Traitor or Faithful?
Bristol's own Maya Jama is in the new series of Celebrity Traitors, so we couldn't resist revisiting our own cast of suspects. Aboard the SS Great Britain, a ship full of strangers lived together in close quarters for 60 days. Who was to be trusted? With tensions running high and stowaways hiding in plain sight, how far would those onboard go to get what they wanted?
Bad News at Breakfast
The Celebrity Traitors aren't the only ones hearing bad news at breakfast. On 1 September 1853, a diary entry reported: “Heard that the larder had been robbed last night of all the cold meat intended for breakfast. The sailors are supposed to be the delinquents, but no one has yet been found out”.
Just as the faithful roam the castle swapping theories, it's easy to imagine bored passengers trying to solve the 'crimes' to pass the time. Even without evidence, they cast their judgment on the innocent sailors.
Tensions run high
Whether in the castle or aboard the SS Great Britain, tension is inevitable when people are confined together. With food rations under threat, fights between passengers were frequently noted in diary entries, including one on 26 November 1873: “There are generally a couple of fights every day, sometimes they get put in irons and slung up back-to-back for half an hour on the forecastle with their toes just touching the deck”. Tensions tended to come to a head towards the end of a long voyage.
Stowaways and subterfuge
Unlike in the castle, it was impossible to banish wrongdoers at sea. Stowaways caught red-handed were put to work for the rest of the passage, which made later ones get creative with their hiding spots (two men in 1846 were found “concealed in the cow house”!). On 26 October 1863, another entry noted that three stowaways were found “in boxes, and their friends have brought them their food, but they have been turned out today and will be made to work their passage”.
In true Traitors style, some passengers were caught lying about their identities. A diary dated 2 February 1864 read: “Philip Le Brun, Ship's Boy, turns 12. He lied about his age when joining in Australia, saying he was 14”. Another passenger who tried a similar deception, using a fake name, was banished before the ship set off. A diary entry from 19 May 1867 recorded: “Passenger taken into custody just before the vessel sailed. William Williams who was guilty of being a ‘defaulter’ boarded the SS Great Britain with his wife and four children under the assume surname name ‘John Black’. He was taken into custody before the ship departed.”
The ultimate betrayal...
During critical moments in The Traitors, sacrifices are made and the faithful are left by the wayside. In one heart-breaking example in 1853, the captain sailed on after Robert Ramsey fell from the mast, leaving him behind. Annie Henning noted in her diary; ‘It seemed so dreadful to sail on leaving him to perish’.
To hear more tales from those who travelled on the ship, visit our new museum, open Tuesdays to Sundays. Meet passenger and crew, and explore the vast collection of records in the Global Stories Database.
