Discover Your Ancestors - May 2022

34 Pages·2022·5 MB·English

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Issue No. 109 | May 2022
Flight to Lahore
A story from Indian partition
Lines of communication
The history of semaphore towers
Taken to the water
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ollecti
C
Peters
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What our ancestors wore for bathing Ber
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The publisher makes every effort to ensure
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All material published in Discover Your 4 The semaphore line: Semaphore towers provided a vital
Ancestors Periodical is copyright and unau- means of military communication before the invention of
thorised reproduction is forbidden. Please
the telegraph. Caroline Roope passes on the message
refer to full Terms and Conditions at www.
10 A history of swimwear: As the warmer months beckon,
discoveryourancestors.co.uk. The editors
Jayne Shrimpton explores what our forebears donned to
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make no representations regarding any 15 M istress of riddles: Nick Thorne investigates the famous
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20 T he Victorian coffee roaster: Researching the coffee
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involved in what was often a family business – risks that
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23 Times of transition: Khadija Tauseef tells the story of her
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Pakistan and devoted his life to helping people
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} MILITARY HISTORY
Semaphore
towers provided
a vital means
of military
communication
before the
invention of
the telegraph.
Caroline Roope
‘High tide below the Battery, Portsmouth Harbour’ by artist John Lynn (1826-1869) The
passes on the
semaphore tower as it was in about 1830, as seen from the saluting platform. Portsmouth was
an important station in the line because it provided the last link between ships in the harbour
message
and the Admiralty on land.
The semaphore line
I
n April 1849, the newspaper traditional means of transmitting more than a temporary hut with a
Home News reported on the fate messages, but these could signal either twenty-foot vertical frame on the
of a signalling system that was a warning or a victory – without roof, on which six shutters in two
on the cusp of being superseded by context, it was up to the receiver to columns were moved to display coded
the latest in electrically powered decipher what the sender was trying messages. ‘The present construction
communications. Under the to communicate, which no doubt had of the Telegraph is extremely simple,
nostalgic headline ‘The Last of the mixed results. and it is worked with the utmost
Semaphores’, the paper announced In the Napoleonic era, the French ease, and readily understood,’ wrote
that the remaining station on the – being a little ahead of the British the Northampton Mercury in August
outdated messaging line would be – started to use a type of signalling 1796. ‘The characters consist of such
‘finally broken up in the course of the system invented by Claude Chappe matter as most frequently occur in
ensuing week’. in 1792. Lines of towers with a naval correspondence, such as ship, of
When work started on the 70-mile semaphore rig were built between the line, North Seas, Admiral, &c. and
Portsmouth to London semaphore five and 20 miles’ distance from each prevent the possibility of their being
line almost 30 years beforehand, it other. An operator, whose role was deciphered by improper people...’
was the original information super- to watch the neighbouring tower The only drawback of the shutter
highway of its day. Long-range through a telescope, would see the telegraph was visibility. It relied on
military communication had always message spelled out via moveable clear weather, which anyone in Britain
been a challenge, never more so than arms. The message would then be can tell you can never be guaranteed.
in times of war when speed was of the passed on to the next tower along. The shutter telegraphs were deemed
essence and being able to effectively At the beginning of the 19th unnecessary once the Napoleonic
communicate orders could mean the century, the British experimented Wars ended in 1815.
difference between life and death. with a line of visual communication In early 1815 the Admiralty realised
Various methods had been tried over stations called shutter telegraph they may have been a little hasty in
the centuries, with lit beacons the stations. These buildings were little condemning the shutter telegraphs,
4 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL
MILITARY HISTORY {
Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 to declare,
‘England expects that every man will
do his duty.’ Popham developed the
idea further by proposing moveable
wooden arms attached to a mast
to signal. The system was like the
French semaphore system invented
by Chappe but was simplified to only
two signal arms. The same year a
trial line was built, and eight stations
were erected between the Admiralty
and Chatham. One shutter station
lieutenant reported, ‘I think the mast
with two arms a decided superiority,
particularly in point of sight, as no
day during the whole winter has
either of the Stations which we look to
The semaphore tower located at Portsmouth Dockyard as it looks today Chris Talbot/Geograph
and issued a statement declaring,
‘There can be no question that, in
time of peace, the Telegraphs will be
of little or no use; but it does not from
thence follow that they ought not to
be kept up for the same reason that
batteries and other works of defence
are maintained during peace…There
is no period of War at which the
communication by telegraph is more
useful than at its commencement.’
