Aboard HMS Valiant

The morning was fair and from the quayside it appeared as if half the town had turned out to welcome the ship home. Many of the men had been at sea for the last two years, some were coming home to children they had never seen. The men on deck searched the crowds to try to pick out the familiar faces of those they had left behind. As the ship sailed along the Solent, it came so close to the shore on the high tide that it looked as though you could almost reach out and touch land. As ever some of those waiting were going to be disappointed, two years is a long time. When a woman has been left alone with no news and worse still, no money for months on end, many give up and take up with someone else. Often they too were sailors and often they too were gone by the time the husband returned. Many of the children had different fathers from their brothers and sisters. A sailors life was a hard life, but perhaps a sailor's wife's was even harder.

The captain had declared that as it was such a fine day the families were to be welcomed on board, the men cheered and threw their caps in the air. The last of the rum was opened up and a fine party was in view. Amongst the 750 aboard HMS Valiant that day there was a young lieutenant by the name of Harry Wilson. He had been married just a few sweet weeks when the ship had set sail for the Indies. Since then he had a few letters from his beloved Nancy. She wrote to tell him that she was expecting their child and then later to tell him that he was now the proud father of a bonny boy. Jack was the name she had chosen. Harry was a little disappointed by this, in his letters he had suggested that the boy be called Harry too, but of course the letters may never have arrived in time. But not to worry, there were plenty more sons to come he was sure, and the next one would be Harry.

Nancy, standing on the shore, a little boy of eighteen months by her side, craned her neck through the crowds, trying to catch a glimpse of her Harry. She was sure he would be up on deck looking for her too. A ripple and then a roar ran through the crowd, a couple of the sailors had signalled that families were to be let on board. Nancy's heart was thumping, finally after all this time she was to see him again. But what if he had changed and she no longer recognised him. What if he no longer recognised her; what if he remembered her to be much prettier than she really was; what if he was disappointed. Well at least he would be pleased with Jack, a finer looking boy you couldn't imagine. Jack had a mop of curly blonde hair and was dressed in a tiny sailors outfit. It was obviously not new, but it looked a treat. She knew she had been right to make such an effort as the boy would now be introduced to all his father's officer friends on the ship. Oh I hope I don't let him down, I never know what to say in company.

Nancy ran her hands down her dress, straightened out an imaginary wrinkle in the boy's collar.

"Come on then Jack, let's go and meet your father."

Jack looked up at his mother expectantly. He had no idea what a father looked like, but his mother had mentioned him often and he knew he was a very important person.

Nancy, along with many of the other women in the crowd, began to make her way towards the entrance to the dockyard. Nearing the dockyard gate Nancy made out an enormous crowd. There were the usual "ladies of the night as she called them, although this was midday, but they always turned out for any ships coming into port, especially those where the men had been gone a long time. Their pockets would be bulging with unspent wages. Many the sailor over the years who looked down from the ship to the quayside planning how we would surprise his family with his new found wealth. Only to find that by the time he had reached home, a number of other people had found a way to help him part with his riches. If it wasn't frittered on a woman of easy virtue, then there were plenty of pickpockets and thieves who also felt it their duty to help lighten his load. Portsmouth was not the kindest of places to sailors fresh into port. The older, wiser sailors ventured into town with only a few coins, the rest stashed safe with the ships' surgeon until he could safely get himself back into the bossom of his family. Of course that wasn't always possible on the first night. After so long at sea some men were afraid to go back to their wives until they had curbed their lust with a wench or two who knew how to handle a man who had not seen a woman for six months at a time. To be fair to the women they were providing a service which benefited all parties, the only problem was the legacy they sometimes left behind. Syphillus was rife in the port and many sailors found themselves unable to return home after a couple of days in port, either all their money had gone, or they needed to treatment from the ships surgeon which wasn't so easy to explain.

Caught along in the tide of women Nancy made her way slowly to the dockyard gate. She grasped Jack's hand to her as tightly as she could desperate not to lose him in the crowd. Looking across the sea of faces she made out a familiar one. It was Mrs Goody her next door neighbour. Mrs Goody's husband was a retired sailor, although he could only have been in his forties.

