George Oakley was according to his naval records born on the island of St Helena on 27th July 1822, one year after  Napolean died there. Herein lies the mystery of the Oakley's.  George was the father of Sarah Ann Oakley wife of William John Grinton who died from complications of giving birth to Eva Alice Grinton [ the author's nana]. That story a little bit further down. George is listed in the 1881 census documents as born on St Helena a British subject. Let's tease this out a little. George would have been conceived in late 1821 on St Helena, a British Isle at the time. Napolean Bonaparte had died on 5th May 1821 having been exiled on the island of St Helena by the British [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/07/death-of-napoleon-bonaparte-archive-1821]. After Napoleon's death the large number of temporary residents, such as military personnel, were soon withdrawn. The East India Company resumed full control of Saint Helena and life returned to the pre-1815 standards, the fall in population causing a sharp change in the economy. The book Napoleon's Captivity on St Helena 1815-1821: A Comprehensive listing of those present including civil, military and naval personnel with biographical details   Arnold Chaplin 2002 is considered the authority on who was on the island around the time George was born. The only Oakley listed is Richard Cater Oakley listed as R.C Oakley died June 2nd 1835 [p35]. George's  marriage  certificate lists his father as George a carpenter. This George cannot be found in any census or other documents to date and remains a mystery. There is a George Francis born on St Helena on 27th July 1822 to George and Elizabeth Francis. He was christened in June 1825 [ ref: Family Search]. Why however would our George not use his real surname if he indeed was a Francis not an Oakley?

Interrogating the Naval records for George Oakley we see that he went to sea as a boy in 1838 which would have made him 16 at the time. He was ticketed at age 23 [Naval Ticket #- 290587 ] and he could write. He is described as 6ft 3" sallow complexion with black hair and black eyes. He has no marks. He has served in the Royal Navy for 7 years and 2 months and resides at Southsea when unemployed. This document was issued at Portsmouth 13/11/1845 HMS President. Further naval documents describe him as  5ft 3" not 6ft and is of dark complexion with dark eyes and dark hair. Could George be the son of Richard Cater Oakley and a slave? Only DNA from his descendants will ever shine light on  this.

George Oakley served in the Navy until 1875 according to his naval records. He was mostly a cook. George served in several wars . 1840-1842 on the ship Melville in the First China War for which he received the China Medal [ ref: UK, Naval Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1972]. 1845-1855 in the Crimean War on the ship Locust for which he received the Baltic Medal. There is an interesting naval record reference for George Oakley service year 1867-1868 for the Abyssinia campaign in Africa on the ship Octavia. The Abyssinia medal was awarded but the record states George only app[eare]d on board on 11th July. George Oakley's full naval record does not indicate he served on the Octavia and he is struck out on the medal record. Looking at his naval record for the period George was serving on the Asia 1st Jan 1867-3rd June 1867 and then on what looks to be the ship Serapis from 4th June 1867-6th August 1870. HMS Serapis was a Euphrates-class troopship commissioned for the transport of troops to and from India. She was launched in the Thames on 26 September 1866 ... She spent all of her career on the United Kingdom to India route carrying troops, a trip that averaged 70 days [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Serapis_(1866)]. She was involved in the Abyssinian Campaign in 1868 [http://nelsonlambert.blogspot.com/2011/10/hms-serapis.html].




George served at sea for 37 years. In between that service he had a family. The family lived in Portsea / Portsmouth. Their story is in the next page.