Private
Walter Benjamin Strutt
4th Company Royal Marines Light Infantry
The stripes are Good Conduct Badges.
The picture must have been taken
shortly before his discharge as his last Good Conduct Badge was awarded
in 1878
Photos by Michael
Strutt
Walter Benjamin Strutt joined the Royal Marines on 1 January 1872, when he was 21 ½ years old. He served at the Recruit Depot, Walmer, Kent until 9 August, when he transferred to Chatham Barracks as a Private of the 4th Company Royal Marines Light Infantry.
He is described on enlistment, as well as on discharge, as being of fresh complexion, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was 5ft 7 inches tall and was unable to swim, which was still the case when he left the service. His character throughout his service was Very Good or Exemplary and he was awarded two Good Conduct Badges, one on 3 January 1872 and the other on 3 January 1878.
On 14th January 1874 he joined HMS Raleigh, a new unarmoured iron screw frigate. HMS Raleigh was a 22 gun, the fourth to bear the name, and was launched on 1 March 1873 at Chatham, Kent. Displacing 5200 tons, she was 298 feet long and 49 feet wide with a speed under sail of 13 knots. Her 5640 horsepower steam engine could increase this speed to over 16 knots. Although constructed of iron the hull was clad in double layered timber 3-inches thick.
HMS Raleigh's armament consisted of two 9-inch, fourteen 7-inch and six 64-pound guns, all muzzle loading. 530 men formed her crew.
Her first commission, with Captain George Tryon, C.B. in command, was to join a squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Randolph, assembling at Gibraltar on 25th October 1874. The squadron then sailed for Madeira, leaving Madeira on 20th November for St Vincent in the Caribbean. The rest of the itinerary was as follows:
Destination Arrive Depart
St Vincent 29 November 1874 3 December 1874
Montevideo 2 January 1875 20 January 1875
Falkland Islands 30 January 1875 13 February 1875
Cape of Good Hope 9 March 1875 30 March 1875
St Helena 11 April 1875 17 April 1875
Ascension Island 22 April 1875 26 April 1875
Gibraltar 3 June 1875 For England
By December 1875 HMS Raleigh was part of the Flying Squadron, on the East India Station, and would accompany the Prince of Wales on a tour to Colombo, Trincomalee, Madras and Calcutta in 1875/1876.
In late 1876 the ship was in the Mediterranean, captained by Commander Day Hort Bosenquet. In 1877 she was commanded by Captain Charles Trelawney Jago and was involved in the Dardanelles action against the Russian invasion of Turkey.
Walter Benjamin Strutt was paid off on 31 December 1877 and was 'In passage' back to England from that time until 14 January 1878. He bought himself out of the service for the sum of £18 and was discharged on 12 March 1878. He gave his intended place of residence as 17 Upper Glyndon Road, Plumstead, Kent.