Introduction

Herbert Richards was one of the many journeyman bakers who passed through Hardington. Originally from Bridport, where his family ran a bakery, Herbert moved to the village because he was Edward Ackerman‘s brother-in-law. After leaving Hardington, Herbert joined the Royal Navy, serving for 22 years during a time when Britain had an immense fleet and a vast empire.

Childhood in Bridport

Herbert was born at Bridport on 2 February 1865, the seventh of seven children born to George Frederick and Ellen Richards.[2] As a young man, his father moved to Bridport from Norton-sub-Hamdon and established a bakery in East Street. Although the business supported the family, it generated little surplus.[3]

Tragically, Herbert’s mother, Ellen, suffered from tuberculosis while she was pregnant with him and passed away when he was just two months old.[4] Following her death, George looked after the family with the help of his eldest daughter, Mary Jane. After George died in October 1879, his eldest son, Frederick, took over the bakery and his two daughters, Mary Jane and Emma, lived in part of the bakehouse. His other two sons moved away: Charles moved to Titchfield in Hampshire, where he worked as a grocer’s assistant, and Herbert moved to Norton-sub-Hamdon.

Early career as a baker

Herbert initially followed in his father’s footsteps and became a baker. Family connections played a significant part in his finding situations. By April 1881, Herbert was assisting his cousin, Thomas Richards, at Little Norton Mills at Norton-sub-Hamdon. Thomas, who had taken over the business from his father two years earlier, combined milling with baking and also farmed 20 acres.[5]

In about 1884, Henry’s sister, Mary Jane, and her husband, Edward Ackerman, moved to Hardington, where Edward had secured a job as a baker. Henry appears to have joined them there for a short time. In August and November of that same year, Herbert placed newspaper advertisements, seeking re-engagement as a baker.[6]

Naval career

After these advertisements failed to yield any promising opportunities, Herbert enlisted in the Royal Navy on 15 May 1885. He served for 22 years, completing 30 tours of duty on 24 different vessels.[7]

On 1 July 1906, he joined the crew of HMS Powerful as a gunroom cook. HMS Powerful was the flagship, or the lead ship, of the Royal Navy squadron stationed in the Australia Station, which covered the waters around Australia and the Pacific Ocean. Ten months later, the ship was moored at Lyttelton, New Zealand, seven miles south of Christchurch.

On Saturday, 27 April 1907, Herbert complained of a headache in the morning, but by noon, he felt better. However, he went to bed at 9 pm, saying he felt tired and would turn in early. The following morning at 5.45 am, he was found dead in his hammock. His body was taken ashore to the Lyttelton morgue, where a post-mortem examination was performed. An inquest held the same day at the Mitre Inn concluded that he died from an aneurysm of the heart. His body was buried at Lyttelton the next day with the usual naval honours.[8]

Did Herbert have any family to mourn his passing? Although he was only 42 when he died, he had outlived all his siblings except for his sister, Emma Mabb, who lived at 28 King Street, Bridport.[9] According to the newspaper article about his death, Herbert had a wife in Sydney, but it remains unknown whether he had any children.

References

[1] Western Gazette, 29 August 1884, p.4; 7 November 1884, p.4.

[2] Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1848-1939. George and Ellen’s fourth child died at age three, and the sixth child died in infancy.

[3] George Frederick Richards died intestate in 1879, leaving an estate valued at “under £100.” His son, Frederick George Richards, who hanged himself in his bakehouse in 1897, does not feature in the probate indexes.

[4] Death certificate of Ellen Richards.

[5] The 1881 census describes Thomas Richards as a farmer of 20 acres, miller and baker, employing 3 men and 2 boys.

[6] Western Gazette, 29 August 1884, p.4; 7 November 1884, p.4.

[7] Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1848-1939.

[8] Lyttelton Times, 29 April 1907, p.7, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1848-1939.

[9] Emma Mabb died in 1931, aged 70.