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| Name | Osborne (1870) | Explanation | |
| Type | Yacht | ||
| Launched | 19 December 1870 | ||
| Hull | Wooden | ||
| Propulsion | Paddle | ||
| Builders measure | 1856 tons | ||
| Displacement | |||
| Guns | |||
| Fate | 1908 | ||
| Class | |||
| Ships book | ADM 135/342 | ||
| Note | |||
| Snippets concerning this vessels career | |||
| Date | Event | ||
| 11 June 1874 - 5 June 1876 | Commanded by Commander Francis Durrant, Portsmouth, and accompanying Serapis, conveying the Prince of Wales on his tour to India | ||
| 6 June 1876 - 17 June 1879 | Commanded by Commander Hugo Lewis Pearson, Portsmouth | ||
| 18 June 1879 - 2 November 1881 | Commanded by Commander Lord Charles William de la Poer Beresford, Portsmouth | ||
| 13 July 1886 - 8 March 1888 | Commanded by Commander Assheton Gore Curzon-Howe, Portsmouth | ||
| Extracts from the Times newspaper | |||
| Date | Extract | ||
| Tu 27 January 1874 | The amended drawings which have just been received at Portsmouth dockyard from the Admiralty for the interior fittings of the Prince of Wales's paddle-yacht Osborne give very satisfactory evidence that Lord Camperdown. and Rear-Admiral Beauchamp Seymour, as representing Mr. Goscken's administration, have resolved, notwithstanding old and absurd service prejudice, that an improvement in the social status of the naval engineers in Her Majesty’s ships shall be inaugurated on board the Osborne on her commission. The three engineers appointed to the yacht will sail in her as wardroom officers, and on equal social terms with all the officers of the yacht, excepting, of course, the captain. Their old mess-room, as laid out in the previous drawings, would have been, as such mess places are now on board all Her Majesty’s ships, simply a den in which the mechanical and scientific officers of the yacht would have been "caged" to prevent any communication with other officers. Of course, the chief engineer of every ship has now for some time past been allowed to mess with the ward-room officers, but his position is a trying one at times. It is rumoured that the Prince of Wales has decisively supported Admiral Seymour and Lord Camperdown in their recommendation to Mr. Goscben to give this just and well-deserved social advancement to the naval engineers on board the Osborne. | ||
| Fr 9 July 1875 | The Serapis, iron troopship, is being vigorously prepared at Portsmouth for the accommodation of the Prince of Wales during his forthcoming voyage to India. The temporary alterations are very extensive, and necessitate more or less important readjustments being made on the whole of the three decks. A large deck-house will be erected on the poop, where the present chart-house is placed, or immdiateiy over the staircase leading from the saloon. It will be fitted and furnished in a luxurious manner, and will answer in every respect, though somewhat smaller in dimensions, the purposes of the deck-houses on board the Royal yachts. In the saloon on the upper deck seven cabins have been removed on the starboard side, and the whole of the ladies' cabins and those used by the commanding officers of troops hare been removed on the port side. The remaining portion of the cabin accommodation is being fitted for the reception of his Royal Highness, whereby he will be supplied with sleeping, bath, and dressing rooms on each side of the ship, one suite being set apart for the outward and the other for the homeward voyage, so that only the shady or cool side of the ship need be used each passage. The body of the grand saloon itself will be divided into three portions, each being separated by massive curtains. The aftermost part will be used as a reception-room, the old hatch-way and its coamings having been removed and boarded over, and a new staircase formed 15ft. forward, in order that the requisite space may be secured; the intermediate compartment will be used as a drawing-room, and the fore compartment will be converted into a State dining-room, and will be fitted to accommodate 62 guests. Tha whole of the rooms will be splendidly decorated, and will be furnished with couches, chairs, &c., en suite. On the main deck, the midship cabins in the saloon have been removed so as to form a broad and clear passage to the new temporary staircase, already mentioned, leading to the upper saloon. The after entry port on this deck will be arranged to receive visitors, who, on entering, will proceed through the main saloon and so on to the reception-room on the upper deck. The remaining cabins on each side