Today's ellies are my first group of ABs - the able seamen. They made up a big chunk of the crew, with Erebus having 20 of them and Terror having 19. They're in the crew lists in alphabetical order, but I wanted to do something different, to individualise them more. So I'm making them in age order.
This one's John Bailey, who at 21 in 1845 was the youngest member of the Terror crew besides the ship's boys, Mr Genge, the steward, who was also 21, and their sent-home sailmaker, Mr Elliot, who was 20.
This one's William Strong, a 22 year old (in 1845) on Terror. I think it's his birthday they're celebrating by cutting his hair in the show.
Here's Charles Best, a 23 year old on Erebus. He's the youngest AB (but the ship's boys and Charles de Voeux, as well as their sent-home armourer Thomas Burt) are younger than him.
Thomas Hartnell, on Erebus, was also 23.
George Cann, on Terror, was 23.
George Kinnaird was a 23 year old Terror AB.
Henry Sait, the last of the Terror 23 club. I made him white because I kept misreading & miswriting his name as SaLt. The document in the (UK) National Maritime Museum has a very clear dot above the i there, so I'm just silly.
In counting and listing my ellies, I figured out that I somehow forgot to make *both* of Terror's Mates - Mr Hornby, the first mate, and Mr Thomas, the second mate. So I fixed that too.
Frederick Hornby, Terror's first mate. He dies suddenly in the show on a walk back from Erebus and is remembered (by Blanky) as "a good mate - steady" and by Cpt Crozier as "light-on-his-feet". I really like the personal descriptions here from two people who would've worked very closely with him.
Here's Mr Robert Thomas, Terror's second Mate. His age isn't listed in the crew list (and wikipedia directs me to no other sources). Erebus's second mate, Charles de Voeux, was only 19 in 1845 so I wonder if Mr Thomas was also a young fella.
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