Richard Wouldhave - Mariner (RI051) 1772-1838

Richard Wouldhave was born May 1772 in Hull and died in May 1838 in North Shields.

Parents

Richard’s father was Richard Wouldhave (RI050). Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, he was apprenticed to Anthony Stanley, Master Mariner in July 1775, in Hull. Richard married Mary Grey at Holy Trinity in Hull in Feb 1769. They had four children

• Jenny born Dec 1769, died in Hull 1783
• Richard (RI051) born May 1772
• Elizabeth born Dec 1774, died in Hull 1782
• Mary born Jun 1777, died in Hull 1778.
• Richard (RI050) died in 1783 and was buried in Hull. His widow, Mary remarried in 1787.

The Pandora

Following his apprenticeship as a mariner, in October 1790 Richard was on a boat near Spithead when he was pressganged onto the Superbe Tender of the Royal William at Spithead.

He was transferred to the Pandora later that month and joined the crew as an Ordinary Seaman, although he did not take the Kings Shilling and therefore was not Royal Navy. He was promoted to Able Seaman April 1791.

In November 1790, Captained by Edward Edwards, the Pandora sailed in search of HMS Bounty and the mutineers. Although the ship located some of the mutineers, several of whom surrendered, neither Fletcher Christian nor the Bounty (which had been scuttled by this time) was found. The mutineers were manacled and locked away in a makeshift prison, referred to as "Pandora's Box".

The ship had a futile search lasting more than three months and visiting most of the major Polynesian island groups west of Tahiti. Eventually the ship began to run short on supplies. At the end of August 1791 the ship sailed too close to a reef and was grounded. Efforts to free it proved fruitless and the ship sunk within 24hours. Loss of life included four Bounty men and 31 of the crew.

The survivors, eighty-nine of the crew and ten prisoners, spent three days on one of the sand cays near the wreck. During this time the four boats were prepared for the arduous voyage to Timor where the survivors hoped to find passage on ships bound for Europe. The survivors sailed 1100 nautical mile (2100 km) in open boats to Timor. Eventually 78 of the crew members made it home to England in summer 1792.

Today the Pandora is one of the most significant shipwrecks in the Southern Hemisphere. The Queensland Museum has been excavating the wreck and piecing together the Pandora puzzle since 1983. Their website gives a full account of the Pandora’s voyage, its crew and the mutineers. Visit the site!

After returning to England

Richard married in North Shields; it is likely he made his home with relations on his father’s side (his mother had by this time remarried and he had no surviving siblings).

He married Anne Whately in Dec 1793 at Christchurch Tynemouth. Their first child, Richard (RI101) was born in Nov 1794. His second child, Mason (probably named after his Father in law, Mason Whately) died shortly after birth in 1796 and his wife died a couple of weeks later.

His second wife was Elaeanor Whately, Anne’s sister. They married in Wallsend in 1799. He died in May 1838 in the Bull Ring, North Shields.