where his father worked as a farm labourer. Although his Royal Marine record gives his date of birth as 17 January 1845 it was suspected from census information that he had lied about his age on joining up. This was confirmed firstly by his Birth Registration in the last quarter of 1843 and then his Birth Certificate and Baptismal Record which both givw his birth date as 30 October 1843.

Address: Tiverton, Devon

Also his older siblings were present.

Address: Tiverton, Devon

The 1851 Census records him as a 'scholar' indicating that he was attending a school. However, the education must have been minimal as he signed the register for his marriage to Emma Voysey in 1876 with his mark. However, in 1888 he signed the register for his marriage to Sarah Hockin normally indicating that he had learnt to write, or at least sign his name, probably in the Royal Marines.

According to his Royal Marine records he was a labourer before he joined up in 1866. However, the 1861 Census is more specific saying that he was employed as a brewer's assistant. So he was probably a labourer in a brewery at least for some of the time. When he started work is not known - probably around the age of 12.

Where he enlisted is not shown on his Service Certificate but it was probably Taunton. On enlistment he lied about his age. He gave his date of birth as 17 January 1845, which would have made him exactly 21 on enlistment, whereas he was actually born on 11 October 1843 which means he was 22¼ on enlistment. Why he needed to lie about his age is not known.

He remained a Private throughout his service and served in a number of ships and ashore.

Using the dates from his Service Certificate and research into where the ships he served in were it is possible to reconstruct his career with a fair degree of accuracy.

From 17 Jan 1866 to 14 Nov 67 he served ashore with the Plymouth Division and presumably unwent basic training before he as drafted to HMS Zealous supernumerary for service at San Juan from 15 Nov 1867 to 13 May 73. HMS Zealous was one of the three ships (the others being HMS Royal Alfred and HMS Repulse) forming the second group of wooden steam battleships selected in 1860 for conversion to ironclads. This was done in response to the perceived threat to Britain offered by the large French ironclad building programme. The ship was ordered to the West Coast of Canada after she was completed to represent British interests in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Zealous became the flagship for the Pacific Station for six years until she was relieved in 1872. Upon her arrival the ship became the flagship, and reached her operational base at Esquimalt in July 1867 (Esquimalt was the headquarters of the Pacific Station); she remained moored there, at the end of a telegraph link with Britain, until April 1869. During this time her only sea service was for gunnery practice on two days every quarter.

Even after the Oregon Treaty of 1846, the boundary between the British Gulf Islands and the U.S. islands in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound was not fully defined. An incident, involving an American settler shooting a HBC farm pig on San Juan Island led to the Pig War with the USA in 1859.

In 1865, the British Royal Navy relocated the headquarters of its Pacific fleet from Valparaíso, Chile, to the Esquimalt Harbour which is where Daniel must have served thus the use of 'San Juan' on his Service Certificate is interesting and intriguing. However, the period from 15 Nov 1867 to 13 May 73 is a precis of an earlier document and it has not been possible to determine the details of his service on the west coast of Canada.

From 14 Jul 1873 to 31 Aug 74 Daniel served ashore in Plymouth after which he was drafted to HMS Endimyon where he remained until 30 Sep 76. Endymion was a 21-gun wooden screw frigate, the third of four ships of this name to serve in the Royal Navy. She was the last wooden frigate built at Deptford Dockyard and remained in front-line service until 1874 after which she served as a guard ship and on coast guard duties at Hull, Yorkshire until 1879, latterly with her boilers condemned as unfit for service. Endymion was at Hull by October 74. On 25 December, a warehouse in Hull caught fire. A boat was despatched from Endymion with a hand pump on board, followed by another with a steam pump. Both boats assisted in the firefighting operation, but the warehouse was gutted. Endymion sailed from Hull in July for Plymouth. HMS Iron Duke replaced her on guard ship duties. Both ships sailed in company from Devonport on 30 July 75 for Portland.

On 17 January 1875, a court-martial was held on board Duke of Wellington as Portsmouth of a leading seaman from Endymion who was charged with indecent assault and inducing another to commit the same offence. The trial lasted for over eight hours. The first charge was found partly proven, and he was found guilty on the second charge. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment as a close prisoner. On 1 April, a court-martial was held on board Duncan at The Nore of a marine serving in Endymion who was accused of assaulting a corporal in the execution of his duties. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years' hard labour and dismissal from the service. Endymion returned to Chatham in August for her annual refit. Her crew transferred to HMS Iron Duke in July 1875. In September, she was towed from Sheerness to Devonport by the Admiralty tugs Camel and Grinder, her boilers having been condemned as unfit for service. It was intended that Endymion would be stationed at Harwich, Essex where she was to replace HMS Penelope as the flagship of the Admiral Superintendent of the Naval Reserve. That plan was cancelled due to the loss of HMS Vanguard, with that ship's crew transferring to Iron Duke, with her crew transferring back to Endymionin October 1874. Endymion departed from Devonport on 4 November for Hull, where she was to take up coast guard duties. As her boilers had not been repaired, she departed under sail. On 13 December, a court-martial was held on board Duke of Wellington at Portsmouth of an able seaman from Endymion charged with three counts of insubordination and disobedience. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment at Lewes Gaol. The first seven days in each month to be kept in solitary confinement and the rest of the time to be kept at hard labour.

