1840 (3 Aug) entire letter from London to Edmund Moubray Lyons on
H.M.S Melville, China; sent “Per Marian” and rated “2/–” in
1840 (3 Aug) entire letter from London to Edmund Moubray Lyons on
H.M.S Melville, China; sent “Per Marian” and rated “2/–” in pink
ink with PAID postmark, originally sent to Bombay, and then
redirected to H.M.S. Melville, China via Calcutta, India. On the
flap, a legible handwriting of “Received on December 19th,
Chuenpee, 1840”. HMS Melville, a 74-gun third-rate ship of the
line, was actively engaged in various operations during the First
Opium War in 1840. In December of 1840, she was involved in several
key actions along China’s coast. HMS Melville was actively
patrolling and engaging in operations in the regions surrounding
Chuenpee (or, Chuenpi) near Canton and its vicinity during late
1840 and early 1841. The letter was sent by Lyons’ family, counting
the good news of his newborn niece. This piece contains a few
comments and information about the opium war and geopolitics at the
time, providing insights to the family life of a British military
officer. Also, the content indicated that the family of Lyons had a
close relations with the royal family as the Queen Victoria was
going to be the Godmother of the baby who would be also given the
name Victoria. Edmund Moubray Lyons was the second son of Admiral
Sir Edmund Lyons. In 1841, he participated in the Battle of the
Bogue and the Battle of Canton. He was promoted to Lieutenant
afterward. On 7 January 1841, HMS Melville participated in an
operation near Anunghouy, where British and Indian forces, along
with naval support, landed to attack and destroy the forts at
Chuenpee and Tycocktow. Following this, on 21 January 1841, HMS
Melville departed from the Bocca Tigris area for Lantao Island. By
26 February 1841, the ship was engaged in operations near Wangtung,
entering the western channel and engaging Chinese batteries. Ex
Pecival David
1840年8月3日倫敦致H.M.S. Melville艦埃德蒙·莫布雷·萊昂斯信函
經”瑪麗安號”寄遞，粉紅墨標註”2/–”郵資及”PAID”戳記，原寄孟買後改道印度加爾各答轉遞中國。
封口處清晰手書「1840年12月19日於穿鼻收訖」。74門炮三等戰列艦”梅爾維爾號”於1840年12月在穿鼻附近海域執行任務。此為萊昂斯家族報喜信，透露新生姪女將由維多利亞女王擔任教母並命名為維多利亞。埃德蒙·莫布雷·萊昂斯為埃德蒙·萊昂斯海軍上將次子，1841年參與虎門戰役與廣州戰役後晉升中尉。信中另含鴉片戰爭局勢與地緣政治評述。[來源：珀西瓦爾·大維德爵士珍藏]
