Most of my blog-entries deal with naval history, and inevitably involve much “Blood and Iron”. This post deals however with a peacetime act of heroism and one that typifies the courage and resolution of so many formidable Victorian women. It came about when I was looking through some Victorian nautically-related books, coming across a story which I find not only impressive for its heroism, but for the delightful illustration that accompanied the item.
On 9th August 1879 a fishing boat capsized in a wind squall off Bray Hill, Padstow Harbour, Cornwall. At the time, the five young ladies, four sisters from the Prideaux Brune family, and a friend called O'Shaughnessy, were in their rowing boat which was being towed behind a fishing -smack. The latter was skippered by a Samuel Bate, previously the assistant coxswain of the Padstowe lifeboat. They saw that three men had been thrown into the water from the overturned craft, two of whom drowned. They were not prepared to allow the same fate to befall the third.
Despite the heavy sea the ladies asked Bate to be cast them off from his smack. He refused initially but there demands were such that he could not resist longer and he described them as rowing away “like tigers”. They stroked fearlessly through heavy surf to reach the third man. They managed to get him into their boat with the greatest difficulty, and at serious risk to themselves, saved his life and got back to shore safely.
Though I had previously never heard of this incident – which must have been famous in its time – I was within minutes possible to find via Google a photograph of the Prideaux Brune sisters (though without Miss O’Shaughnessy ), all proudly wearing their Silver Medals. Such are the wonders of the electronic age!
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The talented artist and designer Sara Lee Paterson has completed the cover design for the fifth novel in the Dawlish Chronicles series - Britannia's Amazon. It's due for hard-copy and Kindle publication in October.
Sharp-eyed readers of the earlier novels will note that the period covered (April - August 1882) is the same as that of the fourth novel, Britannia's Spartan. Since naval officer Nicholas Dawlish can't be in two places at once, what's the explanation?
Could it be that his spirited and resourceful wife Florence is the Amazon of the title? She has proved her mettle in the hell of the last winter of th Russo-Turkish War (in Britannia's Wolf) and in the United States of the Gilded Age and on a fever-ridden tropical island (in Britannia's Shark). Has she now yet more adventures in store? And if so, where?
Britannia's Amazon is on the way
Sharp-eyed readers of the earlier novels will note that the period covered (April - August 1882) is the same as that of the fourth novel, Britannia's Spartan. Since naval officer Nicholas Dawlish can't be in two places at once, what's the explanation?
Could it be that his spirited and resourceful wife Florence is the Amazon of the title? She has proved her mettle in the hell of the last winter of th Russo-Turkish War (in Britannia's Wolf) and in the United States of the Gilded Age and on a fever-ridden tropical island (in Britannia's Shark). Has she now yet more adventures in store? And if so, where?