![JackCrawfordMemorial(HolyTrinitySunderland)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/JackCrawfordMemorial%28HolyTrinitySunderland%29.jpg)
Jack Crawford (22 March 1775 – 10 November 1831) was a
sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
known as the "Hero of Camperdown."
Biography
Crawford was born in Thornhill's Bank (now Pottery Bank) in the East End of
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. He was a
keelman
The Keelmen of Tyne and Wear were a group of men who worked on the keels, large boats that carried the coal from the banks of both rivers to the waiting collier ships. Because of the shallowness of both rivers, it was difficult for ships of any sig ...
until 1786 when, aged 11 or 12, he joined the crew of the ''Peggy'' at
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
as an apprentice. He joined the Royal Navy in 1796, possibly as a result of being
press-gang
Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. European navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means. The large size of ...
ed but he may have volunteered, and served on
HMS ''Venerable'' under
Admiral Duncan the Royal Navy Commander-in-Chief of the North Seas.
At the
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown (known in Dutch as the ''Zeeslag bij Kamperduin'') was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797, between the British North Sea Fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Batavian Navy (Dutch) fleet under Vice-Admiral ...
off the Dutch coast (11 October 1797), ''Venerable'' was Admiral Duncan's flagship. During the battle, part of the ''Venerable's'' mast was felled, including the admiral's flag. Lowering the Admiral's personal flag was a sign of surrender, and even an unintentional fall was unacceptable. Despite being under intense gunfire, Crawford climbed the mast and
nailed the colours to the top.
After the victory procession in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
he was formally presented to the King and was given a government pension of £30 a year, and later a silver medal from the people of Sunderland. However, Crawford fell on hard times and drunkenness, and had to sell his medal. He became the second victim of the
cholera epidemic of 1831 and was buried in an unmarked "pauper's" grave.
Legacy
Towards the end of the nineteenth century interest in the 'Hero of Camperdown' was renewed, in part through the success of the popular play "Jack Crawford the Hero of Camperdown"
["Jack Crawford the Hero of Camperdown" by James Roland MacLaren (ed: Michael MacLaren), The Salamander Studio, Edinburgh (1997), ] by Sunderland-based playwright
James Roland MacLaren
James Roland MacLaren (10 June 1839 – 30 June 1912) was a Scottish actor and playwright.
Biography
MacLaren was born in Bonhill, Dunbartonshire to Archibald MacLaren and Anne McIntyre. The family later moved to Liverpool, where James Roland M ...
, which went on tour during the 1880s. This resulted in the erection of a headstone in
Holy Trinity, Sunderland
Holy Trinity Church (sometimes Church of the Holy Trinity or Sunderland Parish Church) is an Anglican church building in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear formerly the area's parish church. It was opened in 1719 as the church for the newly created Parish ...
churchyard in 1888. Two years later public donations led to a monument being erected in
Mowbray Park
Mowbray Park is a municipal park in the centre of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, located a few hundred yards from the busy thoroughfares of Holmeside and Fawcett Street and bordered by Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens to the north, ...
, opposite what is now
Sunderland Civic Centre.
A pub in
Monkwearmouth
Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in North East England. Monkwearmouth is located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bisho ...
was named the Jack Crawford and sported a carved figure of him on the side of the building. This is referred to in the ''North-Country Lore and Legend'' magazine for April 1887 (page 91). After the pub was destroyed during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the figure was removed. In 1987 it was loaned to Sunderland Museum and put on display in the local history gallery but has been returned to the owner. The Museum holds Jack Crawford in high regard. There was an exhibition about him on the bicentenary of the Battle of Camperdown and there was a display about him in SeaBritain Year (2005). One of the Learning Rooms is named after him and there are several pieces of nineteenth-century Jack Crawford commemorative pottery on display in the Pottery Gallery. The silver medal that was presented to him by the Town following the battle in 1797, and given to the Museum by the
Earl of Camperdown
Earl of Camperdown, of Lundie in the County of Forfar and of Gleneagles in the County of Perth, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1831 for Robert Haldane-Duncan, 2nd Viscount Duncan. He was the son of the no ...
in 1880, is proudly on display in the Sunderland Heroes section of the Museum Street near the entrance of this award-winning Museum.
Doubt has been raised about Crawford's heroics. Possible evidence that Crawford was not a volunteer, that he was forced to climb the mast, or that he was drunk is debated. One book, written by the American
Sheri Holman, attracted criticism from the city's Mayor. However, local historian
William Corder had already made the criticism in the 1890s; Corder thought little of Crawford. He claimed that it was reported by reliable witnesses that Crawford was "drunk, acted without orders, and should have been
court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
led". Furthermore, Corder dismissed as a "deplorable monument" what others called the "fine headstone" of 1888.
A folk song about and entitled ''Jack Crawford'' – written by Johnny Handle, the Tyneside singer and former member of the High Level Ranters – is frequently on British folk singer, Bob Fox's, set list.
References
External links
Sunderland Council Jack Crawford leaflet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Jack
1775 births
1831 deaths
Royal Navy sailors
Military personnel from Sunderland