The Sad Tale of Richard Parker

Jim Brown is a Sotonian and former Southampton Police Sergeant and Chief Security & Safety Officer at the Southampton Container Terminal. Since his retirement in 1990 he has enthusiastically researched the town’s history and is the author of many books on its past. He is Vice-President of Bitterne Local History Society, a member of The Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery and the Hampshire Genealogical Society.

The book is an account of the tragic death of 17 year old Richard Parker of Itchen Ferry Village, who died at sea on July 25th 1884 after being shipwrecked in the tropics on the yacht 'Mignonette'. After a 19 days ordeal in an open boat he was killed and eaten by his shipmates, who were later convicted of his murder at a sensational trial.