On 23 February 1876, a private in the Royal Marines serving on board Endymion was court-martialled on board Duke of Wellington at Portsmouth on a charge of insubordination. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment at Lewes Gaol. The first seven days in each month to be kept in solitary confinement and the rest of the time to be kept at hard labour. On 7 March, a fire broke out in the yard of Humphrys & Pearson Ltd, shipbuilders, located in the Victoria Dock. A range of workshops was destroyed, and the ship Sylph, then under construction, was severely damaged. Her rigging and port side were burnt. Royal Marines from Endymion and HMS Pheasant assisted in the firefighting operations. On Ascension Day, a salute was fired by Endymion in honour of the Queen. This caused two windows to fall out of a building in Scale Lane, Hull, injuring two passers-by. On 14 August, a fire broke out at a timber yard in Hull. Crewmen from Dauntless, Endymion and Mermaid assisted the Hull police in fighting the fire. Nine days later, crewmen from Endymion gave assistance at another fire at a timber yard in Drypool. John Moresby took command of Endymion on 29 September 1876. The day after Daniel was drafted back to the Plymouth Division where apart from a few months in HMS Indus in 1878 he remained until 26 September 1879 when he was drafted to HMS Hibernia.

HMS Hibernia was First Rate Ship of the Line built in Devonport in 1804. She served in the Mediterranean from1816 to 1855 after which she was permanently moored in Valeta Harbour as the Malta Base Flagship. Daniel remained in Malta until October 1881 when he returned to the Plymouth Division.

Danial remained in Plymouth until 11 March 1884 when he was drafted to HMS Terror. Terror was a 16-gun iron screw floating battery launched in 1856. She became the base ship at Bermuda in 1857. On the 23 October 1886 he embarked in HMS Himalaya for passage home arriving in Plymouth on 4 November. He remined with the Plymouth Division until 18 January 1888 when he completed his 21 years service and was eligible for a pension.

During his service his Character (conduct) was mainly Very Good but was reduced to Good when serving in HMS Endymion from 1 Sep 1874 to 31 Dec 1874 after which it was reduced to Fair from 1 Jan 1875 to 30 Sep 1875. It was restored to Good from 1 Oct 1875 to 31 Dec 1875. The period of being less than V.G. (the 'standard') coincided with the deprivation of a Good Conduct Badge on 17 Dec 1874 and a second one on 2 Apr 1875. He was further reduced to 2nd Class for Conduct on 10 May 1875. He was restored to 1st Class for Conduct on 20 Jan 1876. This was followed by the restoration of a Good Conduct Badge on 20 Jul 1876. What happened? A 'run in' with his C.O. in HMS Endymion? Being drunk on board? Being drawn in to other disputes? Who knows? However, it is worth noting that there were a number of disciplinary problems in Endymion whilst Danial was serving in her- see above - and it is thought that she may not have been a 'happy' ship. After this it remained V.G. except for period between 1 Oct 1878 and 30 Jun 1880 when, whilst serving (ashore) in Plymouth and HMS Hibernia, it was Exemplary.

The Census does not say where the ship was. However, as a large number of the crew, including Daniel, were not on board it is assumed that the ship was in her Home Port of Devonport. This assumption is supported by the facts that amongst those on board were the Commander (Sir Francis Blackwood), his wife, their two young children and the children's governess. Daniel was almost certainly at home with his wife although he is not included in Emma's census return.

Address: Royal Marine Barracks, Devonport, Devon

It is assumed that the discharge took place from the Royal Marine Barracks in Devonport. He had served 21 years which made him eligible for a pension.

