William Gill (1795 – 25 January 1858) was a Manx merchant navy officer who served as commanding officer of numerous

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

vessels. Gill was the first recognised

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the line, retiring with the rank of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

. He is also known as the

who first charted an approach to the (then) treacherous

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

, which subsequently became known as the Victoria Channel.''The Mona's Herald.'' Wednesday, 5 February 1858

Early life

William Gill was born in

Ramsey, Isle of Man Ramsey ( gv, Rhumsaa) is a coastal town in the north of the Isle of Man. It is the second largest town on the island after Douglas. Its population is 7,845 according to the 2016 Census. It has one of the biggest harbours on the island, and has ...

in 1795. Upon finishing his education he was apprenticed to a ship's carpenter, but his ambition was to go to sea.

Career

From 1814 Capt. Gill commanded vessels trading between the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, England and Ireland. Prior to the introduction of

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

, he was

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of the

clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...

packets which sailed between

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Such vessels he commanded at this time included the ''Earl St. Vincent,'' the ''Douglas,'' the ''Mona Castle'' and the ''Duchess of Atholl.'' Captain Gill was generally regarded to have possessed a genial social nature and frank and obliging manner. This rendered him an exceedingly popular officer who proved to be a great favourite with his crew and passengers alike. He was known to the poet

T.E. Brown Thomas Edward Brown (5 May 183029 October 1897), commonly referred to as T. E. Brown, was a late- Victorian scholar, schoolmaster, poet, and theologian from the Isle of Man. Having achieved a double first at Christ Church, Oxford, and elect ...

who said of Gill: ''"He bore the reputation of a fine commander, a true modest gentleman and sailor."''Isle of Man Examiner, Friday, January 22, 1954; Page: 7

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company

Captain Gill's reputation led to his appointment as

of the

's new steamer ''Mona's Isle'' when service commenced in August 1830. At that time the St George Steam Packet Company were the primary operators on the route with their vessel the ''Sophia Jane'' under the command of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Tudor, RN, but the ship was very unpopular in terms of comfort and reliability. The onus therefore fell upon Capt. Gill and the ''Mona's Isle'' to operate an efficient and reliable service, with comfort of the passengers also to be of a high priority. Unlike the ''Sophia Jane'' the ''Mona's Isle'' had been designed primarily to shelter passengers and had spacious and comfortable cabins. The Mona's Isle

On Monday, 16 August 1830, ''Mona's Isle'' sailed for Liverpool. The ''Sophia Jane'' sailed at the same time and reached Liverpool one and a half minutes ahead.Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (Fred Henry, 1977) p.7 On Wednesday, 18 August, a similar race took place back to Douglas with a similar result. But on Friday, 20 August, returning from Liverpool, ''Mona's Isle'' came in 40 minutes ahead. The pattern was established and ''Sophia Jane'' was regularly beaten, on one occasion in a

Advert for passage between the Isle of Man and Liverpool

The early defeats were probably caused by the fact that ''Mona's Isle's'' new engine took time to run in and full speed was not attainable at first. ''Mona's Isle,'' however, had proved herself capable of travelling between

and

in eight hours at a speed of . The St George Company engaged in a price-cutting war, and in September withdrew the ''Sophia Jane'' and replaced her with their largest and fastest steamer, the ''St. George.'' However, ''Mona's Isle'' won the first race largely because of the astuteness of

Capt. Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Gill. Seeing a south-westerly

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).windward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

side of the vessel, to prevent the windward

paddle A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end (i.e. the ''blade''), used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered wa ...

lifting out of the water. By October 1830, ''Mona's Isle'' had established herself as the principle steamer between

and

. On Friday 19 November 1830, under the command of

John Tudor RN, the ''St George'' arrived in

from

with mail and passengers.''The Manks Advertiser.'' Tuesday, 30 November 1830 Once her passengers and mail were unloaded, the ''St George'' proceeded to take her anchorage in the vicinity of Conister Rock using the fixed chain cable which had been secured for the task. The night was stormy, with strong gusts of wind from the southwest which increased in ferocity as the wind veered to the southeast on the morning of 20 November. At 05:00hrs the chain cable holding the ''St George'' began to give way and she began to drive in between the Pollock and Conister rocks. Through the efforts of

Sir William Hillary Sir William Hillary, 1st Baronet (4 January 1771 – 5 January 1847) was a British militia officer, author and philanthropist, best known as the founder, in 1824, of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.. Life Hillary's background was Q ...

