17/02/1891 - 6 Rue de la Bienfaisance, Paris 07/07/1891 - 6 Rue de la Bienfaisance, Paris 18/07/1891 - Fairbank(s), Christchurch The property was built circa 1885. The name was changed to Shortwood, Magdalen Lane, off Barrack Road, Christchurch. At the time EJS leased the house it was in Hampshire, it has been in Dorset since 1974. My father concluded that EJS must have leas ed the house for a short time while finding a house in London.However in 1895 he is recorded as living at "Oakfield", Caversham Park Place, Caversham, Oxford. 9 Nevern Mansion, Nevern Square, Kensington, London 1921 - 37 Queens Gate Gardens, South Kensington, London Information send to Debrett for insertion in the Companionage list, Debretts peerage
Born December 5th 1836 St Marys Parish Oxford Educated at Cowley School Educated Kings College School (now in Wimbledon), London 1847 - 1852 Kings College, Engineering and Applied Sciences Department 1852 - May 1855 Elected associate of KCL 1854 Entered Turkish Contingent Engineers and served with the force at Kertch and Yenikale Crimea 1855-56 Returned to England after the war 1856 Crimean Medal, Turkish issue. Apppointed secretary to British High Commissioner (Major John Stokes) on European Commission of the Danube 1857 Stationed at Galatz on Danube Returned to England Spring 1872 Appointed resident Director in Paris to represent her Majestys government on Council of Suez Canal Company, June 27th 1876 With two colleagues visited Egypt & prepared report on state of canal. Awarded a Civil Service certificate 1877 Suceeded Baron Jules de Lesseps as member of the managing committee of the Suez Canal January 1888
Note
Created Companion of the Bath 1st January 1891 on his retirement
The Companion of the Order of the Bath
Victoria by the Grace of God of the United Kingdon of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India and Sovereign of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath. To our trusty and well-beloved Edward James Standen, Esquire, Bri tish representative on the council of the Suez Canal Company, Greeting; Whereas we have thought fit to nominate and appoint you to be an ordinary member of the civil division of the Third Class or Companions of our said Most Honorable order of the Bath, we do by these presents grant unto you the dignity of a companion of our said order, and hereby authorize you to have hold and enjoy the said dignity and rank as an Ordinary Member of the civil division of the third class or companions of our aforesaid order, together with all and singular the privileges thereunto belonging or appertaining;
Given at our court at Osborne under our sign manual and the seal of our said order this thirteenth day of January 1891 in the fifyfourth year of Our Reign.
By the Sovereigns command, Edward Stanhope.
Signed, "Victoria".
Note
A Voyage to Constantinople
A Journal kept by Edward James Standen during his voyage in 1855 to Constantinople in the Sailing Transport "William", 700 tons, No 192. with a biography of the Author, a forward and some historical notes by Charles Michael Bouck-Standen
Biography
Edward James Standen, the second son of Edward Standen, was born on 5th December 1836 in St Mary's Parish, Oxford. He and his two brothers, Joseph and Richard were educated at Kings College School, London. Edward James continued as a student at Kin gs College in the department of Engineering and Applied Sciences and he was elected an Associate of Kings College in 1854.
In May 1855 he obtained a commission as a Lieutenant in the Turkish Contingent Engineers ( q.v.) and in the same year went with the force to Kertch to serve in the Crimean War returning to England in 1856. He wrote a diary which recorded the journe y by sea from London to Constantinople.
In May 1857 he went to Galatz in Romania, (then a part of the Ottoman Empire), as the secretary to the British representative on the European Commission of the Danube (q.v.) serving under Major John Stokes until 1871 and then under Lieutenant Colon el Charles James Gordon, ("Chinese Gordon"). In 1868 he was employed on a diplomatic mission to various European governments to obtain their guarantees to a loan being raised by the Commission. He returned to England in the spring of 1872.
In June 1876 he was appointed one of the three representatives of the British Government on the Council of the Suez Canal company and resided in Paris. In early 1878 he visited Egypt with two French colleagues and subsequently produced a report ont he condition of the Canal. On the 1st January 1888 he suceeded Baron Jules de Lesseps as a statutory member of the managing committee of the Canal and held that post until his retirement in January 1891 when he was created a Companion of the Bath. He died in November 1921. He married Ode Jean Angelique Fellemans, his second wife, in July 1891 and had one son, Percy Edward, who served in the Hampshire Regiment during the Great War. Percy Edward was married in 1918 to Marjorie Bouck and had on e son, Charles Edward Barlow Bouck-Standen. His eldest son Charles Michael Bouck-Standen, now retains possession of his Great Grandfather's diary and papers.