"You all right there Nancy love, it's a bit of a squeeze ins't it? Our young boy Nicholas is coming in on the Valiant along with your Harry. I always hear such lovely things about your Harry. First time I've clapped eyes on young Nick for nigh on two years. Mind you I'm thinking the last thing he'll want to do when he gets off the boat is see his Mum. Perhaps I'll go home and make him his favourite dinner. He's bound to want to spend a bit of time in the tavern afore he comes home."

"You alright there with young Jack? He looks frightened by all this noise. Why don't you let me take Jack home with me and you can greet Harry on your own. Jack'll be safe with me till you two love birds have made it back home."

Nancy glanced down at Jack, Mrs Goody was right, Jack did look very frightened by the crowd. Reluctantly she passed Jack over to Mrs Goody. "I'll shan't be long, see you at home in a couple of hours.
"Right you are my lovely and if you should see that boy of mine tell him I'll have a nice bit of porter for him when he gets home.
With a smile and a backward glance Nancy passed through the gate and on towards the quayside where the ship would tie up. Nancy had been waiting some time by the quayside. And there was no sign of the expected ship. Finally two lightermen approached the quay where the Valiant was due to dock. It seemed that the Captain had decided that to celebrate their safe return the families were to be welcomed on board and treated to a short sail along the Solent. The families were boarded onto the lightermen and were soon making their way towards the Valiant which was at anchor by Spit Bank Fort. Nancy was very nervous, she had always had a fear of water. However she really was looking forward to seeing Harry again and at least she didn't have to worry about keeping young Jack safe.

The transfer from the lightermen to the ship was a precarious one but eventually all those who wanted were on board. It was a glorious day and there was a palpable feeling of homecomingh on board the ship. Nancy made her way through the crowds looking for Harry, when a tap on the shoulder made her spin round.

"Harry it's you at last.

Harry swept her into his arms and kissed her.

"Nancy, my Nancy, I've missed you so much my love. I've thought of you every day. You're exactly as I pictured you in my dreams.

Nancy was enchanted.

Many times she had tried to imagine the scene when they would meet again in her head. Often in her dream she worried that he would not recognise her, or sometimes she pictured a look of barely concealed disappointed. Never very confident in her looks, these months apart had been difficult for Nancy. When she was younger her mother had always scolded her for fishing for compliments from her father, but in truth she really needed all the reassurance she could get. Growing up she had always been in the shadow of her older sister, who always had all their father's attention. As the girls grew older Sally always had a string of beaus, which her father teased her about mercilessly. Yet young Nancy had never had any beaus. Nancy was shy and spent most of her evenings buried in the latest novel. Indeed it was at the bookshop that she had met her Harry. They both had come to inquire if the new novel from Miss Austen had been received yet. From then she saw Harry in the bookshop every day until the book finally arrived a fortnight later, one copy only. Gallantly Harry had allowed Nancy to have the book, but asked if in exchange she could lend it to him when she had finished. In order to do this of course he would need her address. Nancy blushed as she handed him her card. Whatever would her parents think.

In fact Nancy's parents were delighted by the attentions that Harry paid to Nancy. They had become concerned that Nancy would never marry. Already twenty-one Nancy was on the verge of becoming a spinster. Most young girls were off their parents hands and married by the age of nineteen. Her sister Sally had wed at eighteen and by twenty-one was the proud mother of three delightful children. A few months after they had met Harry had received his lieutenants commission and was in a position to provide for a wife. They only had a few weeks in which to get married as Harry's first ship Valiant was due to go to sea. Harry rented Nancy a little house in the Spice Island and said he would sort out something more suitable for them as a family when he had more time. Nancy had at first felt very awkward living in the heart of the docks, but she found the neighbours surprisingly welcoming and soon grew to love the hustle and bustle of the place. Surrounded by sailor's wives Nancy felt more part of the community than she had ever done living with her parents.

Back in Harry's arms now Nancy felt like a new bride all over again. They had had so very little time together. Nancy was determined to make up for the long months at sea as quickly as possible.

