebraska. James was always a fighter, even at school.
CIRCUS ETC
My reason for being in Chicago and on the Great Lakes and at the packing house was mostly because my Uncle Frank was then living in Chicago, and this enabled me to stay there during some of my American experiences.
My Uncle Jack Ashton's name is amongst those given on a tablet to the drowned in H.M.S. "Atalanta" either at St. Pauls Cathedral or Westminster Abbey - I forget which.
At this period of my life - I was sixteen and a half - I was torn between my two lives, - the Circus and the Sea.
The former I loved, the Ring Master and his wife (a gypsy) adored me and I them - they only had one child, a girl, and we did the trapese and bare back acts together: the poor child afterwards hurt her back and was bedridden for the rest of her short life: they wanted me back again - but the salt sea also called - it was in my veins, and I greatly wanted to put in my sea time to work up for a Master Mariner's Certificate.
Eventually neither Circus nor Sea won - I had a letter from my brother James - then in the N.W. Mounties, asking if I had nothing better to do to join him.
SECRET SERVICE
I must here explain that amongst the regular visitors at my mothers musical evenings was one - Walter Boultbee - a Detective Inspector at Scotland Yard - a great friend of mine - he decided me to go to Canada, and for a reason which I will explain.
At this time the Fenian (United Irish) outrages were at their highest and the police were all out to catch or even place some of the leaders - they were supposed to have left Britain for Canada - so I was presented to the Chief of Scotland Yard, and with an unopened letter to the Chief of police in various parts of Canada, I was expected to locate some of them.
This, the commencement of many such employments in the "Secret Service" later.
I left Antwerp in the Red Star Line S/S "Belgenland" and we were fed on raw soused herrings for the eight days the passage then took to New York from Antwerp.
I left Antwerp for New York towards the end of the year 1887. duly arrived and passed through Castle Gardens, took train for Brockville, Ontario, crossed the Straits and entrained at Port Arthur (Lake Superior) in the Canadian Pacific Railway for the wild and wooley West.
CANADA
I had to break the journey at Brockville and came across a very interesting character a Russian, I forget his unpronounceable name - but we went together to do some shooting - at least he did the shooting - and a more wonderful shot I never came across - he was shooting small birds for the South Kensington Museum, and told me that for every hundred or so he shot, only about one bird was of any value as a specimen - a rarety so to speak - we bivouaced in the forest and he was surprised that I knew how to build a fire and cook; but, of course, my Nomad Circus Life had taught me that. Anyway he was one of the most interesting characters I had ever met, so I have noted him in my adventures - he also taught me a few tips in forest lore.
To continue my journey West - we were three days in the train to Winnipeg - it took longer in those days than at present. James (or Jim, as I called him) met me at Winnipeg - he had been at Headquarters on duty: I was thrilled when I saw this grown man, with an insipient moustache, in the scarlet coat, tricky little cap, Jack boots and spurs of the "Mounties" - and he was greatly interested in the job I had in hand and thought he could help a little.
We were two days reaching Calgary in the Rockies. Jim being stationed at an Indian Reservation some miles to the Eastward. We only had one small incident on the way: at meals we eat at tables laid for four - there were three at our table - ourselves, and what turned out to be an American drummer (commercial traveller); this man annoyed us with his nasal twang and curious table manners - and when he said to me - I guess you are an Englishman, I said "Yes and proud of it": he said several unpleasant things about the English, and my brother Jim remarked to him casually - and I know that casual manner of old - "Anyone can tell you are an American by your dirty mouth and filthy way of eating." Knowing Jim of old - here was the commencement of a first class row - but he looked at Jim with a queer glance and muttering to himself left the table and went to another one, to our great relief - or at least to mine.