Life on Board a Troopship

This illustration was published in the Illustrated London News in 1873 based on an officer's sketch. It is titled 'Life on Board a Troopship: "Commence Firing" which was the signal for everyone to start smoking. The drawing shows a young bugler giving the signal to start and the men scrambling to reach the lighted lantern. Mole's biography says, 'The discipline on board ship was of a most stringent character both amongst the men and women. Perhaps the thing most felt was the restriction on smoking, for the men were only allowed to puff a cloud from ten to eleven in the morning, and six to eight in the evening. At these times the troops were all huddled up in one place forward of the main mast, but the married men were allowed to join their wives on a portion of the upper deck, amidships, set apart from them.'

Regimental Details | Edwin Mole's Account