With a ship full of strangers, all travelling, living and eating together in close quarters for 60 days, who was to be trusted? Everyone had their own motives, ambitions and past lives, which many were keen to get away from and start afresh…. With tensions running high and stowaways hiding in plain sight, were those onboard willing to engage in traitorous behaviour to get what they wanted and survive on the ship?
Bad News at Breakfast
The Celebrity Traitors weren’t the only ones hearing bad news at breakfast as, on 1 September 1853, a diary entry reported: “Heard that the larder had been robbed last night of all the cold meat intended for breakfast. The sailors are supposed to be the delinquents, but no one has yet been found out”.
Just as the faithful in The Traitors spend their time roaming the castle discussing suspicions and theories, it’s easy to imagine the bored passengers of the SS Great Britain attempting to solve the ‘crimes’ in a bid to pass time on long voyages. Even without evidence, this didn’t stop the passengers casting their judgment on the innocent sailors!
Tensions run high
Whether in the Traitor’s castle or aboard the SS Great Britain, tension is inevitable between groups people confined together. With the added pressure of food rations under threat, reports of fighting between passengers were frequently noted in diary entries, including one on 26 November 1873 that stated: ‘”here are generally a couple of fights every day, sometimes they get put in irons and slung up back-to-back for half an hour on the forecastle with their toes just touching the deck”.
Whether or not these punishments worked, it’s clear that towards the end of the voyage is when tensions came to a head after long stints at sea. A diary entry from 17 April 1857 stated: “It is a good thing that we are so near the end of the voyage for people are beginning to find out the failings of others.” With the end in sight for both the Celebrity Traitors and the passengers of the SS Great Britain, the cracks start to show as relationships become more strained.
Stowaways and subterfuge
Unlike in the Traitors’ castle, it was impossible to banish wrongdoers whilst at sea! Stowaways who were caught red-handed were put to work for the rest of the passage – causing later stowaways to get creative with their hiding spots. Two men in 1846 were even found “concealed in the cow house”! Another entry from 26 October 1863, noted that three stowaways were found “in boxes and their friends have brought them their food, but they have been turned out today and will be made to work their passage”. A successful ‘banishment’ for the fellow faithful passengers!
In true Traitors style, some passengers were caught lying about their identities. One example saw a young child lie about his age to gain passage as crew. This was noted in a diary dated 2 February 1864 which read: “Philip Le Brun, Ship’s Boy, turns 12. He lied about his age when joining in Australia, saying he was 14”. Whatever his reasons for the deception, a boy of 11 working aboard the ship goes to prove the desperation and lengths some people went to escape their circumstances back home.
Another passenger who tried a similar deception using a fake name, however, did not get away with it and was ‘banished’ before the ship set off. A diary entry from 19 May 1867 documented this as it was noted:
“Passenger taken into custody just before the vessel sailed. William Williams who was guilty of being a ‘defaulter’ boarded the SS Great Britain with his wife and four children under the assume surname name ‘John Black’. He was taken into custody before the ship departed.” Some deceptions were clearly better than others, as there were many reports of people being removed from the ship before setting sail!
The ultimate betrayal…
During critical moments in The Traitors, sacrifices are made, often resulting in the faithful left by the wayside. In one heartbreaking example aboard the SS Great Britain in 1853, this decision was made by the captain after Robert Ramsey fell from the mast, and due to the ship’s speed, decided to sail onwards leaving him behind. Annie Henning noted in her diary; ‘It seemed so dreadful to sail on leaving him to perish’.
If you’re interested in hearing more tales from those who lived and worked onboard the SS Great Britain, delve into the Global Stories database to see our vast collection of diary entries that reveal more tales of treachery on the high seas. Or return to the scene of the crime! Come aboard and walk amongst the very places where the thieves & stowaways struck.
