Survivors-Ellis

HMS Captain 1870

The Story of HMS Captain (cont)

The Survivors (cont)

James Ellis

Great-great-niece Eileen, of Australia. provides the following information -

My research on James Ellis shows that he was born in Brixton, Devon in 1841, the fourth child of John & Harriet. He married Sophia Webber in Devonport in 1863 and had four children.

The 1871 census (which was taken seven months after the HMS Captain disaster) lists James as a Petty Officer in Stoke Damerel, Devon.

In 1872, James Ellis was again mentioned in the Times (19th March 1872) when involved in another tragedy. This occurred off the coast of Portugal, around 150 miles from where Captain was lost. Whilst serving on HMS Ariadne, the ship was in a force 6 to 7 storm with a heavy following swell, when a seaman fell overboard from the maintopmast crosstrees. A cutter was immediately lowered to search for the man.

Some hours later, with the lost man not having been found and the weather getting worse, the cutter was ordered back to the ship, but in turning into the wind, was capsized. A second cutter was launched but was also immediately swamped. Whilst four men were subsequently saved by the Ariadne, ten officers and men together with the man who fell overboard, were lost.

In making his report, Captain W.C. Carpenter added -

"It is also my desire to especially report the gallant conduct of Mr Ellis, boatswain, second class, borne for the instruction of cadets (a survivor from the late Her Majesty's Ship Captain) and George Loram, quartermaster, who, at great peril of their lives, went down with slip ropes under the port-quarter of the ship to attempt rescuing a drowning man; but the heavy swell and rolling of the ship rendered it impossible and Mr Ellis narrowly escaped with his life."

In 1881 James is shown as a Boatswain seaman in Portsmouth, Hampshire and in 1891 is a RN pensioner Warrant Officer in Dartford, Kent.

After Sophia died, James married Mary Pink in 1894 in Alverstoke, Hampshire and they had one child from whom Mike Ellis is descended.

The 1901 census shows James as a retired RN Boatswain in Alverstoke, Hampshire.

I believe James died in March,1927 aged 85 so the undated newspaper clipping from an unknown Portsmouth, England, newspaper (shown below) was written then.

(See also under Descendants' Memories)


			H.M.S. CAPTAIN Death of Last Survivor but One at Southsea Another of Portsmouth's respected Naval veterans passed away yesterday week in the person of Mr. James Ellis, who was one of 18 saved from the wreck of H.M.S. Captain, one of the first turret ships, which foundered off Cape Finisterre on September 7, 1870, with the loss of 506 lives. Mr. Ellis dived into the water and swam round for some time before being picked up by a boat containing the other survivors. After some hard fighting with a gale of a wind, the party eventually reached shore and had to walk some miles over rocks minus their footwear, to obtain assistance. The deceased gentleman, who was of a retiring and genial disposition, was born on August 31st 1841, and resided until recently at Owen Street, Eastney. It is believed that only one other survivor now remains. He resides at Plymouth, and only last year the two veterans met and recalled incidents of their Service careers. Mr. Ellis entered the senior Service at the age of 13 as a sailor boy, and had attained the rank of warrant boatswain when, at the age of 48 years, he was invalided out of the Service through an accident with a gun in the first Zulu war. The gun got out of control, and running backwards, injured Mr. Ellis in the spine. Mr. Ellis had in his possession some very old documents, and one, dated April 18, 1872, records how he and George Doram were awarded the silver medal of the Corporation for conspicuous gallantry in attempting to rescue a drowning man from H.M.S. Ariadne.