Englishwoman Hannah Snell, who could neither read nor write, joined the army in 1745 under the name of James Gray. Later she joined the navy as a cook’s assistant and then became a common seaman, spending a total of nine years at sea. She fought in naval battles and was considered a courageous sailor. Snell eventually tired of a sailor’s life, and in 1750 she revealed her true identity. Not surprisingly, she was shunned by other women and had trouble finding work. Because Snell’s story was so unusual, a pamphlet was written about her experiences and she embarked on a lecture tour to make money. She received an army pension and at her death was buried at Chelsea Hospital, a national retirement home for soldiers in England.
Mary Lacy wrote that in 1759 ” . . . a thought came into my head to dressmyself in men’s apparel and set off by myself. “Taking the name William Chandler and signing on to HMS Sandwich, Lacy became the servant to the ship’s carpenter and learned a good deal about ship construction.
Mary Lacy (William Chandler)
In 1763 she took a position as shipwright’s apprentice at the Portsmouth Dockyard. When a local woman suspected Lacy’s secret, Lacy revealed herself to two trusted male friends who insisted, “He is a man-and-a-half to a great many”. After spending seventeen years posing as a man Lacy applied for a pension in 1772 under her true name and was granted £20 a year.
Britain’s Claire Francis was the first woman to compete in the Whitbread Round the World Race. She had trained to be a ballerina, but it was sailing that sparked her passion and made her famous. In 1973 she sailed single-handed across the Atlantic from Falmouth to Newport, Rhode Island, in thirty-seven days. In 1976 she claimed the women’s record in the Observer Transatlantic Single-Handed Race by completing the course in twenty-nine days. She then became the first woman skipper to compete in the Whitbread Round the World Race. After retiring from competitive racing, Francis wrote three books on her sailing experiences.
Claire Francis
To learn more, visit the City of Canada Bay Museum on Saturday, 5th May at 2:00 pm when Bruce Shying till be talking on "Women and the Sea"
If you didn’t attend our August event you missed a great day. Betty Candy’s talk was a great success bringing over 60 guests to hear her. It’s amazing how many people didn’t know about this part of our history. Don’t miss out on future talks.
In the last issue of Nurungi we wrote about the bazaar held by the New Station Committee (North Strathfield Station) on 15th June 2018 to raise money for the Concord Soldiers’ Aid and Voluntary Workers Association and feel we should elaborate a little more. An article in the Sun newspaper of 2/6/1918 r eported: The…
Perhaps you’ve packed, compiled or received a Christmas hamper full of goodies in the last few days. About this time 99 years ago, the Anzacs who had evacuated from Gallipoli were eagerly awaiting their Christmas hampers. Our lead photograph shows women distributing Christmas billies to men in Cairo, Egypt, December 1915. Driver Jack (John) O….
This following book review was published in The Labor Daily (Sydney) on 24 June 1933. War Letters “Experiences of a ‘Dinki-Di’ R.R.C. Nurse” by Gertrude Moberly, R.R.C., is an instructive and interesting publication of letters written by Matron Moberly during the Great War. She rendered very considerable services during that War, with the result that…
SECOND CLASS TRAVEL ON TITANIC: Second class passenger accommodation was to be found over seven decks. Exits were either by the second class grand stairway or an electric elevator which ran up and down all seven decks. After dinner, the gentlemen of the second class could retreat from the Dining Room to their Smoking Room….
For almost two decades the Mornington Hotel, situated where Emily and Herbert Streets now join Tennyson Road, was a hub of community activity in Mortlake. The hotel was not only a popular place of refreshment for workers from the nearby gasworks, it also played host to sporting groups such as the Mortlake Swimming Club as…