Forward
The career of Edward James Standen, my paternal great grand-father, represents a Victorian success story which began with his great grandfather Joseph Standen in the 18th century. Joseph prospered sufficiently, as a Sussex farmer, to provide fundsf or his younger sons to set themselves up in the Textile trade in Dover. Edward James' father moved to Oxford and, as a successtul hosier and woollen trader, was able to have his sons well educated. He also passed on a thriving business which later moved to London.
The narrative covers only a short period in the life of the author and nothing else has been passed on apart from some brief notes concerning his trip around Europe in 1868. However the record of the two months in 1855 forms, in my opinion, not onl y a valuable part of my Family History but also provides an insight into the values and mores of middle-class Victorian England.
There is, for example, the detail of the substantial meals which were apparently consumed despite "mal-de-mer", and I wonder what the present view is of the compulsion to attempt to shoot every living thing in sight even when it was unlikely to hav e provided a meal. I have also found it a little strange that there are no descriptions of his fellow officers, the servants or the crew of the ship. In fact the author's only comment on the latter is to express his surprise that they took ablution s and he presumably held the view, at 19 years old, that they were simply a part of the "Great (and inferior) Unwashed".
The voyage seems to have been extremely lucrative for a young man fresh from college. I calculate that for his 9 months service he received, in cash and benefits, the equivalent of about £35,000 for doing very little. As a director of the Suez Can al Company, he earned £1000 per annum, or say £60,000 in today's money.
I have included some relevant historical details. It is interesting to see that Edward James' career closely followed that of Capt Stokes who recruited him in 1855 though always at a lower level. An example of the working of patronage in the age wh en Britain was at the pinnacle of her powers.
In editing the diary I have taken only the liberty of converting the daily records into the form of a narrative and providing chapter headings as useful divisions of the text. I have made only minor alterations to the detail, spelling and grammar.
Charles Michael Bouck-Standen December 1999.
The English Channel
On Monday the 3Oth July at 2pm our good ship weighed anchor and with a fair wind and a stought pilot left Gravesend for the East passing the "Lady Anne" transport, our consort, who was also moored off Tilbury Fort and was expected to sail the nextd ay. Besides the Officers and Crew of the vessel we had on board eight officers of the Turkish Contingent, (four Captains, two Surgeons and two Engineering Clerks). Also six or eight servants. Our freight consisted chiefly of stores, waggons, pontoo ns etc for the Englneering Train of the Contingent besides four horses belonging to officers. The "Lady Anne", No 130, carried eight officers and about one hundred and twenty men with four horses and engineering tools and equipment.
Under the influence of the breeze the river soon grew perceptibly wider and after passing Rochester, Chatham and the Isle of Sheppey we rounded the North Foreland and anchored for the night off Margate. Early the following morning we started and ab out 12 0' clock anchored for the night off Deal. The pilot left us here and for the time being was transformed into a twopenny postman. I myself troubled him with two letters but we did not, however, leave the Downs as soon as I had expected for we had to wait until the evening for the "Lady Anne" and then for a fair wind. To amuse ourselves we practised with our revolvers and managed to smash a bottle which was tied by a line to the stem of the ship and about 25 paces distant.
The next morning, as the Captain of the ship was going ashore for the day, I and three others resolved to do the same. We left the ship at about 11 o'clock and within 20 minutes we were on Deal beach. We first ordered dinner at the Royal Hotel for4 o'clock and then strolled aound the town and along the beach in the direction of Walmer Castle.
At dinner we were joined by an officer from the "Lady Jane". Fried sole, roast duck, veal cutlets and cherry and raspberry tarts with sherry and ale to wash it down proved most enjoyable, the more so as we had every reason to believe that this wast he last meal we would have in England for a long time. We left Deal for our ship at about 7 o'clock.
