Torbay’s Press Gangs
During the wars against Napoleon, the villagers of Torbay could be forced into joining the Royal Navy. Kevin Dixon brings us the story.
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nitially, while working and living conditions in the Royal Navy were certainly harsh, there were many volunteers. The workload for individual sailors was often less than on merchant ships and volunteers were paid a bounty upon joining, two months’ wages in advance with better pay than on a merchant ship. Also, volunteering protected the sailor from any creditors. The Quota System further maintained a steady supply of men; each county was required to supply volunteers. A county then offered convicts the option of completing their sentence or volunteering. Areas with a naval connection produced high numbers of volunteers. 53% of Royal Navy volunteers were English, with Devon having the second highest number at 6%, after London’s 10%. This rapidly changed in time of war when Britain’s navy increased from 135 ships in 1793, to 584 in 1812; and its personnel expanded from 36,000 seamen to 114,000. Accordingly, Britain needed to quickly find crews for its ships. And so an impress service operated - the taking of men into the Navy by compulsion. Those liable to impressment were “eligible men of seafaring habits between the ages of 18 and 55 years”. “Failure to allow oneself to be pressed” was initially punishable by hanging, although the punishment became less severe over time.
24 | August/September 2020
By the time of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, over half the Royal Navy’s sailors were pressed men. It’s further likely that among the ‘volunteers’ were pressed men who redefined themselves to get the sign-up bonus. Most pressed men came from the Royal Navy’s practice of taking seamen from inbound British merchant ships or fishing boats. It was legal as long as the Navy replaced the man they took. Naval captains would often take the best seamen, replacing them with the less able from their own ship. In 1805, the navy waited for the fleet to return from the Great Fishery on the Dogger Banks. 96 fishing smacks were boarded by tenders waiting off Torbay and so many men were seized that room could not be found for them on board the navy’s ships. It was later reported that the sea interceptions had been so thorough that there was, “Not a single man found in Brixham liable for the impress”. In response, many merchant ships had hiding places constructed where their best crew could hide when approached by a naval vessel. Other captains offloaded their favoured crewmen in Irish ports before making final landfall in England. On land those undertaking this forcible recruitment were the press gangs. They operated in cities and coastal towns and, as many seamen crossed the country by
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