From the Kent and Sussex Courier - Friday 23 March 1888

CAPEL: Old Parishioner and his Adventures

We are pleased to be able to announce that Captain Tompsett, of Stone Castle Farm, has returned home after a most adventurous passage in his ship, the Serapis, which went from London to the East. On the voyage out the ship met with some mixed weather, and for a number of days she was crippled by the carrying away of her maintop mast. The repairs were done as speedily as possible, and with the limited means at command, and an Eastern paper gives the Captain and his officers great credit for the shipshape manner in which the work was effected. From start to finish the voyage was full of adventures, the gear being continually damaged by adverse weather, but with that indomitable pluck, which is the characteristic of the British tar, and though there was a large shipment of powder on board, and terrific thunderstorms continually encountered, the good ship not only made a successful voyage out but also back, and now Captain Tompsett is receiving the hearty congratulations of his many friends.

Researchers' Note: The above was not the only 'adventures' Captain Frank Ellis Tompsett had during his time at sea. He faced a mutiny on his ship, in the same year as the article above, when he was forced to turn back to Plymouth after some of his crew refused to continue the voyage to Melbourne because of alleged damage to the ship after an accident with the anchor. The 11 men were subsequently charged with disobeying the lawful commands of Captain Tompsett and with continued neglect of duty and were each sentenced to six weeks hard labour. In 1894 he sailed into an uprising in Rio de Janeiro where armed insurgents attempted to steal the cargo of cattle that he had transported from Argentina. He earned a campaign medal for service in the Merchant Navy in World War One. Captain Tompsett was born in Brenchley in 1857 and died in Stepney in 1933, aged 76.