Both ships weighed anchor the next morning but since the wind was in the west we had to tack so frequently that we made little headway and only arrived about six miles off St Helens at about 12 noon on Sunday. Eventually we lost sight of the "MaryA nne". All the second week we were tacking about from Portland Point to the Lizard with the wind dead ahead. By degrees we passed Exmouth, Teigninouth and Torquay and eventually passed the Lizard on Friday the 10th and were off the Scillies by Satur day morning.
Since we were then becalmed we persuaded the Captain to let down one of the ship's boats and five of us with the third mate and a sailor rowed about one mile ahead of the ship and then returned all the while being serenaded on a cornet by an office r. In the meantime those who had remained on board had rigged out two lines with large hooks baited with pork in the hope of catching a shark. They had a bite about ten minutes after we regained the ship and, by using the boat that was still afloat , a shark about six feet long, was secured and hauled aboard where the Captain severed his tail.
At about noon that day the wind began to freshen a little and a brigantine which we had seen in the offing earlier bore down upon us. Supposing that she was bound for England we hurriedly scribbled letters home and these were collected and transfer red to the brigantine by boat. The vessel, the "Mary Stuart", was bound for Falmouth and Plymouth. I have to say that I had my share of sickness down the Channel and any attempt at writing made me feel dizzy. Nevertheless I did send a letter home t o assure the family of my safefy and good health.
I did not, however, thanks to the sea air and breeze, lose my appetite. Breakfast was served at half past eight, luncheon at noon, dinner at four and tea about seven. At about eight 0' clock the grog was brought out and stowed away again at 9.30. A lthough, when the steward came to summon us to dinner etc. exclamations such as, "What!, dinner already, we have just had lunch", or, "I really can't eat any!", were sure to be heard, we always seemed to do justice to the meal.
Biscay to Trafalgar
On the Saturday morning the wind sprang up and shifted to the north-east which enabled us to get through the dreaded Bay of Biscay in double quick time. In fact the Bay was beautifully smooth and by Monday evening we were off Cape Finisterre having averaged about 9 knots. (I should mention here that we had a service each Sunday morning at 10.30 but in the the absence of a chaplain there was no sermon). On the Tuesday the wind fell light and we made very little progress. That evening we saw a whale blowing and spouting within a mile of the ship and frequently during the week we were amused by watching the porpoises chasing the small fish which were actually leaping out of the water to escape them. On one occasion we broke out our revol vers and fired two or three shots but the porpoises gave us a wide birth.
The noise of a whale blowing is very peculiar and resembles the snorting made by a Hippopotamus after a swim under water but much louder. The sights and sounds of the whales and porpoises served as a distraction from our Turkish grammars which we f ound rather dry and during the week, as a further amusement, we got up a sweepstake. Ten members subscribed five shillings each and each member drew a paper on which the day of the month was written. The numbers were from 1 - 10 and the holder of t he number of the particular day that the ship drops anchor will win the sweepstake. I drew No 5 and that holds good for the 5th, 15th and 25th.
We came in sight of land on Thursday (16th August), the first we had seen since we left England. This was the Berlengas or Borling Isles, six miles off the Portugese coast, and after dinner the convent of Mafra was visible about 40 miles distant. I n the evening the captain hailed a vessel as it passed us.
She was a brig from Alglers bound for Cardiff already having 30 days passage and 22 days from Gibraltar, a distance of about 360 miles. Both wind and tide had been against her the whole time. We gave our name and requested her to report us and, aft er wishing her a pleasant voyage, we were soon several miles distant. The phosphoresence of the sea this evening was very beautiful, the wake of the ship seemed on fire.
We were off the Spanish coast early on Friday, about 60 miles south of the Tagus, but the wind veered round to nearly south and we had to stand out on a south-west course and then at 4.30 in the afternoon tack and stand into land. The next morningw e were passed by three large steamers and two more in the evening but we made little progress. We sighted the light on Cape St Vincent and doubled it on Sunday morning. The weather was beautiful and we had service on deck and all the officers wore their uniforms, the first time since leaving Gravesend. The captain hailed an English brig, the "Racehorse", bound for Scutari and a Spanish vessel, the " Manuel", from Havannah. The wind was fair though light and we averaged 4 knots.
On Monday (2Oth August) the wind shifted to the east and fell light and we made little headway for the next three days. Two whales passed within 150 yards of the ship and the surgeon struck one with a ball from his fowling piece without doing any a pparent injury.
