Memoirs of a Seafaring Life

The Narrative Of William Spavens, Pensioner Of The Naval Chest At Chatham

Dr. Rodger provides an informative Introduction to William Spavens’s Narrative first published in Lincolnshire in 1796. This is one of only a handful of 18th century first-hand accounts of the lives of ordinary seamen. William Spavens was at sea in the 1750’s and 1760’s, taking part in the Seven Years’ War. Slipcase illustration is “His Majesty’s Ship ‘Glatton’ . . . attacking a French Squadron on the night of 15 July 1796 (an engraving by Robert Dodd 19 December 1796 from the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich).