In defence of Sir Cloudesley Shovell


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Posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on August 03, 2004 at 10:42:48 from 213.38.124.194 user ACB.

In Reply to: Sir Cloudesly Shovell posted by JimHadfield on August 02, 2004 at 20:30:21:

Dava Sobell's account seems to be doubtful.

See, e.g., here:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/3682/clowdisley.html

A Norfolk boy, born around 1650, the son, it seems, of a shoemaker, he was named after a relation, of whom his parents had hopes that his influence might be used to advance the boy - expectations that were disappointed, apparently.

He went to sea at 14 or so, apprenticed, it seems, to Sir John Narborough. He rose rapidly in the service, was first noted for a sucessful bombardment of Tripoli, in which he destroyed four corsair galleys, was promoted rear admiral at 39, took part in teh Battle fe Beachy Head and married Sir John Narborough's widow, adopting Sir John's two sons as his own. This circumstance makes the loss of the "Association" the more tragic, as both young men, whom Sir Clowdisley had taken under his wing just as Sir John had done with the young Clowdsley, were serving aboard her, and there were no survivors from thw wreck.

Since there were no survivors, the tale of the hanging is based on...what, exactly?

Indeed, there is no record, from the log books of the ships in the fleet which survived, of any conference called to determine the fleet's position. And in any event, Admirals do not concern themselves with the navigation of flagships.

The whole story seems to be a work of fiction; it was perhaps a tale told to tourists by Scillonians, centuries later. It sounds like a seaside yarn.

One might note in passing that, since hitting or missing the Scillies is a matter of latitude, not longitude, unless, like the "Torrey Canyon" you are making for Milford Haven, which the "Association" was not - like the "Wild Cat", she was bound up Channel - the whole story is quite irrelevant to the matter of longitude.

But why spoil a best seller with a few inconvenient facts?


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