The wind freshened on Thursday and we came off Cadiz about 12 miles distant. The effect of the sun shining on the white houses was very fine and made one long to set foot again on "terra firma". We saw two dolphins and an immense shark was reported while we were at tea. We rushed on deck and a huge hook with about 2lbs of pork was let down but without success. We also, while passing two small Spanish fishing vessels, managed to exchange some salt beef for fish, onions, and tomatos and gave t hem two or three good cheers which amused them but which they could not quite understand.
The Straits of Gibraltar
We sighted Cape Trafalgar on Friday and were glad to find that we were fairly in the current which flows through the Straits as we had little or no assistance from the wind and on Saturday we sighted the high land of Cape Spartel on the African coa st. As we entered the strait we were enveloped in a thick fog and as we proceeded we could hear the foghorns sounding in all directions and now and then vessels could be seen looming through the mist. Our surgeon, having brought his cornet on deck, gave a musical challenge to each vessel that we passed. On account of the fog we hardly knew our position but the Captain gave out that we were off Gibraltar and that we had better have our letters ready for the post in case we came across a shipt hat was going in. This exercise was, however, in vain.
At about 2 o'clock the fog began to clear and the sun shone out revealing the most lovely sight. On the one side was the coast of Spain with the town of Tarifa on the sea-shore with it's surrounding hills and dales intersected with hedgerows and co vered for the most part with olive trees. On the other side were the rugged and barren peaks of the land of the Moors. The channel of the straits was literally lined with vessels of all descriptions and the Captain counted 174 around us at one time . Soon, as we drifted along with the current, we caught sight of the rock of Gibraltar and opposite the frowning peak of Ape's Hill, the two known as the Pillars of Hercules to the Ancients.
As we neared them our hopes of being able to put in increased and we ardently wished for either a dead calm or an easterly wind. To our mortification we passed the noble rock without even being able to put our letters ashore. The fog returned in th e evening and it was only by the prompt action of the mate that we avoided a collision with a brig that had drifted down upon us.
On Sunday I was awakened by the sound of shots. I hurried on deck to be confronted with a marvellous sight. At about 100 yards distant from the ship and, for about a mile and a half on each side, the surface of the water was covered with porpoisest umbling about in all directions. There must have been thousands of them and the ship's officers said that they had never seen so many altogether before. Several of them came close and one of my companions shot one with his revolver. I might have do ne the same had I been up in time but I watched them until they were out of sight and then turned in again, for with a scotch mist falling, it was a miserable morning.
The wind remained contrary for some days and it was not until Thursday that we came near to the African coast. During that time we had torrential rain and at night there was thunder and some brilliant lightening. After we had weathered the island o f Alboran on Tuesday the arms chest was cleared out. The muskets, which by the by were flintlocks, were inspected and cleaned and the cutlasses polished up a little, as we intended to give any pirates, who were venturesome enough to attack us, a ve ry warm welcome. We could muster about 80 barrels with the muskets and revolvers together, three dozen cutlasses, ten officers swords and two twelve pounder carronades. We were about 50 in number and could hope to make a pretty stout resistance.
Africa and Malta
We passed the Island of Habebas on Thursday with a fair wind and a clear sky. We hailed a brig at about 10 o'clock but since there was no reply we supposed that she was a foreigner, perhaps Greek. At midday on Friday we exchanged colours with an En glish barque, the "Glenmore", from Newcastle and bound for Algiers which lay behind Cape Caxine. We passed the city at about 6 p.m. on Saturday but although we could distinguish houses and buildings on the outskirts Algiers itself lay too far backt o be distinctly seen.
After Sunday service on the 2nd September the wind dropped and we were becalmed. Having espied two or three turtles floating on top of the water the Captain had a boat lowered and the chief mate, the boatswain, and two or three men pushed off to tr y and capture them. They soon succeeded in turning one over and hoisting him into the boat. They rowed back in triumph to the ship and the prisoner was hauled up on deck. Some more were soon discovered and the exercise was repeated. Although the tu rtles were small, measuring about 20 inches by 15, they made a very acceptable addition to our livestock.