As a Private in the Royal Marines he would almost certainly have been employed as a Wardroom Attendant serving behind the bar and at tables in the Wardroom, and cleaning officers' cabins. He may have also have been employed as a batman to a R.M. Officer. This would have been ideal training for employment in domestic service after leaving the Marines and he would not have had much difficulty in finding a job. The first record of his employment comes from the certificate for his marriage to Sarah Hockin in October 1888 about 18 months after leaving the marines where his occupation is shown as a servant. His address is given as King Street and the 1891 Census shows that quite a number of the residents employed servants so he may have 'lived in'. The next record is a year later where on the Birth Certificate for his daughter Ellen his occupation is shown as a cook, domestic servant. Where he learnt his cooking skills is not known and it would appear that he was working for a household. The 1891 Census shows him employed in domestic service. Both his daughter's birth certificate and the 1891 Census give his address as 34 East Street and it is evident from the Census return he was not working there. Where he was working is not known. In the 1901 Census he is shown as the caretaker of the West Hoe (Royal South Western) Yacht Club and living there with his wife Sarah and daughter Ellen. He was still there in September 1905 when Elizabeth Roberts who was his wife's first cousin was married from the Royal South Western Yacht Club. He eventually became the Steward of the Yacht Club and when he left he was given a testimonial from the committee. His great-granddaughter Patricia Ward (née Wallace) found it amongst her mother's papers and gave it to her uncle Harry Kenneth Luscombe (his mother's sister) as she felt it 'belonged to him'. He destroyed the document on the orders of his wife Barabara whose father was a Chief Draftsman in Devonport Dockyard and did not wish to be associated with anyone who may have been in domestic service. Unfortunately the document was not photographed before being passed to Harry Luscombe so there is no record of the exact date on which he left the Club although it was before the 1911 Census.

It is thought that the business was not very successful as according to his daughter Ellen as recalled by her son Harry Luscombe he 'cut the ham too thick'. He also suffered from bouts of depression and would shut himself away for up to 24 hours and only emerge when he felt better.

Cause: pneumonia

Address: 16 Wellington Street, Plymouth, Devon

Although Daniel's death certificate says that his son-in-law Harry Luscombe, who registered his death, was present this is thought unlikely. It was more likely that Daniel's wife Elizabeth was with him when he died and that her daughter Ellen and her husband Harry supported Elizabeth at the time of her husband's death.

Sarah Elizabeth Hockin (1860-1922)

Ellen Maud Hawkins (1889-1972)

Address: Plymouth, Devon

The relationship of the witnesses to Daniel and Sarah is not known and who else attended the wedding is also not known. All their parents were dead and, as far as is known, all Daniel's siblings lived in Tiverton and all Sarah's siblings lived in the Newquay area so none of their relatives may have been present. On their Marriage Certificate Sarah gives her father's name as John Hockin and gives his occupation as boatman whereas her father was George Hockin who was a seaman employed in the coastal trade. She also gives her residence as Flushing in Cornwall whereas she came from Newquay and was probably living in Plymouth at the time of her marriage. The distance between Newquay and Flushing is about 25 miles. Why she should dissemble about her father's name and occupation, and where she came from is not known. Two Marriage Certificates exist

1 The original certificate which would have been given to the bride

2 A certified copy of the register entry issued by the General Register Office on 25th February 2004

The original certificate gives the date of the marriage as 16th October 1888 whilst the certified copy gives the date as 15th October 1888. The Marriage Register also give the date of the marriage as the 15th October 1888. All three documents are in the same hand except for the officiant's signature (Julian Harvey, Curate) in the Register and on the Certificate given to the bride. It is assumed that the Register Entry and the original Certificate were prepared by the Clerk or Verger before the marriage and signed on the day by the Curate. The copy of the register entry was then made after the marriage by the Clerk or Verger for eventual transmission to the General Register Office. On balance it is considered that 15th October 1888 is the correct date for the marriage.

Address: 34 East Street

The household consisted of Daniel, his wife Elizabeth and their daughter Ellen Maud who was 12 months old. They had 2 rooms in a 6 roomed house. The other rooms were occupied by a Royal Marine pensioner who had one room and two people who were described as visitors who had 3 rooms. It is not clear whether Daniel rented the whole house and sub-let rooms or whether the owner took individual rents.

Address: West Hoe Yacht Club

The household consisted of Daniel, his wife Elizabeth and their daughter Ellen (age 11). Daniel is shown as being the caretaker at the club.

Address: 16 Wellington Street

The household consisted of Daniel and his wife Elizabeth who were living in 2 rooms and had no income apart from his Royal Marine pension. They shared the house with the household of Sidney Brown which consisted of Sidney, his wife, two children and his father-in-law; the Browns also had a visitor Hephzibah Hawkins but despite her surname was not thought to be related to Daniel. The Brown family had six rooms. Caroline Hosgood who worked as a domestic servant had a tenement room and was shown as a separate household.