PMarione
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 Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 8:01 pm Post subject: Lieutenant John Turner Flinn, the bad apple |
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John Turner Flinn was baptized on 9 September 1787 in Littleham near Exmouth, Devon. He was the son of William Flinn.
He entered the RN in 1803 and became a Lieutenant in 1811. His younger brother, William, also entered the Service and was promoted in 1813.
For some unknown reason, he became a follower of Queen Caroline, the unfortunate wife of George IV, in Naples, and was known as "Sir John Finn".
In April 1821, he married in Rome Edwardina Augusta Kent and again
on 28 October 1824 at St Giles Camberwell, Surrey.
The lady had misty origins : born about the beginning of 1798, found in Greenwich Parish', and baptised on 21 September 1800 at Lewisham, Kent, 'Parents Unknown'.
She was murmured to be a natural daughter of Princess Caroline by George Canning. If so, she was the rightful Queen of England after the death of George IV.
She left England in August 1814 with the Princess of Wales.
She first married in 1815 in Brunswick, Gustav de Normann, and had at least one legitimate son, John de Normann, an engineer, with possible other illigetimate children.
They were divorced (if they ever were) in June 1820.
From her second marriage she had at least two sons and one daughter.
On 6 April 1840, John Turner Flinn was indicted by the 6th Session of the Criminal Court before the Right Honourable Sir Chapman Marshall , Knt., Lord Mayor of the City of London, for feloniously forging and uttering a certain document relating to the payment of, and the obtaining of, certain prize money, due on account of military service performed by George Langly, with intent to defraud the Lords Commissioners of Chelsea Hospital.
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?path=sessionsPapers%2F18400406.xml
He had acted as prize-agent for Sergeant Langly of the St Helena Infantry, in 1835 to claim his prize money for the capture of Buenos Ayres in July 1806, under General Whitelocke i.e. 177l. 16s. 11d., and pocketed the money.
It apparently was a well oiled scam :
| Quote: | | GEORGE ROWLAND HOLGATE : I was a clerk in the prize-office at Chelsea Hospital in April, 1835—I continued there till the beginning of 1837, when there was a reduction of clerks, and I was put on a superannuation allowance—it was my duty to answer the applications of persons for prize-money, and for that purpose I had access to the prize lists, which would show the regiments, and the persons belonging to them entitled to receive prize-money which was not already received—the prisoner was in the habit of coming to the Hospital in 1835, and before that—he had the opportunity of acquiring a knowledge of the mode in which business was done—I know Beresford Eaton, he has been a navy agent—I had seen Mr. Flinn repeatedly as an applicant for prize-money, and I was introduced to him by Mr. Eaton more intimately—I entered into an arrangement with Mr. Eaton and Lieutenant Flinn about information to be given by me with respect to prize-money—the agreement in the first instance was to furnish the names of some soldiers entitled to Diamante prize-money—Diamante is on the coast of Calabria—I was to receive two and a half per cent. for the information I furnished in that case—it was merely for giving information, whether they got any thing or not—after that I saw the prisoner more frequently—there was afterwards an arrangement made between Mr. Eaton and myself, on the subject of information as to the names of officers who were entitled to prize-money—that occasionally included non-commissioned officers—it was about persons entitled to prize-money of right, and also which had been forfeited by the lapse of time—I was to have five per cent. for that—I received a per-centage from Mr. Flinn himself on one occasion—I have frequently received a percentage from Mr. Eaton—among other names which I furnished to Mr. Eaton, I gave him the same of George Langly, a sergeant in the St. Helena infantry, and also the amount of prize-money he was-entitled to. |
He escaped with his neck being strongly recommended to mercy by the Jury on account of his services, and condemned to be transported for life.
After Flinn was transported in September 1840, Edwardina seems to have distanced herself from him, not writing to him for fourteen years.
His two sons followed him in Australia by 1852.
He was granted a free pardon on 10 December 1860.
He died on 17 May 1865 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
His daughter, Edwardina, born about 1826 in Naples, married (under the surname "de Normann") in 1845, Lieutenant Edward Middleton, US Navy, but was divorced for adultery in 1850, she having returned to live with her mother in Naples.
More : Royal Mistresses and Bastards: Fact and Fiction 1714-1936
by Anthony J Camp |
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