Sailor Bill & Mary

Tales of the Sea

SAILOR BILL & MARY, Tales of the Sea documents the voyages and stories of Sailor Bill as he grows from apprentice to master mariner during the transition from sailing ships to steamships during the 1880's to 1900. Sailor Bill & Mary describes their lives and family in England before immigrating to Canada in 1913. The challenges of adapting from a life on the sea to farming in rural Manitoba and earning a living during World War I and the Great Depression are described as Bill moves from farming, to the army, to the railroad, and bootlegging during the Prohibition. Through it all Mary provides steadfast support with a husband away from home for long periods of time, bouts of malaria, chronic alcoholism, and the loss and injury of their sons to the ravages of the Great War and the Great Flu. Sailor Bill and Mary move yet again to British Columbia where Sailor Bill has another go at working on the coastal ships before retiring and recounting his tales in local pubs and on CJOR radio. Sailor Bill & Mary is a historical account of their remarkable life.