By J Brandon Wilgus The wrecker looms as a grim figure in maritime history. Often impoverished, these Cornish brigands, distant from the authorities in London, found a murderous way to gain wealth. According to contemporary stories, wreckers drew merchants onto the hidden rocks and shifting shoals of the Cornish Coast to ruin ships and…Continue Reading “Cornish Wrecking and the Caribbean”
My connection to the Flying Enterprise is deeply personal. During my early years in the fishing industry, the wreck of this famous vessel featured regularly in my working life. The story of the Flying Enterprise – which captivated Cornwall and the entire nation in 1952 – always felt close at hand, not just as a…Continue Reading “The Last Voyage of the Flying Enterprise: Fact, Fiction, and Mystery”
This poem was written in Zennor in 2000. I had travelled to Cornwall to see friends, particularly Ian Caple (Ei), who wasn’t well. Unfortunately, on my way down I heard that he had died. Ian was an inspirational member of the St. Just community: a musician (saxophone), artist, philosopher and printer he was instrumental in…Continue Reading “Millennium Shaft (for Ian)”
A Cornish Dialect series by Tony Mansell It was noon on the 14th February 1939 and our two heroes were ensconced in the pub. The significance of the date was not lost to them as they savoured their first beer of the day. Well, the first since two o’clock that morning. Jan had been happily…Continue Reading “The Life and Times of Sidney Zacharius Penpraze – The Valentine Card”
John Passmore Edwards By Dean Evans John Passmore Edwards (1823–1911) was a Cornish born journalist, publisher, philanthropist and Radical politician whose life bridged Chartism, Liberal radicalism and the early labour movement. Briefly Liberal MP for Salisbury in the 1880s, he later described himself as a “Corporation Socialist”, believing that local authorities should provide essential…Continue Reading “Was Passmore Edwards a Green?”
Tidal Mills By Tony Mansell The concept of using natural movement to produce power has fascinated mankind for generations. Our forefathers recognised that it could be harnessed to provide power and contributed to the wealth of the communities which they served. But to harness the movement of the sea, well that’s another matter! Converting it…Continue Reading “Tidal Mills”