Captain Peter Harrison's Life Story - in his own words

Researched by Bill Hart

Born on the 21st November, 1841 at Runcorn. Never had any schooling. Commenced work in 1851 when I was 10 with a brother in a canal boat carrying stones for building the foundations for the railways to run over the Sankey Canal to Warrington and also to run over the Mersey at Warrington and over the Bridgewater Canal at Altringham early in the fifties. After that a family of boat people took me to drive their horses on the canal bank from Worsley to Winsford and Northwich. Some time after my father bought a canal boat himself and I sailed with him for a time and then ran away and left him and went to sea with a Welsh vessel and from one vessel to another.

On the 26th October 1859 - the night the "Royal Charter" a clipper was lost, and over 400 men, women and children drowned in Dulas Bay near Moelfre on Anglesey, I came over Carnarvon Bar in a gale with a square stern flat.

I was mate in one of John and Thomas Johnson's flats and whilst she was being repaired, I got married to Ellen Mostyn in 1863 and the Captain (his name was William Douglas) did me a very good turn by stopping me a day's wages for getting married. Of course I soon got the chance of another flat and I joined the new flat on condition that I went Captain with the next flat being launched. I soon became Captain and launched nine boats for the same owners - Samuel and John Wild, Millers of Runcorn. I wasn't very big but I could carry sacks of beans which were 292 lbs each. When they saw me carrying them I heard them say "That's a strong little fellow isn't he?" My employers behaved very well to me and paid me well. I stayed with them a year or two and then joined a flat called the "Susannah Kurtz" belonging to the Boltons family of the Widnes Alkali Co. carrying limestone from Wales and caustic soda from Widnes to Liverpool, and if they had nothing much for me to do, I had the privilege to go anywhere I liked with her. I sailed across the Irish Channel with her oftener than I have "Fingers and Toes", and all round the Welsh Coast and the Cumberland Coast. She wasn't bulwarked neither did she have rails all round her, just an ordinary naked river flat with three sails. Whilst in her I saved a bit of money, speculated on other old flats which never did me any good, only the one I sailed myself. Until I joined the flat "Alice Linda". I sailed her about 29 years and spent all the money to keep her in good order for carrying general cargo between Liverpool and Skippool, Fleetwood. Very often I used to get to the Scotch side with her taking patent manure and bringing back seed potatoes and seed oats for Parkinson and Tomlinson of Poulton- le-Fylde. Many a time I have been washed off my feet between Fleetwood and Liverpool. I was in her about 20 years without ever having a reef in the main sail. On the night of the 9th of December 1886 when the barque "Mexico" from Hamburg went ashore at Southport and most of the Southport and St. Annes lifeboatmen were drowned, I was on my way to Liverpool loaded with a cargo of gravel 166 tons in the flat. I thought I saw a light on the weather bow and said to one of the boys I had with me "Hughie, look how our lights are". He could not walk along the deck, there was so much sea running over the flat, he ran along the hatches and jumping off the aft hatch on the main hatch he found out that the tarpolin was washing off the hatches and said to me "Skipper our main hatch tarpolin is being washed off". I made no more to do but down helm hard aport and put her on the other tack, so that the sea would wash the tarpolin the other way until they got the rope and put the batten hooks to hold the tarpolin down and we bore up for Fleetwood again for our own safety. There was so much magnetic current in the air that the compass ran round like a whirligig. The elder boy of the two had to sound, we could not steer by the compass on account of the magnetic current troubling it. There were hundreds of thousands of tons of water running over the flat at the time and it was very difficult for my mate to get soundings of Lune Deep, and when we got into Fleetwood she was as near submerged as possible. The following morning we took the hatches off and found that there was as much gravel in the fore hatch as there was in the main hatch. The sea running through the hatches had washed it forward and levelled it fore and aft like a level gravel bank. You may depend upon it that it was rough time with us, not knowing how soon she would drop from under us. We never took her to sea again until we put extra batten hooks along the combings and we put thread in the battens so that we could use screws to fasten the battens instead of wedges. Soon after that I got her bulwarked and she never used to wet us much. after, for she was like an old lightship at sea. I left her on the 14th October 1912 and she didn't last long. I was sorry to hear tell of her sinking, and it seems to me to be a very mysterious way that she did sink. The Captain was asleep in his bunk when she went down. I felt very sorry of his loss. That was the end of the "Alice Linda". After leaving the "Alice Linda" I joined a little steamer called the "Enid" trading between Fleetwood and Liverpool. I was only on her about two years when I retired at 73.

A few interesting points in Captain Harrison's life.

Whilst Peter Harrison was still young he did learn to write and was taught by "The Countess of Muncaster" on occasions when he landed cargoes of coal for Muncaster Castle. It wasn't ordinary writing but printing each letter separately so he told.

1841 Peter was born in Runcorn on the 21st of November 
1851 He started work aged 10 years.
1859 The "Royal Charter" was lost on the 26th October near Moelfre, Anglesey. She was bound from Australia to Liverpool with over 400 passengers and crew and half a million pounds Sterling of gold.
1863 Peter married Ellen Mostyn on the 23rd February 1863 at the parish church in Runcorn, Cheshire
1872 John, son of Peter and Ellen died aged 2 years.
1873 Joseph son of Peter and Ellen died aged 6 years. On the gravestone is the following inscription. "This lively bud how sweet a flower in paradise could bloom".
1881 Census. Peter and Ellen were living in Great Budworth in Cheshire with son Peter aged 7 years born at Runcorn, Cheshire and son Walter aged 11 months born at Llangoed, Anglesey. 
1886 The "Mexico" went aground on the night of 9th of December at Southport and most of the Southport and St Annes Life- boat were lost trying to save the ship's crew. The Lytham lifeboat saved the crew of 12 from the "Mexico".
1891 Census. Peter and Ellen were living at Wyreside, Hambleton with son Walter aged 9 years born at Llangoed, Anglesey, daughter Jessie aged 7 years born at Runcorn, Cheshire, son William aged 4 born at Thornton, Lancs and son Samuel aged 2 born at Hambleton, Lancs. 
1900 (December) Captain Harrison was instrumental in saving the White Star liner "Oceanic" with 2000 passengers on board (which sailed from New York) from running aground off Cleveleys during dense fog which continued for three days. After that incident the "Oceanic" always had a special greeting for Captain Harrison's boat "The Alice Linda" whenever the two met at Liverpool. One of his valued possessions was a pair of binoculars presented to him by the White Star officials in recognition of his timely action.
1901 Peter and family were living at Pool Side Cottage, Skippool Road, Poulton-le-Fylde with son's Walter, William, Samuel and daughter Jessie.
1912 Ellen, Peter's wife died age 68 on the 26th November and was buried in Runcorn Cemetery.
1931 Peter Harrison died on Tuesday the 15th December aged 90 at his daughter Jessie's house in Fleetwood. He was buried two days later in the family grave in Runcorn after a short service at Jessie's house.

I first became interested in Captain Peter Harrison about 20 years ago when a relative of his gave me a type written history of his life which I have included in this journal. I have done some research into his family, which included finding his family grave in Runcorn. Mr. George Dobson, Peter Harrison's great-grandson, kindly lent the photograph to me and gave me permission to publish it and his life story.

R.C.Watson.