Soon after the return of the boat we heard some loud splashes at the bows of the ship and to our surprise we saw several of the sailors indulging themselves with the luxury of a bath. Two or three of our officers made the same attempt but the winds prang up and they were obliged to haul themselves up the side of the vessel rather sooner than they had intended. One, who was rather heavier than he had imagined was unable to pull himself up the rope and had to be hauled on deck. We stood into sh ore that afternoon and from about 3 miles we could clearly distinguish houses, a windmill and a fort. There were five or six people in the fields in one of which the corn was being cut ready for harvest.
We supposed that the place was a French settlement called Jigali. We passed Cape Bougarli, or the Seven Capes, on Monday evening and had one of the turtles cooked for dinner. I never tasted a richer or nicer soup.
The following night a north-westerly breeze sprang up and, accompanied by rain thunder and lightening we passed Bonah, the last French settlement on the coast, which is distinguished by the revolving light off the Cape. For the next two days we had a fair wind and averaged about 7 knots. We passed the Island of Galita and the rocks known as "Fratelli" on Wednesday, Cape Bon during Thursday night and by eight o'clock that morning we espied the Island of Pantellaria which we passed in the afte rnoon. A day later we descried Gozo and Malta about 25 or 30 miles to the north-east but the wind was then dead ahead and we had to tack and tack and made only 20 miles in eight hours.
Eventually we were becalmed near Cape Calambri on the Italian coast and, when the wind did freshen, it was from the east and we were forced to tack between Sicily and Malta whose lights were visible about 10 miles distant.
Sicily and the Aegean Sea
The coast of Sicily came in sight at about 6 o'clock on Sunday but the wind remained contrary and we were obliged to resort to that tedious system of tacking and did not near Sicily again until 5 in the afternoon. As we were then just off Cape Pass ero we had a beautiful view of Mt Etna and, although abut 70 miles distant, could see its peak rearing high like some huge giant above the mountain ridges which seemed to do homage at its feet. In the evening there were three full rigged ships in s ight and one, a frigate, appeared to be English. By eight o'clock, much to our delight, the wind was fair and we started off for Cape Matapan. The light on Cape Passero disappeared below the horizon at midnight and we had said goodbye to land for 5 or 6 days.
On the Tuesday the wind was beautifully fresh all day and we made a capital run. The frigate, who was about 8 miles ahead, at first kept her ground but we began to steal on her in the evening and we passed her next morning. We exchanged colors ands he proved to be Norweglan and not English as we had supposed. About noon a Heron paid us a visit and flew past and over our vessel two or three times. A fowling piece was instantly got out, but owing to a delay in getting at some small shot, his li fe was spared. Towards evening, having made a quick passage from Sicily, we came in sight of land and had to shorten sail as we could not run the passage between Cerigi and Cervi without danger.
However, as soon as the morning dawned, we started off on our right course again. By breakfast time on Thursday, after passing Cape Matapan, we were sailing through the narrow passage which is about 5 miles wide. We had a capital view of both shore s which are as barren and rocky as the mainland. A fine French frigate passed us as we entered the strait, returning from the East.
We, of course, hoisted our colors, and the next minute the French tricolor was seen flying at her mizzen. So different to the Americans who seldom, if ever, return a compliment of this description. We soon doubled Cape Malea but in a light wind mad e little progress and passed between the isles of Karavi and Belopoulo towards the evening.
On Friday morning we entered the channel between Zea and Thermia. We could clearly distinguish the olive trees but there was no other foliage to be seen on the steep and rocky shores. Several windmills were visible along the mountain ridges on Ther mia and, after we had fairly passed the channel, we saw a pretty looking village further to the east. The houses were all a beautiful white as indeed was the case with all the towns or villages that we had passed in the Mediterranean. After a weari some period of tacking we were able to steer away on a course for the Doro channel which is between the Negropont, or ancient Euboa, and the Island of Andros. We reached there the next day and its resemblance to the strait between Zea and Thermia w as very striking. Some fragments of a wreck floated past and we fancied that we saw two men clinglng to one of the pieces but they were, in fact, parts of the unhappy vessel.
Several steamers have passed us in the last two or three days and on Thursday the Transport "Bahian", No 160, was hailed by us. She had returned from the East but had no news. A whale also came within 150 yards of us that morning but was too far of f by the time the guns had been brought on deck. Two or three random shots were fired however as we had not had a shot at a fish for some time. In the afternoon we passed the islands of Psara and Knios on our right and Skyros on our left quarter an d in the evening, under a good breeze, we came in sight of Mityleni which we passed during the night.
