Sea chest and painting information request

[Neil Fairman]

Hi Marian.
Thank you for your interest and research. I do not know what happened to Edward, his brother John and sister Ellen around the time of the 1871 census. Edward may have returned from his voyage to Australia at the age of 12 and been placed on a training ship in the Thames. I do not know when or how Edward's father (also named Edward) died, only that in 1881 his wife Abby was a widow. Edward's wife was Elizabeth Holloway (married December 1888).
Marian you are correct when stating that Edward was a man of mystery. I know that he liked to play mind games with other people and leave clues to his identity and I was hoping that the signal flags on the Airlie painting in the sea chest would be part of his game.
I have not seen this quality of painting and detail inside any other sea chest. For me the artistry of the 'Airlie at Sea' by John Henry Mohrmann and sea chest lid painting differ only in that the ships are pointing in opposite directions and of course in their signal flags.
And so obviously I'd be over the moon if there were any clues or games hidden in the sea chest painting. Many thanks Neil

[Graham Shaw]

JS #45. Single Letter Int.Code Sigs.
Those bring back memories John, as a Cadet tidying out the flag locker-well,it made a change from polishing the brass,bilge-diving and chipping the decks-all the things an aspiring deck officer must know before he can navigate a ship- or maybe not,but we all did it-my poor gnarled hands today are testimony to my time spent as a Cadet 50 years ago.
I learnt the 1969 Code,although you probably learned the preceding one as well.

J = I am on fire and have a dangerous cargo on board/ or I am leaking dangerous cargo.(Probably the last thing you'd think of ,hoisting such a signal at that moment "Oh,I say Cadet,go and hoist the 'J' flag,there's a good man,as we are on fire and all about to be blown sky-high at any moment")

K =i wish to communicate with you. That drops the semaphore obligation then.)
L = You should stop your vessel instantly.(Particularly pertinent when your loaded 400,000 tonne deadweight ULCC tanker takes about 7 miles to stop.)
R =No meaning now(.I'm not surprised as it's previous meaning of: The way is off my vessel-you may feel your way past me at slow speed,always conjured up a vision of an old Panamanian freighter bumping it's way down the side of your new,freshly drydocked painted hull !)
Thank God for VHF Radio! (Glad Semaphore's gone too !- it must have been a 'mare' for the dyslexic !Semaphore.gifWenever we practised it at college it was all we could do to avoid poking someone's eye out or clashing flags with a loud thwack as you got entangled with your neighbours flags,especially after a pint or two at lunchtime.....

[j.sabourn]

Always wondered what happened to the old J flag. There must have been a lot of calls to the flag makers for such, as they would have a short life span what with all the sparks out the funnel and the occasional flare up. Even as late as 1970 I was sailing on some ships with no VHF. Some of the owners I sailed with were very poor and hard up and really couldn’t afford such luxuries. When I think back I must have been brainwashed to believe them . Cheers JS

[Neil Fairman]

Hi Marian,
Yes Edward was in prison for four years from March 1880-1884. Highway robbery!

[Neil Fairman]

Hi Marian,
If you are on Findmypast please look up newspaper reports for Edward Coleman, Edward Mackie, James and Daniel Baines for March 1880.

[Neil Fairman]

Hi everyone, does anyone have any one have any more thoughts on the painting on the inside of the sea chest. I believe that this may provide the lost information I have been searching for. Many thanks Neil

[Terry Sullivan]

My fathers tool box was exactly like the sea chest shown, minus the paintings, I remember asking about it as a boy but didn't get told that it was my fathers sea chest as my mother didn't want me to follow in his footsteps and go to sea. I'm 92 and was born rather late in my fathers life who ran away to sea at 12 years old.
Terry Sullivan R340406

[Neil Fairman]

Hi Terry, thank you for your kind message. I too only have a little information on my ancestor's sea chest. One of the stories that my grandmother told me that was that Edward Coleman (her grandfather) would hide illegally imported alcohol inside the chest when he returned to London. Many thanks Neil

[Doc Vernon]

Just came across this Pic so similar to the one Depicted ! But of course not the same .
So for interest here it is.

Sea Chest 2.jpg

The inside of a tool box lid painted circa 1898 by Hugh Owens who was a ships carpenter.

The ship depicted is called the Hugh & Mary which may be a real vessel or perhaps one named after himself and his wife.

Photographed in Liverpool Museum, 2 May 2015

[happy daze john in oz]

I would imagine that back in those days it was common practice to decorate the inside in such a manner.
Lot of artistic men back then,