, founder of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

, the crew of the ''St. George'' were saved.

Gill on seeing the predicament of the ''St George'' was able to break away from his mooring and put to sea, thus avoiding a similar fate. By 1832 the Directors of the

were becoming increasingly concerned about using the ''Mona's Isle'' in winter weather. A second vessel, the ''Mona,'' was ordered to meet this task and entered service initially serving

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

before replacing the ''Mona's Isle'' on the main

service in October of that year. By this time, after seeing off the competition of the St. George Company, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company had achieved the first reliable steamship service between the

and

and consequently further ships were ordered for service with the line, with Capt. Gill raising to the rank of

and taking initial command of each new vessel in turn. The ''Mona'' was followed by the much larger and more powerful ''Queen of the Isle'' in 1834, the ''King Orry'' in 1842, the ''Ben-my-Chree'' in 1845 and the ''Tynwald'' in 1846 which was to be Capt. Gill's final command. Captain Gill's understanding of the winds,

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

s and

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

s between the

and

was of particular renown and he gained a reputation as a fearless and daring commander and ultimately one of the most successful, rarely known to turn back in heavy weather. It was said that he had on several occasions left the

Port of Liverpool The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed Dock (maritime), dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, Merseyside, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Great Float, Birkenhead Docks between ...

when no other commander would, and that during his time at sea not one single life was lost from any vessel placed under his charge. However, in 1835 he was dismissed by the directors of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for refusing to go to sea when his brother was dying. The Company's shareholders however would not accept his dismissal and after holding a meeting to investigate the matter he was re-instated as a Master within the Company. The shareholders went further and sacked the directors whom they accused of ''"injudicious management of the Company's affairs."'' The dismissed directors sought to establish a rival shipping company to the Isle of Man Steam Packet and acquired a 300-ton steamer which they named ''Monarch.'' And so set against the ''Queen of the Isle'' a new series of races on the Douglas - Liverpool route commenced. As was the case with the St George Company the competition was seen off by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, in 1847 the Monarch Company went into liquidation and their vessel was sold. On Friday 31 January 1840 Captain Gill was presented with an award of five guineas together with a vote of thanks (with a further five guineas distributed amongst the crew of the ''Mona's Isle'') by the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society in recognition for their part in the rescue of the crew of the

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

''Corsair''. The ''Corsair'' had run aground on the Jordan Flats in the Mersey Estuary, thereby placing her crew in considerable peril. On seeing the distress signal being flown from the Rock Fort at New Brighton, Capt. Gill was able to take the lifeboat ''Magazine'' in tow, placing her to the windward of the ''Corsair'' thus enabling the crew of the lifeboat to perform the rescue.

Charting the Victoria Channel

Whilst a channel had existed for the navigation of ships into the

, this channel, the Rock Channel, was only available for use at high tides and therefore vessels could wait many hours at anchor before being able to enter the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Illustration depicting the charting of the Victoria Channel, River Mersey

With the increasing commercial trade into and out of Liverpool coming with the advent of the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

, various attempts were made to chart a safe navigable

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

through the south eastern portion of

Liverpool Bay Liverpool Bay is a bay of the Irish Sea between northeast Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence. Liverpool Bay has historically suffered from red ...

and into the

at all states of the tide. According to a crew member of Capt. Gill's, John Bell, who began his service as a deck boy on the ''Queen of the Isle'' in 1836, the task was something which Capt. Gill went about in a meticulous way. Bell is recorded as saying that Capt. Gill would be always taking various bearings from his positions to places on the shore, such as the Leasowe Castle and the Beacon on

Bidston Hill Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland containing historic buildings and ancient rock carvings, on the Wirral Peninsula, near the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston, in Merseyside, England. With a peak of , Bidston Hill is one of the highest poi ...

