Major General Joseph Oates Travers
/Major General Joseph Oates Travers is commemorated by stained glass window in the Sanctuary and a memorial in the North Quire Aisle.
His arms as they appear on his memorial: Sable a chevron argent between in chief two escallops of the second & in base a boars head copped of the last.
He first saw active service with the Royal Marine Battalion in Spain during the Carlist War (1833-39).
Shortly after he served on the coast of Syria in the action taken by the European powers against Mehemit Ali, who had revolted against Turkey. For this he received the Naval General Service Medal with the Syria clasp.
During the war with Russia 1854-56, he served in the Baltic (1854/55) and was present at the attack on Sveaborg. He received the Baltic Medal. His next active service was during the Second China War (1857-60). He acted as Brigade Major at Canton, and was wounded in 1858.
He was present at the taking of the Taku Forts and was again wounded.
He was twice mentioned in despatches, received the China medal with three clasps and was created a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
The Carlist War 1833-39
The Carlist War broke out in Spain when in 1833 Ferdinand VII of Spain died leaving an infant daughter Isabella, whom he had recognized as his heir by a decree called the pragmatic sanction, setting aside the Salic Law of succession.
Ferdinand's brother Don Carlos claimed the throne and a struggle ensued between the supporters of each party. Britain supported Isabella and sent a force of men named The British Legion' to assist her. They seem to have been a ruffianly lot and troops of very poor quality. A force of some 500 Royal Marines also went to Spain and acquitted themselves well. It was with this force that Joseph Travers fought as a young officer.
Major General Joseph Oates Travers, C. B. Royal Marines
Commissioned as 2/Lieut. Royal Marines 10th September 1831
Colonel Commandant 11 March 1865 until his death 23 March 1869
Major General 10 November 1866
Assistant Adjutant General of Royal Marines 1861-63
Inspector General of Royal Marines 9 January 1867 - December 1868
Created Companion of the Order of the Bath 28 February 1861.
From the notebooks ‘The Naval and Military Memorials of Rochester Cathedral’ (1979)
by Roy Trett, OBE, TD,
Rochester Cathedral Chapter Library
The medieval tombs of the Presbytery and Quire Transept have had a tortured history which many effigies apparently moved and several defaced along with the medieval memorials and brasses over the Early Modern period.
Seventy-two brilliant stained glass windows were installed by prominent glaziers Clayton & Bell during the 1870s and 1880s.
Rochester Cathedral features an exceptionally large collection of Colonial-era military memorials and artefacts. This series has begun to highlight the stories behind these collections and their place in our global heritage.
