Sergeant Henry Richards   (.1824.......1882.)

Settled In New Zealand  

Back To . . 58th Foot Rutlandshire Regiment

Some information supplied by Dale   patsi@wave.co.n.z.

Descendants :

Area Settled :

Auckland and Auckland Province area

Children :

 

 

Henry Richards and Hanna Wickman = 10 Children

Thomas (b.1859-...d.1931)

Emily Jane (b. 1862........d.1885)

Mary ((b.1864....d.1935)

Hanna Maria (b.1866.....d.1946)

Elizabeth Wickman (b.1869....d.1937)

Alice (b. 1871.....d1926)

Flora (b.1873.....d.1926)

Harry Trelawney (b.1874....d.1926)

Ada (b.1876....d.1955)

William Morval (b.1879......d.1941)

History & Achievements :

"Henry Richards 58th Regiment of Foot

                    Henry Richards was born on the 15th of may 1824, the son Thomas and Jane Richards and Brother to Mary. L.T. Colonel F.T. Steer, head librarian or the Institute of Royal Engineers of Brampton Barracks Hatham, Kent, stated in a letter ( to Co. T.M. Smytheman ( Richards) his granddaughter in 1973/4 that Henry Richards was definitely a member of the detachment of 0ne Sergeant and twenty three rank and file which embarked on the " ship "Ramilies" with the Fencible  on the 10th of April 1847. Henry was never a Fencible he was  a Royal Engineer.

                   When Henry joined  the regiment the regiment was known as the Corps of Royal Engineers Sappers and Miners, which amalgamated with the Corps of The Royal Engineers in October 1816. From enrolment and joining the force at 18years of age it is not known at this present point in time where Henry was stationed. For the next five years before coming to New Zealand at the age of 23 years. Lord Panmure, Secretary of War, announced that the first body of servicemen was ready to leave by March 1847, and it was with this contingent that Henry sailed in the : Ramilies" , a vessel described by the research assistant, Department of Ships' Royal Maritime Museum. Greenwich thus  ( the original writer of this biography)-- "S.V. Ramilies" a barque , her wooden hull sheathed in copper. Her captain was  MacLean and she was registered in London, a ship of635 tons burdened. Built in Sunderland ship in 1845 and registered in London. Her first voyage had been to India and classified as A1 by Lloyds of London..

From the issue of the Southern Cross one of two Auckland newspapers of the period, On August 7th 1847 and under the heading of Shipping inelegance--arrivals--foreign is the insertion by here agents, Brown and Campbell- "The fine Barque " Ramilies " has bought to our shores the first detachment of the new corps of Royal Fencibles consisting of Lt Col Bolton R.E, Captain Kenny, Mrs Kenny and four children, Dr Cunningham R.N, 13 Sappers and Miners--  67 men, 56 women and 123 Children, she had been 111 days passage from Graves End and had brought small mail " (1)

                    Henry Richards was not a member of the Fencibles, but a Royal Engineer, and with others in the group that came on the ship would been the busiest and hard working of the force from the time of landing the task of building Albert Barracks on 21 acres overlooked Queens St Auckland, was a formidable task, building shelters, houses, walls, roads, forts, which never ceased for many year. This detachment was later joined by Captain H.T.M Haultain who had been officer in command at Tilburyfor until he came to New Zealand in 1849. He was to become Minister of Defence for New Zealand. He was in charge of the forces in Onhunga ( port) and later in Panmure ( a suburb now) was named for Lord Panmure who had been secretary of Wae, when the Fencibles were formed. This fort - Albert Barracks was originally stated to be built by Lt Col Bolton, two Sergeants, and 25 Sappers and Miners-- more having arrived to supplement the original 13.

                   The main guard house was in princess street and all the area was laid in grass. The imperial troops who occupied the barracks were the 12th,14,18,40th, 50th,,57th,58th,65th and the 70th Regiments as well as Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers, the land transport the height of the outside wall was ten to twelve feet, these having loop holes for muskets. By 1851 there was accommodation for 900 rank and file in wooden barracks, 100 in a stone building called the "Grenadiers Barracks" and a large military hospital. A sergeants mess room officers and Treasury as well as three water wells and tanks there was a Regimental Orderly room of stone and a stone magazine for ammunition . The reason for such detail is the plans were drawn up by Richards and as Henry was one of the engineers concerned with the Barracks building Henry's name is on an old photograph taken from an oil painting belonging to the Auckland art Gallery. Henry had, as did other servicemen signed on for seven year: but he finally served eleven years in total. Having raised to the rank of Sergeant  by the time he was discharged in 1858 .On leaving the regiment in 1858 Henry Richards was appointed a Bailiff of the resident magistrate's court,( now the supreme court) Henry resided in the district of Parnell a freeholder."(3)

   Obituary of Henry Richards 

"Mr Henry Richards , for twenty years Bailiff of the resident Magistrate's court, died yesterday morning at his house in Parnell. The deceased was a native of Penzance ( incorrect  should read Liskard ) in Cornwall. He came to the colony in the " Ramilies" in 1847 under Colonel Bolton of the Royal Engineers, from which he retired after nearly eleven years service. He was shortly after appointed Bailiff  of the resident magistrates court under the late Captain Beckham, he has left ten children ,some of them able to provide for themselves and the rest well provided for." (2)

 

References

(1) Brown and Campbell Southern Cross Auckland newspaper August 7th 184

(2) Obituary  Henry Richards  N.Z. Herald December 9th 1882 p.4

(3) Dale surname excluded  (email) patsi@wave.co.nz 30/04/2009

Family Members, Military records of the Regiment , Pay rolls, Pay Musters, Cemetery Records, Church Records & General Muster Records. Reference:

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Last revised: May 05, 2009.