Founded 1980
Chair:        
Secretary: 
Treasurer: 

Graham Smith
Jan Thompson
Graham Mumby-Croft


 Issue No. 83 Autumn 2020 Anniversary Edition
The message about Major Hickey rang a bell with me and others may find this interesting.

In 1968 I was an Assistant Governor under the redoubtable Governor Herbert Horatio Harrison at Portland Borstal.

During a period of refurbishing accommodation, he gave me the task of overseeing the emptying of a storeroom and disposing of all 'rubbish' contained therein. On checking a borstal handcart heading for the incinerator I discovered a few interesting old documents, including a 'foolscap' sized lined notebook, which I still have and which turned out to be titled on the first page: "Major Hickey's Journal while Acting Governor of Portland Prison 1867 -"

There follows orthodox Governor's Journal entries by the Major [acting up to the Senior Deputy Governor, who was sick, in the Governor's absence]. The journal is clearly temporary, being less than a quarter of the normal thickness of an official journal and obviously initiated by the Major for his own use. The periods covered are 9 to 12 January 1867, 15 to 22 January and 29 January to 1 February, all-inclusive. Curiously the last entries from 31 May to 6 June 1867 are in the different hand of the Chief Warder and the 'journal' ends abruptly there with a countersigned note in the margin to the following authoritative effect: "One journal only to be in use in the prison in future - Governor's Journal to be handed over to acting governor for day's record of Events". [One assumes that gaps relating to these dates must exist in the official Journal.] Clearly, our Major was getting a minor rap on the knuckles; interestingly and may be connected with this he writes in pencil at the bottom of the page containing the events of 1 February, one of which refers to a Warder being reported to the Director the following terse note: "Visiting Director did not sign."

During this period Portland Prison was unlocking 1400 prisoners plus and there are many references to individual 'Fenian Prisoners', which I forwarded a few years ago to the staff at the Kilmainham Gaol Museum in Dublin.

There are many fascinating anecdotes and situations in these pages and I was struck not just by the similar structure and format of the daily journal entries to my own experience but by the unchanging activity of prison life such as watching the men go out to labour, night visits, daily Governor's rounds etc.

Derek Aram
[Portland 1968-72]


Derek Aram