The Black Pearl pirate ship looked as good as ever at the weekend; an amazing, spontaneous community project made of driftwood and run aground at New Brighton. She certainly had an enthusiastic crew on board. No pressed men amongst that lot.
A care home now stands where we remember Mother Redcaps from our youth, a little further along the promenade, with its tales of smuggling and underground passages for the distribution of contraband. When my great grandfather took his photo about 115 years ago it was known as Mr Kitchinman’s house.
Chris’s great, great, great grandfather, William Henry Thorpe, was Master of the Princes Landing Stage in Liverpool during the mid-nineteenth century, overseeing the comings and goings of ocean-going vessels, including, no doubt, coffin ships which were knowingly in poor condition, overloaded and over-insured. They were thus more valuable to their owners if they sunk.
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