HMS Captain 1870         

The Story of HMS Captain (cont)

The Survivors

The main group of eighteen survivors owed their lives to either an incident of slack discipline or, more likely, an act by a seaman that ordinarily would have resulted in a court martial. In addition to the main group who made it to Concorbio and safety in the launch, there were others who, presumably, clung to wreckage and drifted ashore in the same current that took the launch to land.Information from various sources has been gathered together, as follows -

The story as told by Arthur Hawkey in "HMS Captain"

List of survivors with photograph

James May's story, as published in his book in 1872

Francis Merryman's story, as narrated twenty six years later.

John Gribble's story - his family's story

John Walker's story - family story and newspaper report

James Ellis - published obituary

Survivors' photocard - possibly a fundraiser

Some further survivors - and some not.