In 1866, one of the oldest inmates of Guildford Union
Workhouse was allowed to sit with a glass and tell a yarn to his cronies by the
workhouse fire. At 86, John Ranger was
hale and hearty and had some colourful tales to tell.
At the age of 24 he had volunteered to be a sailor,
joining HMS Victory, under the command of Captain Hardy. Soon, as you probably realise, he found
himself at the Battle of Trafalgar where he witnessed Lord Nelson fall dying onto the
deck.
He later had further adventures, when on June 1st
1813, while serving on the Shannon under Captain Broke, they engaged with the
American ship the Chesapeake. He described how quickly they took the enemy
ship, “We went into action at 4.30 and at five minutes to 5, I was on the deck
of the Chesapeake and she was ours.”
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| The Chesapeake and the Shannon off Boston |
John Ranger’s fame increased after an article was published in
the West Surrey Times. In 1822 he had
left the navy very suddenly. Disliking
his task as part of a blockade against the slaving ships off the west coast of Africa,
he jumped overboard and deserted. This
meant that he was ineligible for a place at Greenwich Hospital and thus he had
ended up in the workhouse.
The article prompted Captain Egerton of HMS Victory to write
to the newspaper offering to organise a trip for the old sailor to dine on the
Victory on the anniversary of Trafalgar.
A fund was organised so that people could contribute, “a few Shillings
to give an old fellow a treat, rigging him out in naval costume,” but did he go? Captain Egerton required proof that Mr Ranger
had indeed been a member of the crew that day and yet in the Muster Roll
available now he is not named.
