SACRED
TO
THE MEMORY OF
FRANCIS HARRIS.
RETIRED COMMANDER R.N.
WHO SERVED AS FIRST CLASS VOLUNTEER
OF H.M.S "TEMERAIRE."
AT THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR
21ST. OCTOBER 1805.
BORN 19TH. MAY 1797.
DIED 9TH. JULY 1883.
"Then are they glad because they are at rest and so he bringeth them unto the havin where they would be."
Francis Harris served on the Royal Navy's 98 gun HMS Temeraire at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 when he was only eight years old.
Francis was a powder boy or "powder monkey." His chief role was to ferry gunpowder from the powder magazine in the ship's hold to the gun crews, either in bulk or as cartridges and to douse down loose powder around the guns to prevent the risk of fires and explosions. The position of powder monkey was usually fulfilled by boy seamen of 12 to 14 years of age although this was not so as far as Francis was concerned. Powder monkeys were selected for the job on account of their speed and height, they were short and could move more easily and quickly in the limited space between decks and would also be hidden behind the ship's gunwale, keeping them from being shot by enemy ships' sharp shooters. Powder monkeys held no official naval rank on the ships that they sailed on. Some women and older men also worked as powder monkeys.
Many of the powder monkeys onboard Royal Navy ships were part of the poor working class. The Marine Society that promoted youths to join the Royal Navy recruited them by providing clothes, bedding, and a rudimentary education. In the mid-1790's it's estimated that the Marine Society was sending five or six hundred boys a year to the fleet although not all of these boys became powder monkeys. Of the boys who were recruited by the Marine Society, most had no other option than to join the navy as their parents could not afford to raise them. However a significant amount had familial ties to the sea. This group had brothers, cousins, fathers, and even grandfathers who were sailors, thus making them want to continue family traditions[
From his humble naval beginnings on HMS Temeraire, Francis learnt his trade and rose through the ranks and retired from the Navy as a Commander.
In civilian life Francis was appointed as chief coastguard at Sea Palling, Norfolk.
Commander Harris RN died in 1883 at the age of 86 in the Southtown area of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
As part of the Rotary 100th. anniversary Gorleston Rotary Club funded the renovation of Francis Harris' headstone. The unveiling took place on Tuesday 14th. June, 2005 at Gorleston Old cemetery, Norfolk, with the Mayor of Great Yarmouth, George Jermany and Commander Stuart Watt, a serving naval officer attended as part of the bicentenary of Trafalgar celebrations.
HMS Temeraire
Ordered: 9th. December 1790
Builder: Chatham Naval Dockyard, Kent
Laid down: July 1793
Launched: 11th September 1798
Class: Neptune-class ship of the line
Sister ships: HMS Neptune (1797), HMS Dreadnought (1801)
Designer: Sir John Henslow
Gundeck length: 185 ft (56 m)
Keel length: 152 ft 8 in (46.53 m)
Beam: 51 ft 2 in (15.60 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Ships complement: 738
Armament: 98 guns
Gundeck: 28 × 32 pounder guns
Middle gundeck: 30 × 18 pounder guns
Upper gundeck: 30 × 18 pounder guns
Quarterdeck: 8 × 12 pounder guns
Forecastle: 2 × 12 pounder guns
Reclassified
Prison ship: 1813–1819
Receiving ship: 1820–1828
Victualling depot: 1828–1836
Guard ship: 1836–1838
Fate: Sold for £5,530 and broken up in September 1838 at Rotherhithe, south-east London
HMS Temeraire was built in Chatham Naval Dockyard, Kent and launched in 1798. As a first rate three deck ship of the line she carried 98 guns, and was a powerful addition to the Channel Fleet which she joined on her first commission. In 1803, Captain Harvey took command.
At Trafalgar, Temeraire was second in the line between Nelson's HMS Victory and HMS Neptune and being faster threatened at one point to overtake Victory. Nelson's officers urged him to adjust sail to let Temeraire take the lead, but as she came up close to Victory's stern, Nelson himself addressed her 'I'll thank you, Captain Harvey, to keep in your proper station, which is astern of Victory'. Harvey had no option but to reduce sail and drop away.
After opening fire on the French ships, Neptune (84 guns) and Bucentaire (74 guns) the Temeraire became locked against the starboard side of the French ship Redoubtable (74 guns), to which she did dreadful damage, killing or wounding over 200 of the crew with her first broadside. In the fierce fighting that followed, Temeraire like Victory, which was also engaged against Redoubtable on the opposite side, was troubled by snipper fire from the mast tops of her opponent, who also tossed down grenades and fireballs. One of these almost set fire to one of Temeraire's magazines, but it was quelled in time by vigilant master-at-arms John Toohig. Temeraire was then beset on her opposite side by the French ship Fougueux (74 guns), but she fought her and Redoubtable to a standstill and successfully boarded and took Redoubtable but at considerable cost to herself. She had sustained casualties of 47 killed and 76 wounded. All her sails and yards had been destroyed, only her lower masts remained, and the rudder head and starboard cathead had been shot away. Eight feet (2.4 m) of her starboard hull was staved in and both quarter galleries had been destroyed. Captain Harvey signalled for a frigate to tow his damaged ship out of the line, and HMS Sirius came up to assist. Before Sirius could make contact, Temeraire came under fire from a counter-attack by the as-yet unengaged van of the combined fleet, led by Rear Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley. Harvey ordered the few guns that could be brought to bear fired in response, and the attack was eventually beaten off by fresh British ships arriving on the scene.
Shortly after the battle had ended, a severe gale struck the area, several of the captured French and Spanish ships foundered in the rising seas, including both of Temeraire's prizes, Fougueux and Redoutable. Lost in the wrecks were a considerable number of their French and Spanish crews, as well as 47 of Temeraire's crewmen, serving as prize crews.