will be appropriated to the guests of the Prince, and additional cabins will be constructed on the starboard side to accommodate the number expected. It was at first intended that the captain should use the suite of rooms on the upper deck not required by his Royal Highness, but this arrangement has been altered, and the captain will go forward with his officers, for whose accommodation a ward-room and cabins are being built in the fore part of the main deck. There will be little alteration in the lower deck. The cabins will be appropriated to the use of the servants of the Prince and his guests, and the fore part of the ship formerly devoted to the messing of troops will be occupied by the additional crew which will be required. The ship has already undergone a complete overhaul, has been supplied with new boilers, and made a very successful trial trip on the mile a short time ago. Outside, the Serapis will be encompassed by a broad moulding composed of two rounds and a hollow, the former being painted red and the latter yellow. With this exception her outward appearance will be unchanged. She will be provided with a State barge and a new steam pinnace for the purposes of the Royal excursion. The whole of the alterations mentioned above are temporary only, and on the return of the ship she will, for troop service, be refitted exactly as she was before. The Serapis will be accompanied by the Royal yacht Osborne, which, on her return from St. Petersburg with the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, will be painted white, after the manner of the Indian troopships. It is now generally understood that the Serapis will be commissioned by the Hon. Carr Glyn, late Flag Captain at Portsmouth to Admiral Sir Rodney Mundy. | ||
| Th 19 August 1875 | The Serapis having had her distinctive green streak of paint removed, workmen are now busily engaged in preparing tht base for the gilding which will go completely round the ship. This will consist of a broad "round" and mouldings on each side, with two blue ribands running along the top and bottom. His Royal Highness during the inspection last week suggested various alterations, more particularly in the furnishings of the grand saloon, and it will be at the least another rnonth before the Serapis will be ready. The Osborne, Royal Yacht, which will accumpany th Serapis, will this morning be taken into the dock which has just been vacated by the Volage, in order to have all defects made good and be repainted and embellished for the coming voyage. | ||
| Th 9 September 1875 | The Osborne, Royal paddle yacht, now in dock at Portsmouth, has a large number of workmen employed in painting, gilding, and otherwise decorating her for the approaching Indian tour of the Prince of Wales. Like the Serapis, she is painted white, with gold ornaments; but the beauty of her appearance will be decidedly enhanced by the scarlet of her paddle-wheels and the dark blue of her boats. The Serapis is undoubtedly a magnificent floating palace, but her exterior suffers to a certain extent, from an aesthetic point of view, through the exceeding simplicity of her gilt moulding and the light colour of the gold employed thereon. It is expected that both ships will have all their available accommodation taken up by the necessary suite and the probable guests of the Prince. The 25th inst. is definitely fixed as the day on which the ships are to leave Portsmouth for Venice. His Royal Highness will embark there on board the Osborne, and it is not yet decided whether he goes from her to the Serapis as soon as the depth of water allows of the approach of the latter ship, or whether he will proceed in the Osborne to Corfu, where he is to meet the King of Greece, instead of at Athens, as previously arranged. The Osborne can be got ready for sea on the date above-named without any difficulty, as the only works of importance now being carried on are the improvement of her ventilation and the fitting of a distilling apparatus for fresh water, both of which will be finished in a few days. It is curious to note, by-the-by, that, in spite of the introduction into our Navy of the complicated inventions of Grant and Normanby, the Osborne is being fitted with a plain flat tube, extending for about 40ft. along her keelson, which is the original crude idea of a fresh-water manufacturing apparatus, first applied to men-of-war some five and twenty years ago. The reason is that condensers inside a ship make it hot, and condensers outside do not. Stores of Nixon’s Navigation coal, the only really smokeless kind, have been despatched to the various places which the two vessels are to call at. The Osborne, although tolerably capacious below, was not designed for continuous ocean service, so the Serapis is to carry supplies of various descriptions, including fireworks, for her. . | ||
