A GUNNER IN THE NAVY, TOPSHAM, 1844.

 Below is a death notice from The Exeter Flying Post, of 7th November, 1844, that caught my eye:

"Oct, 28, at Topsham, Mr. Thomas Dodd, gunner in the Navy, aged 95.

"He was nearly 40 years in active service, and received upwards of 30 wounds.  He was one of those who escaped at the blowing up of the "Amphion" at Plymouth, in 1796; one of Captain Macbride's crew at the taking of the Count d'Artois and one of Sir R.Pearson's crew in his engagement with the noted Paul Jones.

"He was a man of the most industrious habits and abstemiousness."

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I don't know that Thomas Dodd is forgotten but it seems to me he is worthy of remembrance.  Only twelve people of the three hundred and twelve aboard the Amphion survived the explosion.  Thomas, was forty-seven at the time.  The explosion was blamed on a drunken gunner, one of his messmates.

At the taking of the Count d'Artois  in August 1780, Thomas was aboard the Bienfaisant,  The prize money would have been significant.

In 1779, Thomas was aboard the Serapis when she met a French and American Squadron under Paul Jones.  Captain Richard Pearson held off the enemy long enough for the convoy which he was escorting to sail to safety, then he surrendered his ship, for which he was hailed as a hero and knighted.

I have lately met a couple of young English people who had never heard of Horatio Nelson  - not their fault, poor young things! -  but their ignorance, which I don't imagine is exceptional, seems to contrast strongly with the awareness of British history illustrated by this 1844, deaths-column notice.