Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
As principal lightkeeper, James Ducat received total pay and emoluments of £96 8
s
9
d
ofwhich
10
⁄
60
gaveMrsDucatapensionof£161
s
6
d
.JamesDucatleftfourchildren:
Louisa (sixteen years), Robert (thirteen years), Annabella (nine years) and Arthur (six
years). At sixteen years of age, his eldest child Louisa was unfortunately past the cut-
off point to be considered for a gratuity, but under the terms of the Act the remaining
children received a total of £17 between them, worked out as follows:
15 Years - 13 = 2 x £1 = £2
15 Years - 9 = 6 x £1 = £6
15 Years - 6 = 9 x £1 = £9
It is hard reading the cold facts on paper of how the money was apportioned. The state-
ment for Louisa merely reads: 'Louisa is over age and does not count.'
The child had just lost her father in dreadful circumstances and received no form of
compensation on account of being one year past the cut-off point. It could certainly be
arguedthatthenatureofthemen'sdeathsondutywassuchahighlyunusualoccurrence
that there may have been some grounds for leniency in the rules. A yearly pension was
payable to Mrs (Mary) Ducat from 1 January 1901 of 16 1
s
6
d
plus a gratuity of £17
fortheyoungestchildren.Thepaymentofherpensionwasaslongassheremained
'
un-
married' and of 'Good Character'.
Regarding leniency in the rules, there was initially some attempt at understanding
andgenerosityinthecaseofThomasMarshall.Thetwenty-nine-year-oldMarshallwas
unmarriedanditwasonlynotifiedtotheaccountantduringthepreparationofhisreport
that his mother had just died. He still had a father who was alive, along with a brother
and sister. While the NLB awaited confirmation of Marshall's mother's death, the re-
port stated the conditions laid out in the warrant (under the 1887 Superannuation Act)
for an unmarried man at the time of his death: 'If the deceased does not leave a wid-
ow,and if his mother was wholly dependent uponhim forher support, the award which
might have been made to the widow may be made to the mother.'
It was felt that the regulations did not apply fully in Marshall's case, as the mother
didnotappeartohavebeendependentonherson.Hadtheregulationsapplied,Marshall
had a service of less than five years with the NLB and a total pay and emoluments
which amounted to £82 15
s
, which would have amounted to a gratuity of one half of
Marshall's salary and emoluments being £41 7
s
6
d
. The accountant then went on to re-
commend to the NLB Commissioners that, owing to the special circumstances of the
Flannan Isles disaster, a suitable amount of gratuity could be paid to the representatives
of Thomas Marshall (presumably his father, brother and sister as they were not spe-
cifically identified in the recommendation). In other words the accountant found that