| Fr 24 September 1875 | Sailing orders have been sent to the Serapis, Captain the Hon. Carr Glyn, to proceed to Malta, and thence to Brindisi, to meet and embark his Royal Highness. Captain Glyn will regulate his further movements in accordance with the instructiuns given him by the Prlnce. The Osborne, paddle-wheel Royal yacht,will leave Portsmouth on the 27th inst., and will proceed to Malta, where she will join the Serapis, and follow Captain Glyn's instructions as to her future proceedings. After being inspected yesterday by Admiral Sir Alexander Milne, Rear-Admiral Hornby, and Capt. Lord Gilford, the Serapis sailed out of harbour to Spithead for the adjustment of her compasses. She will sail for Venice tomorrow, and will be followed on Monday by the Osborne. | ||
| Sa 25 September 1875 | The Serapis, Captain the Hon. Carr Glyn, got under way at Spithead yesterday moming to complete her circles for the proving of her compasses, and to make a full boiler six hours’ trial of her machinery for the satisfaction of her officers before sailing. During her official trial on the measured mile under the officers of the Steam Reserve, the steam power developed exceeded the horse power contracted for in the proporties of 4,016 to 3,945. The pressure in the cylinders was 21·125, the mean number of revolutions per minute 57·77, and the speed attained 13·888 knots. The Serapis, which received her last consignment from the Dockyard on board yesterday — 16 handsome cushions manufactured in the yard — will sail from Spithead to-day for Malta; and the Osborne, Royal paddle yacht, will leave Portsmouth at half-past 5 on Monday for Gibraltar, and thence for Brindisi, where she will embark the Prince of Wales, his Royal Highness travelling from Venice to that port by railway. The Osborne will take out a few personal friends of the Prince of Wales who are not on the Staff or in any official way connected with the Royal excursion. The following is understood to be the route which the Prince will pursue on landing in India:— Leave Aden for Bombay,Nov. 2; visit Bombay, Nov. 8; visit Beypoor, Nov. 23; Bangalore, Dec. 2; Madras, Dec. 6; Tuticorin, Dec. 8; Colombo, Dec. 11; Trincomalee, Dec. 17: Calcutta, Dec. 23; Barrackur, Jan. 4; Benares, Jan. 4; Lucknow, Jan. 6; Cawnpore, Jan. 10;Delhi, Jan. 11; Unritsur, Jan. 20; Lahore, Jan. 21; Jamoo, Jan. 24; Lahore, Jan. 27; Suharunpore, Jan. 28; Paneeput, Jan. 28; Agra, Jan. 29; Gwalior, Feb. 3; Agra, Feb. 5; Ajmere, Feb. 7; Jeypore, Feb. 11; Bareilly, Feb. 13; Lucknow, Feb. 29; Allahabad, Feb. 29; Jubbulpore, March 2; Kundwah, March 7; Indore, March 9; Kundwah, MLarch 11; Ellora, March 12; Dowlatabad March 14; Bombay, March 15; Poona, March 19; and Sattara, March 19. | ||
| Tu 28 September 1875 | The Serapis, 3, iron screw, Captain the Hon. H.C. Glyn A.D.C., arrived in Plymouth Sound early yesterday morning from Portsmouth. and left at 11 40 a.m. for Malta. where she will take in a supply of coals. She will then proceed to Brindisi, where the Prince of Wales and his suite will embark. The steam trials on her passage down Channel were not considered satisfactory, the boilers still priming; but this state of things, it is thought, will improve after the vessel has been some time under steam. The Osborne, Royal yacht, Commander Francis Durrant sailed from Portsmouth yesterday afternoon for Gibraltar. After calling at Malta she will proceed to Brindisi to embark the Prince of Wales. | ||
| Tu 12 October 1875 | The Royal paddle yacht Osborne, Commander Durrant, arrived at Gibraltar on the afternoon of Sunday, the 3d inst, alter a most favourable passage in beautiful weather, although in the Channel it was so stormy that she put into Plymouth for 24 hours for shelter. She was to fill up with coal, and proceed as soon as possible on the 4th to Malta to join the Serapis. Both ships are expected to leave Malta for Brindisi on the 13th. | ||
| Fr 15 October 1875 | MALTA, Oct. 13. Her Majesty’s ships Invincible and Pallas left here on Monday for Brindisi. Vice-Admiral Drummond, the Commander of the Mediterranean squadron, sailed yesterday in the Hercules for the Piraeus, accompanied by the Swiftsure, in order to form an escort of honour to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. The Serapis proceeded to Brindisi to-day, the Royal yacht Osborne following.BRINDISI, Oct. 14. The Italian ironclad ships Maria Pia and Castelfidardo, who will escort the Serapis on the embarkation of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, arrived here this morning. Two British war vessels are in sight. | ||
