Obv : FORGET ME NOT MOTHER / 1827 / J DOWDELL / HEARTS & FLOWERS, Rev : Britannia seated

Size
Diameter 29mm

Medium
Collectables

Literature
John Dowdell alias Dowdle was a 21-year-old house painter who was convicted of house breaking and transported for life to Van Diemen's Land, arriving on the "York 1' on 28 August, 1828. He was certainly into cryptic tattoos with "J U G J T N T D V D with an Anchor Heart & Darts inked on the inside of his right arm, which was offset with M T a Tree with E T & a Sun, Moon & 7 stars inside his left arm. After he was given a conditional pardon in 1842, he set up a painting and glazing business in Church Street Hobart before being drawn into the Victorian Gold Rush, running a carrying/teamster business. He died in 1872 from a brain concussion after falling from a bullock dray while working.