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I was reading through The War for all the Oceans and at the Nile onboard the Goliath there were at least 4 women mentioned in the logs. All 4 of their husbands didn’t survive the battle.
The book also mentions that it was not unusual for women to give birth during battle due to the stress. How is that fair, adding crew to the ship during battle? A new crew card, +1 crew baby onboard.
Attachment 36001
Sounds fascinating! I’ll have to buy that one.
Sounds interesting Aaron.
Which battles does it actually cover.
Just imagine a sticker in the window of the Captains Great cabin saying "Baby on Board."
Rob.
That’s funny. Amazon.com has a preview of the table of contents.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bligh
I like the book so far, it has a lot of firsthand accounts such as a shot that lodged itself in the power magazine. Or how Napoleons ship’s men fetching water at the Nile were getting attacked, raped and killed by local tribes. How the army took most of the supplies from the ship’s leaving them in short supply.
The French battleships only anchored with one anchor so they left space between the reef and anchor to allow for wind and current that would shift the ship. One of the British captains noticed the gap between the anchor buoy and the ship and split the gap to get inside the formation.
Were the wives on board officially or had they been 'smuggled' aboard, Aaron?
Women in Nelson's Navy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british..._navy_01.shtml
Sums it up nicely Jonas.
Good find.
Rob.
I've read up on this subject a couple of years back and it wasn't that unusual to have upward a hundred women on the larger ship of the line according to later research. They were kept off the books and therefore not as easily numbered.
The captain made these wives official in hopes to get them some added compensation for their service (they helped as power monkeys) and for their losses.Quote:
Originally Posted by Naharaht
A program about Nelson's Navy which mentions women too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u1IeRedAqw
Just finished watching it Jonas.
Had seen it before but well worth a re visit.
Rob.
Thank you very muc for finding the BBC webpage and the video to clarify this issue, Jonas.
Thank you very much for the reputation.
It was a current question with the international women's day and all.
Certainly was Jonas.
Just watched an interesting clip on women chain makers of Bromsgrove.
Some of the Anchor chains links were massive.
Rob.
See if you can find something about the fusee chain makers. They were often girls and the chains of an extreme size too.
Very important work for the age of sails.
Modern handling of one:
Attachment 36122
In the 15th Century a horologist invented a wheel (know as a fusee) - that could be used in small time pieces to keep accurate time.
These tiny chains were mass produced in Christchurch. The industry started in Christchurch around 1784 by Robert Harvey Cox.
Attachment 36123
Tools required to make the chain links were punches, dies, miniature anvils and hammers, plus a variety of shaping files. It was precise skill to make the chains. Both the dies and links were so small as to be almost invisible to the naked eye. Fusee chains varied in size from 12.5cm to 25cm and some could be threaded through the eye of a sewing needle.
The bulk of the labour force in Christchurch consisted of young girls, many of which were also inmates of the Christchurch Workhouse, now the Red House Museum.
There were three major workshops for fusee chain making in Christchurch:
- Cox's (Robert Harvey Cox) 1784*-1870s
- Jenkins' (Henry Jenkins & Sons) 1823-1914
- Hart's (William Hart) 1845-1899
It was also a major cottage industry for the town during this period. Many women worked at home, near a window, making chains for the factories.
Very different chains but both important for travelling over the seas!
I just read about Dolly Peel, who followed her impressed husband to sea, she helped the surgeon in the warships cockpit during battle. There is a statue of her that overlooks the River Tyne. She was so strong she held the press gang at bay while her husband escaped out the window. They only caught him the next day.
Sounds like a very persuasive woman Aaron. The Suffragettes could have made use of her skills.
Rob.