Summary
Personal Information
Transportation
Edward Field was transported on the Nile, departing 18th Sep 1857 and arriving 1st Jan 1858 with 271 passengers.
Nile (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/18, Page Number 247 (125). UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; to 1885. |
| Source Description | This record is one of the entries in the British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database compiled by State Library of Queensland from British Home Office (HO) records which are available on microfilm as part of the Australian Joint Copying Pro |
| Original Source | Great Britain. Home Office |
| Compiled By | State Library of Queensland |
| Database Source | British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database |
Claims
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Photos
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Convict Notes
FOOTNOTE: Edward Field's jail record from Parkhurst sheds some light on the confusing dates -- he had TWO stints at Millbank. Below are the dates for his committal, trial and at each jail: 9/8/55 -- Committed for trial at Malmesbury. 8/3/56 -- Tried at Salisbury. (Held at Fisherton Anger Gaol, Salisbury.) 14/8/56 -- Admitted to Millbank for the first time, for 26 days. 9/9/56 -- Admitted to Parkhurst ((UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Parkhurst Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1853-1863). 24/10/56 -- Admitted to Millbank for the second time, as prisoner #3832. 10/3/57 -- Admitted to Chatham.
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: FIELD, Edward; #4635, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1841 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Farm labourer Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: New Sarum, Wiltshire, England Crime: Bestiality with mare Sentence Period: Life, commuted Ticket of Leave Date: 28 Sep 1861 Conditional Pardon Date: 30 Apr 1866 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/).
10 March, 1857: Edward Field was admitted to Chatham gaol, a public works prison for male convicts east of London, at St Mary’s Island, in Kent (https://www.prisonhistory.org). On the record of “male transports” from Chatham per Nile to WA he was listed as 15; all other details match those on his Millbank record (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--
9 September, 1856: Edward Field was admitted to Parkhurst gaol, at Newport, on the Isle of Wight. Opened in December 1838, it was as "a prison for young male offenders, ideally aged 16 and under (though some were aged in their late teens), to provide them with a course of moral, religious and industrial training, together with corrective discipline, to prepare them for emigration (both as free emigrants and convicts)0. By the mid 1850s, the Parkhurst boys were no longer exiled but liberated in the UK, and the function of the prison was broadened to include all boys sentenced to terms exceeding one year imprisonment." (https://www.prisonhistory.org/prison/parkhurst-prison/) This was not the case for Edward. He served 1 month 15 days in separate confinement at Parkhurst before being removed to Chatham for transportation. --0--
14 August, 1856: He was admitted to Millbank gaol at Westminster, in London, where, as prisoner #3273, he served 5 months 10 days in separate confinement. By the 1850s, Millbank and Pentonville were places for all male convicts to serve “their probationary term [of 9 months], after which they would be transported or sent to a public works prison” (https://www.prisonhistory.org). He served 22 days in separate confinement. He was recorded as a mason's labourer, and a boy aged 15, single, able to read and write imperfectly, and convicted of "buggery". His initial sentence was death, commuted to transportation for life. A Wesleyan, his parents Thomas and Mary Field lived at Charlton, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire. This same record says he was sent to Parkhurst next. Clearly he cannot have served more than 5 months at Millbank if that's the case (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; to 1885). --0--
JAILS: Much of the information about his jail time comes from the Millbank prison record. However, some dates do not stack up. It's likely that his date of admission to Parkhurst has been incorrectly taken down or the error occurs in one or more of his periods of separate confinement at the various jails. 1856: In all, he spent 5 months 6 days in separate confinement at Salisbury's Fisherton Anger (Salisbury) County Gaol (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; to 1885). --0--
TRIAL: 8 March, 1856: Edward Field, a boy, was tried at the New Sarum Assizes (modern day Salisbury) in Wiltshire and found guilty of bestiality with a mare. He was sentenced to death, commuted to transportation for life (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--