"Where's young Jack then? asked Harry looking as if Nancy must be hiding him in her skirts.

"Oh Harry dear, the poor lamb was tired out and I really didn't think he would like being up here with this big crowd. Mrs Goody offered to take him with her. You'll see him the moment we get back to our little home. He's an absolute angel,

"What like his mother?

"Oh Harry, don't tease. He's got lovely blonde curly hair, the bluest eyes you ever did see, and he spends all day laughing and smiling. Nothing ever bothers him, he's really the dearest boy in the whole world.

"Now then Lieutenant I am going to have to tear you away from the arms of your beloved for a short while, I want to use the time we have here at anchor to repair a small hole in the hull and I need to have the guns moved over to the portside to raise her a little. Could you assemble the men on deck.

"Aye, aye Captain.

The next few minutes were a blur of activity as the men rushed about on deck then the gun crews were dispatched with some helpers below decks to shift the guns across to the portside. Which in the cramped and hot conditions below was no mean feat.. Unused to having this many people on idling on deck the Captain suggested the young ladies would like to assemble on the foredeck and he and the gallant surgeon could entertain them while the crew were busy with their task. The Captain embarked on a tale of some of the extraordinary customs of the natives they had met with on their travels.

The Captain had not allowed for the difference that the additional passengers weight would make to his ship. Already low in the water as it had been heavily armed for it's trip to the Indies, the extra weight concentrated on the portside when the guns were shifted from their normal positions caused the ship to list far lower in the water then he had intended. Unnoticed water began to seep into through the old and rotting planks of the lower decks. Soon the whole of the lower deck was awash and as the water poured in, so the ship grew heavier still.

The boatswain rushed on deck, and unceremoniously pushed through the coterie of ladies. The Captain who was in the middle of telling the ladies a most alarming tale about shrunken heads and cannibalism was about to remonstrate with his bosun but one look at the man's grave face made him stop. Excusing himself from the ladies he urged the surgeon to continue the tale and he walked with the bosun out of earshot of the huddle. As soon as the bosun informed the Captain what was happening a sickening fear gripped him. The magnitude of the tragedy that was about to unfold was immediately clear. He quickly gathered his officers around him and delivered the news. The ship was sinking fast and there was no way to save it, despite being only yards from the shore. The tide was high and flowing out to sea, anyone who jumped would be dragged out of the Solent and into the open waters of the Channel. He ordered the men to release the few boats they had on board and that the women and children should be given priority. But this had all come too late.

Having dealt with his duties as quickly as he could, Harry asked the Captain's permission to go and seek his wife, the Captain unable to speak, nodded grimly. Harry ran back to Nancy who was happily chatting with a group of young ladies, but one look at him told her that there was something dreadfully wrong.

"What is it Harry, what's the matter?

There was no gentle way of delivering this news, Hary pulled Nancy to one side.

"We are sinking. Water has flooded the lower decks and there is nothing we can do to save the ship. The best we can hope for is to save our souls. The shore is not so far, there are rope ladders on the side of the ship which you can use to go over the side, and then it is but a short swim to safety. 

"But I can't swim.

"I'll send some men over to look after the women and children until rescue boats can be sent from shore. I'm certain you won't be in the water for long.

Suddenly the realisation dawned on Nancy, Harry had no intention of leaving his ship.

"You will come too won't you Harry? Harry? I can't leave without you.

"I can't my love. My duty is to stay here with my men and the ship. Go save yourself while you still have time and look after our darling boy.

"Harry, my darling. " Nancy put up a hand and cupped his face. Looking directly in his eyes she said in a quiet and determined voice.

"I am staying here with you. Hold me Harry, hold me tight, so tight I can't see what is going to happen to us.

And so he did.

Within moments the ship had sunk and all those on board were lost beneath the waves. Of those who were on board Valiant that day, some 800 souls were lost, all within sight of land. Boats were quickly scrambled from Eastney but strong currents had swept the stricken out into the channel and only a handful were found alive. Those still on the shore could only watch in horror as the catastrophe unfolded before their eyes.