| The
renowned Author and Journalist of the 19th Century, Charles Dickens had
been one of a number commentators on the character of those East Kent
boatmen, and on an occasion of one of his visits to Deal he wrote: |
|
'These are among the bravest
and most skilful mariners that exists. Let a gale rise and swell into a
storm, and let a sea run that might appall the stoutest heart that ever
beat ; let the light ships on the sands throw up a rocket in the darkness
of the night ; or let them hear through the angry roar the signal guns of
a ship in distress, and these men spring up with activity so dauntless, so
valiant and heroic, that the world cannot surpass it. Cavaliers may object
that they chiefly live upon the salvage. So they do, and God knows it is
no great living that they get out of the deadly risk they run, but put the
hope of gain aside, let those rough fellows be asked in any storm, 'who
volunteers for the Lifeboat?'
~ to save some perishing
souls as poor and empty handed as themselves, whose lives the perfection
of human reason does not rate at the value of a farthing each, and that
boat will be manned as surely and cheerfully as if a thousand Pounds were
told down on the weather beaten beach. For this and the recollection of
their comrades, whom we have known, whom the raging sea has engulfed
before their children's eyes in such brave efforts whom the secret sand
has buried, let us hold the boatmen in our love and honour, and be tender
of the fame they well deserve~'.
|
|
A BOATMAN’S TALE'S ~explores the history of the Lifeboat service, which along with many other events, all factual, are here brought together ~ not just because the events found feature my own distant forebears, ~ but also because on the whole they recollect the struggles of the Victorian Boatmen of Kent, many of whom were legends in their own lifetimes. My story begins with the history of the Culmer family, now and for some time settled in America, who were originally to come to England on the Longboats of the Vikings, but who after many generations as Soldiers of fortune became Shipwrights in Kent. Making charitable contributions to the community, such as providing the first 'Lifeboat' that came to be used on the occasion to the rescue of imperiled lives upon the notorious Goodwin Sands (1851) the Culmers surely settled any debts they may have had with history. ~ My interest in confirming these myths has led me to a study of the history of these and other events, with the resultant text providing what I hope will be seen as a useful insight into those now distant times. ~ Such stories seem to have been all but lost to dusty shelves, the traditions they invoke forgotten amidst the bustle of modern life. Formerly preserved separately, these records are fragments from a memory, the likes of which seems bound to its time. Abundant detail about many people and events are discussed, giving what I hope will show something of the underlying patterns that made up those times and communities. It is my hope that a sufficiency of material is available herein to give any reader understanding and enjoyment of this selection, out of the many hundreds of tales of heroism extant, collected from information currently available, which in itself, should deliver the motive behind the rendering of this work.
|
|
|
XX |
|
|
|
XX
|
|
|
|
XX
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