The following year the Admiralty
decided to investigate a permanent
replacement for the shutter system.
The Royal Navy already had its own
method of passing messages between
ships, using a system of flags in
combination. In 1800, Rear Admiral
Sir Home Riggs Popham created the
first flag system for individual letters
– famously used by Nelson at the
Mechanical semaphore in 1800s France,
invented by Claude Chappe in 1792. Lines of
towers supporting semaphore masts were
built within visual distance of each other.
The arms of the semaphore were moved to
various positions, to spell out messages, and
the operators in the next tower would repeat
the message to the next tower along and
so on. The British semaphore system was
developed from the Chappe’s design
DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 5
} MILITARY HISTORY
struction quality. ‘Water still finds its
way through centre of the mast even
to the lower room,’ wrote Lieutenant
Harries of Chatley Heath to the
Admiralty in 1826. ‘[We have] great
difficulty in getting any workman in
neighbourhood to do any small jobs
by the distance we are from their
abode… my family and myself are
almost poor hermits.’ It wasn’t the
only gripe. Letters to the Admiralty
show that curious passers-by would
try and open the shutters on the
tower’s windows to see what was
going on inside!
Life in the station was ruled
by a set of strict instructions and
Sir Home Riggs Popham (1762-1820) by an
unknown artist, 1836. Rear Admiral Popham regulations. Research into the Chatley
Other communication systems were in use in the early was at the forefront of British semaphore
Heath tower by its custodians, The
nineteenth-century. This example, from Scheveningen design, and in 1800 was responsible for
in the Batavian Republic shows the ‘Balls and Flags’ creating the first flag system for individual Landmark Trust, revealed that the
method – which quite literally used suspended canvas letters. He improved on the French design
semaphore towers were run like a
balls and flags to convey messages between ships and by simplifying the system to two moveable
the coast. Illustration from 1799 wooden arms attached to a mast military operation, even down to the
housekeeping standards: ‘A station
(West Square and Red Hill) been out Witley), Haste Hill (near Haslemere), was to be swept once day and washed
of sight excepting when a close fog; no Older Hill (north-west of Midhurst), twice a week in summer and once
haze what-ever prevented us seeing Beacon Hill, Compton, Camp Down in autumn… 6d a day was allowed
and working.’ (near Bedhampton), Lumps Fort and for coal and candles.’ Lieuten-
The trial was a success and the finally Portsmouth Dockyard. ants-in-charge received 3s a day plus
Admiralty decided to create a Work on the route began in their half-pay pension, while their
permanent route between London December 1820. The buildings assistants got 2s 4d.
and Portsmouth Dockyard. A naval were well designed, solid, one or The buildings were ready for use
surveyor called Thomas Goddard two-storey dwellings in brick – except in early 1822, and on 2 February the
was commissioned to survey the 14 for Chatley Heath, which needed to Portsmouth tower had a VIP visit.
sites that were necessary to cover the be five storeys so it could be seen by ‘On Sunday his Royal Highness the
75-mile distance of the line. With its neighbouring stations. All were Duke of Clarence arrived here from
a mule to carry his equipment and provided with an operating room and London… and made a visit to the
two assistants, Goddard traipsed living quarters at the base to house Dockyard and Southsea Castle,’ wrote
up numerous promising hills, often the semaphore operator – typically the Portsmouth correspondent for the
battling both the elements and the a Royal Navy lieutenant who was Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser.