. A record of the depth of the water at various states of the tide was found by two sailors, one port and one starboard using a lead line, and this would be logged by Capt. Gill. Another part of the arduous task would require Capt. Gill to lower his anchor some two or three feet below the draught of his steamer and, dragging this with him, let it go when he got nearly ashore on a sand-bank. It was in this way that he was able to discover the

which was to make the modern shipping fortunes of Liverpool.

Presentation

On the occasion of Capt. Gill's retirement, a complete solid silver breakfast and tea service; manufactured by Joseph Mayer of

, and which consisted of a full-sized coffee-pot, tea pot, sugar basin and cream jug; a silver chased toast rack, four very richly-chased candlesticks, a silver butter cooler with cover and stand, 12 silver teaspoons, sugar tongs and two very elegant butter knives were presented to Capt. Gill at a dinner held in is honour at the

Castle Mona Castle Mona is a former private residence later used as a hotel in Douglas, Isle of Man. The house was built between 1803 and 1804 for John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl during his capacity as the Isle of Man's Governor General.Isle of Man Times, ...

Douglas, Isle of Man Douglas ( gv, Doolish, ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021). It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and on a sweeping bay of . The River Douglas forms part of the town's harbour ...

on Wednesday June 16, 1852. In addition Capt. Gill also received a purse of 100 sovereigns.''Manx Sun.''Saturday, 19.06.1852 Page: 9 On the top of the coffee and tea pots were two emblems, one representing that for the sailing vessels, being formed of a rudder, sail, and block grouped together, the other consisting of a large paddle wheel, funnel and steering-wheel. On the coffee pot was inscribed, under the figure of a yacht, the names of the sailing vessels commanded by Captain Gill, and under a steam vessel the names of the ''Mona's Isle'', ''Queen of the Isle'', ''King Orry'', ''Ben-my-Chree'' and ''Tynwald'', the steamers which had been under his charge. In addition to the silver articles there were three handsome papier mache waiters and a complete service of china in white and rich gold. The silver article, had the initials W. G. upon them, with the principal inscription "To Captain William Gill, the discoverer of the Victoria Channel into Liverpool." In this manner, therefore, did Liverpool express gratitude for the new Channel.

Retirement

Captain Gill retired from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1852. Through public subscription he received a silver inscribed plate commemorating his charting of the Victoria Channel and a purse of 100 guineas. However, he sustained the loss of a large proportion of his wealth following the failure of Joint Stock Bank and the Bank of Messrs Holmes, but is recorded as still having retired in a comfortable manner. Having only recently retired he was enticed back to sea the following year to assist in the establishment of a small shipping line in his native

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

. The company had built a steamer which they called the ''Manx Fairy'' and Capt. Gill, at the special request of the shareholders, took command of her on her first trip ''"in order that her steaming and sailing qualifications might be fairly tried under a commander of such great experience of coasting steam navigation."'' This was to be Capt. Gill's last triumph, the ''Manx Fairy'' steaming out of Liverpool at the same time as the Isle of Man Steam Packet's new

flag ship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...

'' Mona's Queen'', which she beat to Douglas by 8 minutes in a passage time of 5 hours 30 minutes.

Death

It was said that for the last two years of his life Capt. Gill was constantly indoors, and although it is said that he continued to enjoy the company of close friends he avoided local society. He also was said to have been badly affected by the loss of his wife, Elizabeth, which was then followed by the loss of his only child, a daughter, Margaret. Captain William Gill died aged 63 at his home in Harris Terrace,

, on 25 January 1858. His body was interred with that of his wife and daughter at Braddan Parish Cemetery. In 1930 when the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company celebrated its centenary his grave was reconditioned by the Company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, William English sailors People from Ramsey, Isle of Man Steamship captains 1795 births 1858 deaths British Merchant Navy officers Manx culture History of Liverpool