Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
James Hammet was transported on the Surrey Or Surry, departing 9th Apr 1834 and arriving 17th Aug 1834 with 262 passengers.
Built at Harwich in 1811 a square-rigged transport ship of 443 tons and copper lined she had two decks with a height between decks of 5 ft. 8 ins. In 1818, she had a major refit increasing the decks (and convict carrying capacity) to three. She was owned by the London firm of F. & C.F. Mangles.
Surrey Or Surry (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 90, Class and Piece Number HO11/9, Page Number 333 (168) |
| 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 |
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Convict Notes
National Archives. Criminal Petitions. HO 17/42/36 Prisoner name: James Brine, George Loveless, James Loveless, James Hammett, Thomas Standfield and John Standfield [the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs']. Prisoner occupation: Agricultural labourers. Court and date of trial: Dorset Assizes at Dorchester, March 1834. Crime: Administering an unlawful oath. Initial sentence: Seven years transportation. Petitioner(s): The inhabitants of the village of Loche, near to Dundee, assembled at a public meeting, signed by James Lawrence, Chairman, with a covering letter from Joseph Hume [MP]. Grounds for clemency (Petition Details): The petitioners regard the proceedings which produced this result as a direct violation of the sacred rights of the citizens of a country boasting of its just, free and liberal Institutions. The actions of the six men, useful members of society, must have been rendered legal by the repeal of the Combination Laws. Date: 1834 Apr 7.
After the other Tolpuddle Martyrs had left for England James Hammett was detained in Windsor, van Diemen's Land. He was charged with assault and it was not until August 1839 that he arrived in England.
One of a group of the 'Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers' and betrayed by a fellow farm worker Edward Legg, James Hammett and his co-accused were charged with swearing a secret oath to the society which was in effect a trade union. The group became known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs and were tried and convicted to be transported under the unlawful oaths act of 1797. Hammett together with James Loveless, Thomas Standfield, his son John Standfield and James Brine were shipped to Sydney on the 'Surrey". A sixth member, George Loveless was too ill to travel and left later on the "William Metcalfe" to van Diemen's Land. In England they became a cause célèbre and 800,000 signatures were collected for their release. All were pardoned in March 1836 with the support of the home secretary Lord John Russell, on condition of good conduct. Hammett is believed to have never taken the secret oath and he had accepted guilt on behalf his brother John who had taken the oath. He unlike his co-accused, had a criminal record and had been imprisoned in 1829 for theft of iron. Before his death in 1891 he had moved into the Dorchester Workhouse so as not to be a burden on his family. Orders were given that no speeches or talk of unions were to be said over his grave, he is buried in the parish church of Tolpuddle.