foliage to find the best locations for close to retirement and down on his His Royal Highness ‘inspected the
the towers – which would hopefully luck – plus his family, and often an new Semaphore erecting on the Kings
be better situated than their shutter assistant too, who would need to be slaughter-house, near the Platform
telegraph predecessors. handy with a telescope. Records show Battery, of the admirable situation
The line started at Admiralty House that at Beacon Hill, the assistant was of which, and the comfortable
and then ran on to Chelsea, Putney obliged to find alternative lodgings arrangements made for the accommo-
Heath, Kingston Hill (Coombe), because the lieutenant had eight dation of the Officers and men to be
Cooper’s Hill, Chatley Heath (also children and there was no space for employed therein, being so decidedly
called Pointers Hill), Pewley Hill him. Inhabitants of the tower weren’t preferable to any before adopted…’
(Guildford), Bannicle Hill (near always complimentary of the con- The line was so successful that
6 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL
MILITARY HISTORY {
of the landscape were decommis-
} RESOURCES AND ARCHIVES
sioned. The last signal was sent on 31
The Landmark Trust
December 1847. This led to concerns
www.landmarktrust.org.uk
over what would become of the now
The Landmark Trust have produced a comprehensive research
defunct semaphore equipment, as
document during the restoration project on Chatley Heath
well as the Royal Navy Lieutenants
semaphore tower, near Wisley in Surrey. It includes many
fascinating excerpts from archive documents detailing life in a who had operated it, many of whom
semaphore station, as well as images relating to the semaphore line were past retirement age and with no
and its history. See more at www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and- other means to support themselves.
book/properties/semaphore-tower-58731/#Overview. The Landmark ‘The semaphore has been the home
Trust are also holding a free open weekend at the tower on 25-26
of many veteran lieutenant, the last
June 2022 (advance tickets available via the website).
berth to be given—the very last to be
asked or accepted as long as a spark of
British Newspaper Archive
hope remained of obtaining anything
www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
better, but now even this resource is
The semaphore line made the news when it was first mooted as
an idea, and again when it was decommissioned. Search between no longer available,’ wrote the Evening
1800-1849 for the semaphore system, and either side of these dates Mail on the day of the final signal.
for other Navy signalling systems. Whatever became of the
out-of-work lieutenants has been
Waterloo Association
lost to history, but hopefully they
www.waterlooassociation.org.uk
suffered a better fate than the stations
The Waterloo Association website includes an interesting feature
they lived and worked in. Once
by Ray Cusick, ‘Signalling systems in use during the war with France
unoccupied, many of the stations
1793-1815’, which discusses at length the different systems used
were either left to ruin and quietly
during the Napoleonic era, including semaphore signalling.
fell down or were demolished to
Books make way for new buildings. Some
T. W. Holmes (1983). The Semaphore: The story of the Admiralty- were refitted as dwellings, such as
to-Portsmouth shutter telegraph and semaphore lines, 1796 to 1847 in Guildford (Semaphore House on
Pewley Hill), Surrey and Four Marks
(Semaphore Farm), Hampshire.
The only surviving tower is Chatley
soon the Admiralty were planning In 1847 the semaphore towers that Heath, now owned by conservation
an extension to Plymouth. Thomas had become such a recognisable part charity The Landmark Trust and fully
Goddard was once again called upon in
1822 for his surveying skills to establish
a viable route between Portsmouth and
Plymouth. This was later changed to
a direct line from London, branching
from the five-storey tower at Chatley
Heath. Only nine were eventually
built and with peace in Europe at
the time, the Admiralty lost interest
in the scheme and construction was
suspended in 1827.
