Daniel Brocklebank, a distant ancestor of mine, received a letter of marque in 1779 from George III, appointing him as a royally licensed pirate as well as a shipbuilder. He duly spent some months harrying newly independent American ships before returning to England to his shipyard in Whitehaven. Following expansion to Liverpool, he and his sons, Thomas and John Brocklebank, built ships that began to trade across the world in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and I’m proud to say that salt spray remained in the Brocklebank blood.
My father shared this passion and was fascinated by lighthouses and so, for many years, I’ve wanted to voyage around
