Sidney's Letters
In 1864 my great-grandfather, Sidney Turner, left his home in Norfolk and embarked at the age of 19 on a life of adventure in the new colony of Natal.
He sent letters home describing his life and escapades in the turbulent, exciting world he was experiencing in the new country. His family in England kept his letters which are now housed in the Local History Museum in Durban. I have transcripts from his letters and will publish them below
Please follow the links below.
Background
Jonathan Turner, Sidney's father, had been running a thriving farm which employed over 100 people at Trowse Hall in Norfolk, pictured here in a painting.
But the landlord had decided not to renew the lease so the young family faced an uncertain future. At the time he left home Sidney's oldest sister Jannette was 23, his brother Ellis was 20, his brother Horace was 16 and his young sister Lucy was 13. Sidney's father was already in his 50's so there must have been some pressure on Sidney to move on to exciting prospects in a new land. They had all suffered the loss of a young 14 year old Jessie the year before Sidney left.
There were exciting stories of fortunes to be made in the young colony
Sidney's Letters 01
unday March 6 1864. Aboard S.V. "L" Imperatrice Eugene.
I have not been well enough before to begin my journal, the sea has been so very rough and two days ago we had a sharp storm. The sea broke quite over the ship and washed the pig-styes away, etc. It is now quite a calm, about 10 o'clock, we have just finished breakfast, and you are, I suppose getting ready to go to chapel.
We have till within the last three days had a splendid run, got out of the Channel in two days, and in a week were in the latitude of Madeira. The captain says he has never had such a run before, but for four days had foul winds, so that we are only a little south of Madeira. I would give anything to have Jessie here. The climate is the most beautiful you can possibly imagine. We are all lying about on deck in the shade, the sun is so hot.
Sidney's Letters 02
Monday 21st March 1864
21st March 1864 Close to equator
By good luck we have today fallen into the E. trades Long 3 deg. N of the line. Captain stood champagne on account of his good luck in so doing.
22nd March
Wind is very light and it is dreadfully hot. The sun is now directly over our heads. I bath twice a day in spite of the sharks. Once about eleven in the morning and again at eleven at night before going to bed which I now do on deck. Bathing before you go to sleep keeps you cool all night. We bathe off the bow sprit and at night when no one is about off the quarter-deck, always keeping hold of a rope so that we could haul ourselves in directly we saw a shark.
Sidney's letters 03
Sunday 27th Bugs and rats!
Bug hunting
Sunday 27th March 1864
Last night before going to bed had a bug hunt - looked into all my sheets as well as Mr Woodcock's and all my linen, It ended in the capture of twenty-six. The ship (or at least our cabin) is swarmed with them - and there were at least ten times as many got away as what we caught. I found most in the folds of my clean sheets which I kept under the mattrass.
Rats!
There are also hundreds of rats as well on board. Just before the ship left the docks, a man was employed to catch some of them. He caught four hundred in three days. They eat up all the things in the cabins down below though they have not yet made an appearance in ours. They ate up two pairs of the skipper's boots last night.
