At a General Meeting of the Club, held in London on the 24th January 1881, it was unanimously resolved that the Hearty Thanks of this Meeting be voted to J.A. Sparvel-Bayly JP Rear Commodore, for the generous support accorded by him to the Club, during his period of Office, together with the sincere wishes of the Meeting for his future happiness and success. And it was further resolved that the above Vote of Thanks be handsomely illuminated on Vellum and be presented to Mr Bayly.
(Signed) Telford Field - Commodore
(Signed) S Harman Sturges - Vice Commodore
(Signed) J Cotter Gash - Secretary
This is the text of the Vote of Thanks, which is in the possession of the Club and appears above. Fortunately, the 1881 list of Members contains a list of Officers Active and Retired for the first time, with the information that Sparvel-Bayly became Rear Commodore on 17th June 1878 and resigned 24th January 1881, the same date as the General Meeting which agreed to the Vote of Thanks. This leads to interesting speculation ... was he present at the meeting?... was his resignation a surprise to the Committee? and, of course, what was the nature of his 'generous support accorded to the Club'? Not for the first time, have I regretted the absence of early Minutes and must consider how this matter may be further researched.
In 1876 he is listed as the owner of Yacht Dudu, a cutter of 15 tons. By 1878 his Yacht was Merle, a cutter of 10 tons, but small boat sailing was obviously not for him or else it didn't fit his image of Rear Commodore, for in 1879 he hoisted his Rear Commodore's flag over the substantial Schooner Reverie of 41 tons. Reverie lasted just the year and in 1880 his yacht was Arrow but there is no further information about her. His period of ownership came to an end in the same year as his resignation from the General Committee. By 1882 he is described as a 'JP' but by 1884 he is no longer listed as a member.