By the 1840s, the Admiralty
began to consider upgrading the
system again – finally settling on
The Battery, Portsmouth, 1830, artist unknown. Another depiction of the Portsmouth semaphore tower,
electric telegraph cables that could
this time with a more leisurely feel as passers-by enjoy the view and take the sea air. From the Royal
be installed alongside railway lines. Museums Greenwich collection
DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 7
} MILITARY HISTORY
Chatley Heath Semaphore Tower – the last surviving (and only) five-storey tower in the semaphore line between London and Portsmouth. It is
70 feet high and was used as a residence and offices until 2015 when The Landmark Trust stepped in to safeguard its future diamond geezer
restored as a holiday let – including full bearing. A raspberry plantation, mast and rigging etc. Woodhouse,
the original working semaphore strawberry beds, gooseberry and henhouse and pigsty thatched.’
mechanism and arms. currant trees, upwards of 500 shrubs Perhaps living on top of an isolated
These unique remnants of naval of various sorts, a summerhouse with hill wasn’t quite so bad after all… {
communication heritage were,
fortunately, only ever used in
peacetime – leaving lots of time for
those in the rural stations to indulge
in other pastimes. When the first
lieutenant of Chatley Heath, the green
fingered Edward Harries, retired in
1827 at the age of 63 he left behind ‘3
cherry trees – 3 plum – 1 greengage –
1 apricot – 6 filbert – 15 apple trees in
} ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After working for many years
as a heritage practitioner for
the National Trust and English
Heritage, CAROLINE ROOPE
is now a freelance social history
The Admiralty in Whitehall, artist unknown. The building shown is the Ripley Building and the
writer and researcher. Her
semaphore mast and arms can be seen standing on the roof at the left of the painting. It was
first book, The History of the
remarked on at the time that, “the improved semaphore has been erected on the top of the
London Underground Map (Pen & Sword), is out
Admiralty. It consists of a hollow mast of 30 feet, on which two arms are suspended when not
this summer.
making signals.” The system was eventually superseded by the electric telegraph in 1847
8 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL
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} SOCIAL HISTORY
As the
warmer months
beckon, Jayne
Shrimpton
explores what
our forebears
donned to enjoy
the water
‘Mermaids at Brighton’ by William Heath, c.1829
A history of
swimwear
F
rom the early 18th century derived from undergarments. Initially nightcaps and women linen caps
onwards, established spa towns some men and boys bathed naked, similar to fashionable day mobcaps,
like Bath and new seaside as they had done for centuries when sometimes adding straw hats and
resorts including Scarborough and larking about in ponds and rivers, bonnets.
Brighton attracted growing numbers but most wore knee-length linen
of prosperous tourists seeking drawers; later, as more people flocked Victorian modes
both the health-giving properties to take the waters the requirements During the 1800s women’s bathing
of restorative waters and the social of modesty increased, a jacket-like attire was designed to appear more
diversions beginning to open up upper garment called a ‘waistcoat’ stylish and attractive. The earliest
in such fashionable locations. As completing the suit. Similarly, women known fashion plates to show ladies’
transport improved and holidays typically donned a long, loose-fitting bathing attire depict figures wearing
extended to the working classes, shift featuring a high neck and full heavy flannel or serge ‘paletot’
public bathing became a form of mass sleeves, the hems sometimes sewn dresses with fitted bodices and full
entertainment. But what did earlier with weights to avoid the embarrass- skirts, echoing the crinoline gown
generations wear in the water and on ment of floating dresses. Georgian then in vogue: knee length, these
the beach? and Regency bathing clothes were bathing dresses were worn with
fashioned either from stout linen long ‘Turkish’ pants resembling the
Georgian costumes or, frequently, woollen flannel, trousers being advocated for daywear
The costumes first worn in the sea at recommended for extra warmth by dress reformers such as Amelia
early coastal resorts closely resembled and protection in the chilly sea. Bloomer. Mob-style caps protected
those used for the thermal baths at Heads were usually covered, men the head from the cold, while flat
Bath – loose clothes that essentially wearing close-fitting caps like regular cloth or straw sunhats shaded delicate
10 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL