[284]. As master mason at Vido he constructed the works with remarkable ability. He also superintended the erection of the half-moon battery in the citadel and the defensive buildings at Fort Neuf. Colonel Hassard said, on his leaving, that he hardly expected a man of equal talent to fill his place: and it may be observed that he could speak with fluency the different languages of the civil workmen at Corfu. By Colonel Hassard he was recommended to visit Rome and other places for artistic improvement, but the usages of the service did not permit the concession of this favour. In 1837 he finished the erection of the Longona cistern at Paxo, which relieved the inhabitants from the necessity of taking long journeys to procure supplies. The work was very creditable to him, and gained for him the eulogy and good will of the whole island. To commemorate its completion a procession of the functionaries and élite of Paxo took place, and Wood, the great object of attraction, was warmly greeted by the grateful populace. He became foreman[foreman] of works in November, 1844, first at Cephalonia, and next at Corfu. His service in the corps was over twenty-three years.
[285]. He gained his promotion very rapidly, for he was in all respects a very clever artificer and foreman. In the works of the department at Woolwich he was found a great acquisition, and after serving for a few years at Bermuda, where his usefulness was greatly appreciated, he was discharged in May, 1845, and appointed to Canada. There he passed seven years, and is now serving at Gibraltar.
[286]. A good mason, and bore an unblameable character. After twenty years' service, chiefly at Halifax and Corfu, he was appointed to Malta in April, 1847, where he is still serving with efficiency and credit.
[287]. When he joined the corps a lad, in 1826, he could scarcely write, but by diligent application he soon exhibited talents which in after years caused him to be selected for important duties. Promotion he received rapidly, and for his intelligence and ingenuity at Sandhurst in 1839 he was honourably noticed in the ‘United Service Journal,’ ii. 1839, p. 420. For many years he served at Gibraltar and the Cape of Good Hope, became a fair draftsman and architect, and in July, 1848, after a service of twenty-two years, was appointed foreman of works, first at the Cape, and then at Woolwich. He is now clerk of works at Shoeburyness.
[288]. Was a superior mason, and trained before enlistment as an overseer. Most of his military service—nineteen years—was spent on the surveys of Great Britain and Ireland, in which he had made himself so proficient a surveyor and mathematician, that he was one of three non-commissioned officers sent to the royal observatory at Greenwich to receive instructions in the mode of making astronomical observations. This was with the view to his employment on the boundary survey in America, in which he afterwards served for a season with approbation. Colonel Estcourt wrote of him,—“He is intelligent, well educated, and efficient for almost any duty.” These acquirements, coupled with his good conduct, gained for him the vacant foremancy at Zante, in September, 1848; but, it must be added, he commenced the duty in dishonour by unwarrantably drawing a bill on the Assistant Adjutant-General of the royal engineers, and then having run a career of dissipation that nothing could check, was justly dismissed in disgrace in July, 1849.
[289]. Joined the corps from the military asylum at Chelsea. Until the Russian war broke out he had not been noticed for any particular aptitude or efficiency. When at Constantinople, thrown by circumstances into boundless difficulties consequent on the frightful pressure for hospital accommodation, his services were invaluable. “I have no hesitation,” wrote Captain E. C. A. Gordon, 20th August, 1855, “in saying, that I believe the success of the works that were executed was owing, in a great measure, to his excessive and untiring zeal and activity.” This recommendation was the occasion of his appointment at Scutari, from whence, after the return of peace, he was removed to the engineer department at Devonport.
[290]. Entered the corps a boy from Chelsea school. With a fair share of common sense, he made the best of his chances as a military foreman at the Cape of Good Hope, where he had served for many years. The recollection of his usefulness at Natal, and in other districts of the frontier, led to his being appointed civil foreman of works in that colony. In 1842, Deary fought in the actions against the insurgent Boers at Natal.
[291]. ‘United Service Journal,’ iii. 1834, p. 561, and ii. 1835, p. 277, 278.
[292]. Forbes’s Pamphlet, ‘National Defences,’ 1852.
[293]. The father of the sergeant-major, who also held that rank in the corps, died of fever at Walcheren in 1809, and, as soon as his son was old enough, he was enlisted into the sappers. His age on joining was only eight years! For a few years he was stationed at Dover, but the chief of his career was passed at Chatham, where, under Sir Charles Pasley, he received that instruction in field fortification and drawing which made his services at Sandhurst so important and successful. Here it should also be noticed that he kept his detachments in the best order; and by their steadiness and willing exertions, they earned for themselves a character which has greatly raised the corps in public estimation.