The Dardanelles
We entered the passage between Tenedos and the mainland of Asia on the Sunday morning and, when the wind changed to north-east, (the famous Etesian Winds of the Ancients), we made one tack up as far as we could get and brought the ship to anchor in Goukyeri Bay. Two French frigates had arrived just before us and there was another French frigate anchored higher up in the Bay. During the day vessels brought up as they came in and by the afternoon about 60 of all sorts and sizes were anchored w ithin two or three miles of us. It blew quite a gale of wind in the night and a schooner that was anchored just ahead of us dragged close past us and was obliged to ship another anchor to enable her to hold her ground.
We lay at anchor the whole of Monday and could not persuade the Captain to let us have a boat as the breeze was still fresh. The wind was still dead ahead the following morning. Nevertheless we weighed anchor and endeavoured to get as high up as th e mouth of the Dardanelles. We only succeeded in getting as far as Besika Bay after passing near to the quaint looking town of Tenedos. At one o'clock a salute of 20 guns was fired from a war schooner that lay off the fort belonging to the town.
We supposed that it was in commemoration of the anniversary of the battle of Alma, or else one of their feast days, but in fact it was to celebrate the battle at Tehernaya and the capture of the south side of Sebastopol. The steamer "Great Britain" passed us that day full of troops and a large steam frigate with a detachment of the Guards. We telegraphed to be taken in tow but they were not able to gratify our wishes. We anchored in Besika Bay in the evening not far from a Sardinian sloop of war. As we were anxious to hear any news as many of our officers as the boat would hold were pulled to the sloop.
They were well received by the Sardinlan officers and then went on board a Sardinian steamer which had come down the Dardanelles that evening for the purpose of towing the sloop through. While they were gone we had a visit from the Captain of a ste am tug. When our Captain thought it time for the boat to return we fired one of the 12 pounder carronades twice and this had the desired effect. The Sardinian set off for the Dardanelles early next morning, Wednesday 19th, with a letter from our co mmanding oficer to the Consul requesting to be towed through.
At about 10 o'clock that day a boat was lowered and we all went on shore taking our guns and pistols as we expected to find some game to shoot. On reaching the shore we found that at about 100 yards or so from the sea there was a marsh extending fo r a mile or two in length so that we could not get far inland without going some distance around. We had not been on shore for more than a quarter of an hour when the ship hoisted a flag for us to return and we were obliged very reluctantly to geti n the boat again and join the vessel. However during that short stay on the shores of Asia we saw amongst other things, eagles, herons, moorhens, wild ducks,camels, a tortoise and a green tree-frog besides abundant traces of rabbits so that had we remained there for an hour or two we might perhaps have had some sport
As soon as we were on board we weighed anchor and again endeavoured to reach the entrance to the Dardanelles. After tacking about and gaining a little during the earlier part of the day, as the wind fell light towards the evening, we lost ground on account of the strong current to such an extent that we were obliged to anchor about a mile lower down than where we had been the day before. The next morning we again set sail and with a pretty fresh wind we made about 5 miles before we anchoreda bout 2 miles north-east of the Rabbit islands.
On Friday we again made sail and worked about near the Isle of Imbros where we were free from the current and, much to our delight, at about 10 o'clock that night we came to anchor off Cape Greco, the north side of the entrance to the Dardanelles,a nd within half a mile of land. We found ourselves in company with about 30 other vessels which had worked up there within the last few days but could get no further until the wind changed.
On Saturday although the wind was very strong and the swell in the sea rather great a boat was lowered and the Captain and four of our officers left for the shore. They found that the English Consul did not live there as we had supposed, but about2 0 miles further up the straits. The Turkish officers at the fort, the "Newcastle of Europe", received them very kindly. They smoked pipes and had coffee together and the Commandant of the fort had the regiment parade and put through their variousev olutions in honour of the visitors.
They strolled a little way into the country and had a ride on a pony. About four in the afternoon they returned having spent 3 or 4 hours on shore very pleasantly and not forgetting to bring a small store of fruit with them as some small compensati on for the tedious day endured by the four who had remained on board. At about 8 o'clock on Sunday a steam tug came up to us and shouted that the wind was too high to tow then but he would take us in tow in the evening if the weather moderated. Thi s was the best news we could have had as we were beginning to think that we should have to lie there until the winds changed which might have been a week or more. We telegraphed with a ship that was at anchor about a mile from us and from her we le arned that she had seen the "Lady Anne" last Sunday not far from there.
