Hi Amy,

I was looking for some information about a ship that my Great-Great Grandfather served on, and had the good fortune to be directed to your wonderful site at www.foliages.org.uk! It would appear that your ancestor, Henry Timothy Kitcher, served aboad the same ship - the HMS Eclipse - as mine, and at the same time, too. My ancestor's name was Thomas Snitch Ekers, and he joined the Royal Navy in 1866, and by the time he was transferred to the Eclipse in November 1873, was an 'Able Seaman' - so I'm sure that our great-great grandfathers knew each other personally! Thomas Ekers served on the Eclipse until January 1878, at which time he transferred to the Coast Guard, based in the Southern Essex / Northern Kent area of England.

The thing that really caught my attention from your article was the following: "In total, Henry spent four years aboard HMS Eclipse and travelled as far as Newfoundland in Canada and Bermuda." You see, Thomas married a girl from Newfoundland, Canada, some time between 1877 and 1879 (there is no English Marriage Index record that I can find) and I have always wondered exactly how they met. You may have just answered my question!

So I was wondering... do you have access to a list of places that the Eclipse visited during the 1870s, and when it was at these places? Any information at all would be useful, as I can't seem to turn much up by simply looking on the Internet.

Well, hope this finds you OK. Looking forward to hearing back from you!

Mike McHugh