Talk:HMS Pearl (1855)

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Military history: Maritime / British / European C‑class

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Was this the ship that Livingstone sailed on?[edit]

The ship that took Livingstone on the Zambesi Expedition in 1858 was Her Majesty's Colonial Ship Pearl Official No. 31021, a Merchant not naval vessel. <The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries, by David Livingstone></ref> The account of the expedition states:- The Expedition left England on the 10th of March, 1858, in Her Majesty's Colonial Steamer "Pearl," commanded by Captain Duncan; and, after enjoying the generous hospitality of our friends at Cape Town, with the obliging attentions of Sir George Grey, and receiving on board Mr. Francis Skead, R.N., as surveyor, we reached the East Coast in the following May.

I have a relative who served as a seaman on board the ship on this voyage. His name was John Rankine (certificate no. 22879) and on his Statement of Service on application for 2nd Mate's Certificate he includes the CGS (Colonial Government Steamer) Pearl serving from 1st March 1858 to 6th January 1859. Part of his declaratiopn states:- "shipped in the latter vessel in Glasgow and sailed for Liverpool to embark Dr Livingstone for Africa" <National Maritime Museum Greenwich. Records of service></ref>Crakel (talk) 09:57, 20 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, Crakel is right. The colonial steamer Pearl was acquired for service in Ceylon. See here Davidships (talk) 02:28, 19 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Propulsion[edit]

The article says "Pearl-class 21-gun screw corvette" and yet the picture is of a sailing ship, with no sign of chimneys for boilers etc. The picture is probably wrong. Jayarava (talk) 08:32, 10 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Logbooks[edit]

I haven't see them as I now live in the UK, but two log books kept by my great great grandfather, William Henry Webster when he was a midshipman aboard HMS Pearl are held by the Auckland City Libraries. Jayarava (talk) 08:35, 10 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]