Henry Freeman (1835–1904)

This article is about the Whitby lifeboatman. For other uses, see Henry Freeman (disambiguation).
Henry Freeman wearing a cork flotation jacket. The Sutcliffe Gallery.

Henry Freeman (29 April 1835 – 13 December 1904) was a Whitby fisherman and lifeboatman.

Born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, Henry worked in his youth as a brickmaker. He was successful at his work rising to the position of manager. With the decline of the brick trade Henry turned to the sea and fishing.

He moved to Whitby and became a fisherman and a lifeboatman. Henry was the only survivor of the Whitby Lifeboat disaster of 9 February 1861. A great storm wrecked more than 200 ships on the east coast. The Whitby lifeboat crew launched five times to rescue stricken vessels, but on their sixth launch, tragedy struck. A freak wave hit the lifeboat, which capsized and all but one of the crew were lost. Freeman survived because he was wearing a new design of cork lifejacket. He was awarded an RNLI Silver Medal for the courage and determination he displayed that day, and later become the Whitby RNLI Coxswain.[1] Freeman was a lifeboatman for more than 40 years, 22 years as coxswain. He participated in many rescues and saved many lives and became a respected ambassador for the lifeboat cause and a prominent spokesman for his fellow fishermen. In 1880 he was awarded a second RNLI Silver Medal.[2]

Late in life he married his deceased wife Elizabeth's widowed sister Emma, an action that was illegal at that time. He died on December 13, 1904 at the age of age 69. His story is retold in Storm Warrior by Ian Minter & Ray Shill.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "RNLI History Whitby Lifeboat Disaster".
  2. ↑ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry.

External links

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