| Ma 8 November 1875 | (By Indo-European Telegraph, viâ Theran.) BOMBAY, Sunday, Nov. 7. 3 45 P.M. ... A considerable military and naval force is to be assembled in Bombay to take part in the reception of the Prince. Two squadrons of the 3d Hussars have arrived from Mhow and two regiments of British infantry, the 2d and the 7th, and a body of Artillery has also been brought into the city. The native troops consist of the Bodyguards of the Viceroy and Governor, the Poona Horse, a regiment of Lancers, and two or three regiments of infantry. An imposing fleet is anchored in the harbour, under the command of Rear-Admiral Macdonald, the Naval Commander-in-Chief in India. Her Majesty’s ships Undaunted, Briton, Daphne, Philomel, and Nimble, of the East Indian squadron, the Narcissus, Newcastle, Raleigh, Doris, Topaze, and Immortalité, of the Flying Squadron, the troopship Euphrates, and the two ironclads Abyssinia and Magdala are all ready to salute the Serapis on her arrival to-morrow.Some days ago there seemed likely to be a difficulty in the matter of salutes. The Naval Regulations direct that no other Standard shall be saluted in the presence of that of the Queen or Prince of Wales, and Admiral Macdonald had some doubts as to whether he could show any mark of honour to the Viceroy on his proceeding on board the Serapis. Reference was made by telegraph to the Admiralty, and it is now said that the Admiral has been instructed to salute the flag of the Viceroy as well as that of the Prince. The Serapis and Osborne are expected to enter the harbour to-morrow afternoon. A Royal salute will be fired by the men-of-war and the batteries on shore, while the merchant vessels in port will be dressed out with flags. At 3 p.m. the Viceroy will go on board, and will be followed alter a few minutes by the Governor of Bombay. After Sir Philip Wodehouse has been presented to the Prince, he will return to shore. At 4 p.m., the Prince, accompanied by the Viceroy and suite, will leave the Serapis in the Royal barge, under a Royal salute from the men-of-war, and will proceed to the Dockyard, where he will be received by the Governor, the Members of Council, the Commander-in-Chief, and other principal officials of the Presidency, and will land under a Royal salute from the battery of artillery. The news of his disembarkation will be immediately telegraphed all over India, and a Royal salute will be fired at every fort and cantonment throughout the country. | ||
| Ma 20 March 1876 | ADEN, March 20. The Serapis has arrived at Aden with the Raleigh in company. All are well. Will leave after coaling. The Osborne was sent ahead yesterday at noon to have all in readiness for her consort. | ||
| Fr 7 April 1876 | MALTA, April 6. The Royal yacht Osborne arrived here on Sunday from Brindisi.His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, on board the Serapis, with the Invincible and Raleigh, preceded by the Helicon, which had left the Port with Admiral Drummond to meet the ships, entered Valetta Harbour at 10 a.m. today under salutes from the forts of St. Elmo, Ricasoli, and Tigne, and from the ships of war. The latter were dressed with flags and the yards manned. At noon the Prince, under salutes from the forts of St. Angelo and Biscaris, landed at Marsa and was received by Governor Straubenzee and Admirals Drummond and Rice, with the Military and Naval Staff, the members of the Council, and the heads of the Departments. | ||
| Sa 29 April 1876 | LISBON, April 28. Her Majesty’s ship Lively left this morning to accompany the Serapis and the Osborne into the Tagus, which they entered at 6 p.m. to-day. The Serapis anchored opposite the naval arsenal. The Raleigh also entered the Tagus to-day. | ||
| Th 18 May 1876 | The Serapis.— Her Majesty’s ship Serapis, Captain the Hon. Carr Glyn, will be paid off out of commission at Portsmouth on Wednesday next. An attempt is being made to induce the Admiralty to send her in her present trim to America, to be exhibited in connexion with the Philadelphia Exhibition. Yesterday afternoon 100 seamen, belonging to the Serapis, the Osborne and the Sultan, were despatched to London, where they will form a bodyguard to the Prince of Wales on the occasion of his entry into the City. | ||
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