Hi Robin, If his ship was to remain on station and his draft on it had run it's course, I would think it quite likely that he would have returned home on a commercial vessel. Nowadays sailors in similar circumstances would fly home from their foreign draft. All the best Mike Bishop ======================================== Message Received: Jul 29 2008, 11:23 AM From: "ROBIN COATES" To: SFHG-L@rootsweb.com Cc: Subject: [SFHG] Victorian Navy Hello. I have an ancestor whose final period of service on HMS Powerful started 22nd April 1848 and ended 21st April 1849. On 22nd April 1849 he started 'a passage home' on SS Hibernia which arrived in England on the 12th June 1849. This is shown in his Royal Navy record SS Hibernia sailed between the Eastern ports of North America and Liverpool carrying mail amongst other things. My question is, would it have been usual for a Royal Navy seaman to return home on a merchant ship?. With many thanks. Robin ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SFHG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message