DAVIDW 1,674 Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 Probably a greater story than Robinson Crusoe but this actually happened . 24 year old George Vason , son of butcher Richard Vason of North Muskham had come to Nottingham to work as a builder but in 1798 joined with a group of Baptist missionaries to the South Seas on the ship "Duff" . After a scary eventful journey outward , they landed in Tonga and initially were treated well by the natives . The main early troubles were caused by a couple of resident British sailors who had earlier mutinied from a ship and probably resented the newcomers . Vason stopped trying to convert the savages and went native . Forsaking European clothes he had many tattoos and also practiced polygamy , one of his wives being a chiefs daughter . After a peaceful few years in which Vason got his own land and taught the natives some cultivation , there were a series of bloody civil wars , culminating in Vason managing to escape with his life by diving from a canoe pursued by the natives . Despite forgetting his English language , after so many years , a waiting British ship picked him up , amazed to find a tattoed Englishman in native dress on their deck. He was dropped off in New York eventually and worked as a sailor on American ships before returning to Nottingham . Amazingly he became governor of the Nottingham Jail , a position he held for 18 years until his death in 1838 . He and his wife Mary (Leivers) were both buried in a grave at the old Mount St Cemetery . All the graves were removed from this cemetery in the 1930s to make way for a new road . Fuller story here using newspaper reports ...... would make a good film ! https://djwilson22.wordpress.com/2020/10/02/george-vason-of-nottingham-c1773-1838-and-his-south-seas-adventures/ 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,435 Posted October 3, 2020 Report Share Posted October 3, 2020 I knew I'd seen a reference to Mount Street Cemetery somewhere else recently ! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DAVIDW 1,674 Posted October 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2020 Yes Cliff Ton but after further research extra info on this version Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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