In the course of the day our Captain went on board the steam tug. They had towed the "Lady Anne" through the Dardanelles on Tuesday and she had reached Constantinople on the Wednesday. Thus while we had been at anchor last Monday in Goukyeri Bay ou r consort was moored about 6 miles further up off the town of Yenikoi.
The tug came along side at 7 o'clock that evening and within half an hour a hawser had been made fast and we were under tow. It was a beautiful moonlit night, though not sufficiently bright for us to see the shore. The wind was very strong and very cold and I turned in at about 11 o'clock. On going on deck early next morning I found to my surprise that we were right through the straits and Gallipoli was 8till visible about 3 miles in our rear.
The steamer still kept on steadily and we began to hope that she would take us the whole way but when we were about 14 or 15 miles past Gallipoli he signalled us to make sail. The wind was dead ahead and the current strong so we told him to go on.H e refused, however, and after some palavering said he should cast off Nevertheless he went on again until 9 o'clock and then he told us to make sail.
We told him that the service demanded that he should still tow us under the circumstances. He refused and cast off and we set sail as soon as possible and had to beat up against the wind.We reached the Island of Marmora at about 5 o'clock having ma de only about 15 miles since the steamer left us. It fell light in the evening and a storm passed within a mile of us.
Constantinople
The next day, Tuesday the 25th, was my number for the first prize in the sweepstakes and it semed very probable that I would be the lucky one. The wind, however, was very light in the early part of the day and we coasted along the shores of Turkeyn orth of the sea of Marmora. The wind changed in the afternoon and we made very little progress. We passed the villages of Perioli, Heraclista, Rhodosto and Eretuli during the course of the day. The coast here was much more richly cultivated than an y land we had passed since leaving England, grapes and melons were seemingly more common than any other fruit.
We also encountered a great many small sailing boats of a rig peculiar to the Turks and Greeks. The owners were always very friendly to all appearances as they seldom failed to salute us, and, with a wave of their caps wish us a pleasant voyage. Am eteor passed through the air this evening apparently within 100 yards of the ship. It consisted of a ball of fire which fell with great rapidity and, when within a short distance, burst, leaving behind it a long narrow streak of fire reddish and vi olet in color. We had only made as far as Cape Bala by nightfall and all my chances of winning the first prize were lost.
Constantinople was just visible when I rose the next morning but with contrary winds we only made a few miles and eventually anchored in the evening about 6 miles off Seraglio Point. Then the City of the Sultans, in all its beauty, lay before us. W e noticed a wreck a mile down from us which one of the sailors said was a transport which had run aground last year and we congratulated ourselves on having been more fortunate than that lucky vessel. In the following two days we managed to gain on ly 3 miles but we had a much finer view of the city and, from our anchorage, we looked down the harbour backed by the princely mansions of Pera, the residences of the Ambassadors and all foreigners.
The Captain and our commanding officer went ashore and returned with several letters. They also brought some exciting news. We were ordered on to Kertch where a great part of the Turkish Contingent had already gone. The "Lady Anne" was sent at once to Verna but then was ordered to go to Kertch. From the newspapers we also heard of the destruction of Sveaborg and the evacuation of Petro Paulovski.
Irnmediately after breakfast on Saturday the Captain and three of our officers went ashore and then sent the boat back when the rest of us went for a ramble. The streets were very narrow and dreadfully dirty, crowded moreover with people of almoste very nation, principally Turks, Greeks, Americans and Jews besides hundreds of French soldiers. We at first betook our steps to the Hotel d'Angleterre, the oniy one, I believe, in the place. While there we polished off a bottle of Claret for which they charged us the moderate sum of 7 francs and I then accompanied an oficer to some merchants with whom he had business. By the time we had finished these calls it was about 3 o'clock so we walked back to the quay where our boat was and, being jo ined by two or three others, pulled off to the ship. It was a miserable row back as just as we started it began to rain and continued raining until late evening.
