By John D Ellis
William Vulson was born on the Coast of Arabia c.1802-1804. The Arabian Peninsula includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Vulson enlisted in the Royal Navy in October 1825 when he joined HMS Leven. He was to spend much of the next twenty-six years on navy vessels, mainly as a steward or cook – an increasingly “racially defined” role for Black sailors in the Royal Navy of the time. His service was as follows:
HMS Leven 1825-1826 (as Steward to Captain William Fitzwilliam Owen). From 1821 the Leven had served with the Royal Navy’s Survey Service, mapping eastward from the Cape of Good Hope. The survey was extended to cover the east coast of Africa, southern Arabia, Madagascar, and islands in the Indian Ocean. HMS Leven’s role was not limited to surveying: Lloyd’s List reported that in June 1825 the Leven, then in Mauritius, had “brought into Port Louis, from St Augustin Bay, Madagascar, the French built Brig Sun, under Spanish colours, with 160 slaves on board.” Many of the original crew had died of tropical diseases, and so William Vulson was recruited locally to augment the remaining crew. However, what was a temporary measure for the Leven, was to result in a lifetime of military service for William Vulson.
In November 1825 (a month after Vulson joined the ship) Leven started a survey north from Walfisch (Walvis) Bay in South West Africa and continued it up to Sierra Leone and Cape Verde. In early 1826 Leven participated in the First Anglo-Ashanti War (1824-1831). By the time the ship returned to Britain in late 1826, thirty thousand miles of coast had been surveyed and 83 charts prepared. Vulson was paid off in England in 1826, and his movements are unknown. But in 1828 he was back in the Royal Navy.
He served on HMS Nimrod from 1828-1832 (initially as a Landsman, then as Gunroom Steward). In April 1832, Vulson (his surname was rendered as Vielson in the citation) was awarded a bravery medal by the Royal Humane Society whilst was serving on HMS Nimrod in Cork Harbour, Ireland. The medal Vulson received was the “Royal Humane Society Silver Medal”. The citation describes how when a man fell overboard, Vulson, “a man of colour”, instantly jumped into the sea, though the wind was strong with an ebb tide. He succeeded in grabbing the man, who in turn grabbed his leg so tightly as to place them both in jeopardy. The Second Lieutenant jumped in but gave up the attempt. Vulson, now with only one arm and leg free continued “with the most heroic perseverance.” A boat eventually reached them and rescued the pair.
The citation also noted that Vulson had previously saved another man on the coast of Africa whilst serving on HMS Leven: “Lieven was running along the land on the coast of Africa, a seaman who was leading the lead, (i.e. measuring the depth below the keel), fell overboard from the breast rope giving way, when Vielson, in the same undaunted manner, sprung into the sea and rescued him.”
He then served on a number of ships: HMS Dispatch, 1832-1835 (as Gunroom Steward); HMS Aetna, 1835-1836 (as Captain’s Steward); HMS Stag, 1836-1841 (as Gunroom Steward); and HMS Dublin, 1841-1845 (rank unknown). The Dublin was the flag-ship of Rear Admiral Thomas Darton Thomas, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Station, between 1841 and 1845; HMS Melampus 1845-1848 (as Steward to Captain John Norman Campbell, and then Landsman – the reduction in rank does not appear to have been well received by Vulson as his conduct was described as “indifferent”, whereas all other references to his conduct before and after were either “Good” or “Very Good”); HMS Volage, 1847-1848 (as Gunroom Cook); and then HMS Helena, 1848-1851 (as Gunroom Cook).
In November 1851 William Vulson was examined at Greenwich Hospital and awarded a pension of £15/4s per annum for life. He chose to become an out-pensioner, and settled in Plymouth, Devon.
In October 1853 he married Susan Robinson, (nee’ Croker, a widow aged 46 years), at the Church of St Andrew. Vulson was described as a mariner on HMS Impregnable (which indicates he had re-enlisted in the Royal Navy), and his father was identified as Thomas Vulson, a carpenter.
After his marriage, Vulson drew his pension in Plymouth, but continued to serve in the Royal Navy: In 1856 he was awarded the “Baltic Medal 1854-1855” for service as a Wardroom Cook on HMS St George. The ship was one of several Royal Navy vessels that served on operations against the Russians in the Baltic between March 1854 and August 1855, as part of the Crimean War.
After returning to Plymouth, he resided there until March 1858, when he drew his pension in New South Wales, Australia until March 1860. (Perhaps suggesting he was working as a merchant sailor).
By May 1860 Vulson had returned to Plymouth. However, in 1863 he returned to Australia, drawing his pension in Melbourne, Victoria until 1875.
The last entry for William Vulson in his Royal Navy pension records is for the year 1875 when it was noted that he was “a seaman.” Australian records on ancestry.co.uk indicate that William Vulson, born c.1802, died in 1878. Admitted to Kew Lunatic Asylum, Melbourne, Victoria, suffering from dementia in 1877, Vulson was physically able, but mentally frail. In January 1878 he was “put to bed” – eventually passing-away on the 2nd of February 1878. The Coroner’s Inquest declared the cause of death was “disease of the brain and lungs and exhaustion due to old age.” The location of his medals is not known.
There is no reference to a Susan Vulson (or variations of either name) in the English Census returns for either 1861 or 1871, so it is likely that she accompanied William to Australia. However, it was noted by the Coroner that Vulson had not received any “family visitors” during his time in Kew. So, what happened to Susan Vulson?
In 1891 Susan Vulson was a pauper in Kensington Workhouse in London. A Widow aged 89 years and a former cook/domestic servant, she had been born in Devonport, Devon. Susan Vulson died in Kensington in 1894.
Sources: Surname also rendered as Vielson. The National Archives (TNA): ADM 6/312. ADM 27/51. ADM 29/047. WO 22/84. WO 22/85. WO 22/257. WO 22/259. Service augmented by information from threedecks,org Lloyd’s List, 4th October 1825. Marriage: St Andrew, Plymouth, Devon. 17th October 1853. William Vulson. 49 years. A mariner. Residence: HMS Impregnable. Father: Thomas Vulson – Carpenter. Susan Robinson. 46 years. Widow. Residence: 2 Morley Lane. Father: William Croker – Labourer. Plymouth & West Devon Record Office. Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records. Devon Family History Society. www.findmypast.co.uk Ellis, JD. “Black sailors in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815”. http://historycalroots.com/ Young C.E., L. “Acts of Gallantry. Being a detailed account of each deed of bravery in saving life from drowning in all parts of the world for which the Gold and Silver Medals and Clasps of the Royal Humane Society Have been awarded from 1830 to 1871.” (Sampson Low, Marston, Low and Searle. London. 1872). Pp22. For the award of the “Baltic Medal 1854-1855” see ADM 171/22. UK, Naval Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1972. ancestry.co.uk For the image of the Royal Humane Society Silver Medal see www.jbmilitaryantiques.com.au For the inquest into the death of William Vulson see: Coroner Inquest Deposition Files, 1840-1925. VPRS 24 (Inquest Deposition Files). Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. ancestry.co.uk For Susan Vulson see: 1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census. Kensington. Middlesex, London. RG 12/29/139/26. Kensington Workhouse. www.findmypast.co.uk