However it was a beautiful morning on Sunday and at about 10 o'clock we went off in a boat to the shore. On landing we made the best of our way to the top of the hill. We called at the hotel but those that had stayed there to sleep had left, they t old us, about an hour before. The streets were in a dreadful state and we made an attempt to get away from the town and into the open country. We walked on for a couple of miles and on the heights of Pera and Tophaus had a beautiful view of the mou th of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn with Scutari just opposite. The harbour was crowded with shipping but the flags of England and France were most conspicious. We walked on as far as the French Hospital and as we began to feel hungry we turned into a miserable French restaurant where we had some very good bread, very bad cheese, and a bottle of ale. We then walked leisurely back to the Golden Horn and, slipping into a caique, we let the boatman pull us across and land us near the Bazaar . We had no sooner landed than we were beseiged by a number of guides, both men and boys. We succeeded however in driving away all but one whom we put up with.
The Diary rather ungrammatically ceases at this point leaving us in mid air. In truth, however, there was probably little to record jor although the Contingent moved on to Kertch there was no serious fighting after the fall of Sebastopol on 8th Sep tember. When peace was signed in Paris in March 1856 the Contingent was broken up and the British personnel returned to England.
Historical Notes
(1) In 1854 Britain, in close alliance with France and later Sardinia, sent an expeditionary force to the Black Sea to protect Turkey from Russian aggression. However the British had only a small standing army and, with no organised reserve system, were incapable of the rapid expansion that was neccessary to meet the needs of a continental war. Although the Turkish army consisted of first class fighting men it was poorly equipped and suffered from extensive corruption in both its supply anda dministrative services. Since Britain was financially sound and Turkey on the verge of bankruptcy the two governments entered into an arrangement whereby Turkey undertook to hand over a complete corps of 20,000 trained men which would be receivedin to the pay and service of Britain for the duration of the war.
After some time it became clear that the Turks were unable to produce any Engineer units for the Contingent and in April 1855 the War Department in London appointed Capt. J Stokes to raise the appropriate force in England. The full details of Stoke s' duties and efforts have been recorded elsewhere*, it suffices here to recount that although Stokes was permitted to recruit regular officers to assist in the initial organisation of the Contingent Engineers he was obliged to engage civil enginee rs as regimental officers. The civilians were offered £700 a year with free rations for themselves and one servant apiece. They were also promised a gratuity of six months pay on discharge for a years service.
(2) After the Crimean War an international conference was held in Paris to settle the "Eastern Question". The Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were placed under the guarantee of the Great Powers and a Commission, based at Galatz, w as set up to regulate traffic on the Danube. In the years that followed order was restored to the Danube delta and a 100 mile stretch of the river was made navigable for ships up to 2000 tons. In 1862 the legislatures of Moldavia and Wallachia unit ed to form one autonomous principality within the ottoman Empire. The state of Romania gained full independence in 1877 but the navigation of the Danube remained under the control of the Commission until 1939.
(3) Sir John Stokes, (knighted in 1877), had a distinguished career after the Crimean War. He held the post as the British representative on the Danube Commission from 1856 to 1871. He was consulted by Disraeli on the subject of the purchase of the shares of the Suez Canal and became one of the directors appointed to represent the British Government on the Board of the Suez Canal Company.
*A full report by Lieut Col ME. S. Laws is held at the National Army Museum, Chelsea, London. The information in the biography of the author has been obtained from private papers and confirmed by various sources which incluae an entry in "Who was W ho", Foreign Office and Treasury papers held at the Public Record Office, (FO 78/2540, 78/4399, T250/12 [The Welby File]), an obituary published in the "Times" on November 7th 1921 and from the archives at Kings College.
Census
Edward J Standen was listed as single and a secretary on this Royal Navy Vessel, and was with John Stokes British Commissioner.
Occupation
previously secretary to Sir John Stokes on the Danube Commission-see notes
Marriage
No issue
Marriage
Married at the British Embassy
Marriage
No issue
Marriage
Married at the British Embassy
Death of spouse
Notice dated 25/2/1888
Marriage
Witnesses Georgina Home Payne and R S Standen
Marriage
Witnesses Georgina Home Payne and R S Standen
Burial
Grave number 186092
View Notes for ...
Media
Multimedia Object
Edward James Standen, 1890 (M10)
Multimedia Object
A Diplomatic Mission by Edward James Standen (M144) Type: Document
Barlow Family Tree
25
-14 months
