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A big crew with a big heart

By John Nurden, Ade Collins and Mark Jenkins*

The first the public knew about the Sheppey Pirates was an appeal from Minster who found himself press-ganged into this role. Even at his work in Kemsley Paper Mill, in the Sheerness Times Guardian and the Sheppey Gazette on 5 July, 1997. It read: “Wanted: Pirates for Treasure Island” and was a whacky attempt by John Nurden to put the Isle of Sheppey back on the tourist map. In March, 1997, businessman Bill Bishop and John had put together a five-year plan called ‘Selling Sheppey’ to market the Island. The ‘Sheerness Show’ would become ‘Sheppey Pirate Week’, featuring the first World Walking the Plank Championship.

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A news release seeking a ‘Captain Cutlass’ for Sheppey was issued. It was Adrian Collins, a 28-year-old instrument technician it was said, “Ade always dressed like a pirate”. His colleagues even called him Son of Blackbeard. Ade was a member of and campaigner for the Monster Raving Loony Party and had been ‘Pirating’ with them for a few years. On Sunday, 17 August, 1997, the stage was set for the World Walking the Plank Championship at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. It had been decided to strap a gangplank (scaffolding board) to the side of Neptune’s Jetty at high water so spectators could gather on the beach to witness the display. Donations would be collected for the RNLI. There had been features appearing in the local press, together with stories in national papers such as the Daily Mail, The Guardian and the Weekly News – in advertising terms, the coverage was worth more than a quarter of a million pounds. The event was a news feature on the BBC, ITN’s Meridian programme and BBC Radio Kent, with the winner being interviewed broadcast on American and Australian radio networks. A second championship committee was formed in 1998 and the Sheppey Pirates was launched with Ade Collins as Captain. As the event was threatened by logistical problems and bad weather, it was moved in its entirety to Queenborough Harbour.

By the third year, there were contestants from Denmark, France and the USA. A film crew from Japan turned up and even insisted its presenter take part! During this year, some of those taking part began to investigate authentic piracy – its history, customs, weapons and clothing.

The fourth battle of the plank dawned on Sunday, August 13, 2000, with a Junior Pirates Day and water-fight at Barton’s Point Coastal Park. Captain Cutlass was even named in The Sun newspaper’s top ten

list of UK oddballs in 2001 under the headline ‘Cream of Crackers’.

The crew were joined by the giant six-foot tall Sheppey Amazon girls Vulcano, Flame and White Water. One (June Collins) was later to change her name to Skavenger and then Anne Bonny and went on to become Mrs Cutlass!

They borrowed a 50 ft long ship, the ‘Salty Sea Pig’ (real name the ’White Dolphin) for the sixth championships in 2002. It was a replica 17th Century ship, built by Graham Martin, but by then owned by Simon Mowat. In 2006, she was replaced by stand-in ship ‘Edith’. The ‘Pig’ was stranded on the River Medway in 2009 and was succeeded by the retired Dutch-built tug ‘Sir Hendrik’.

The Sheppey’s joined in as authentically-dressed pirates with other crews at the South West Pirate Festival run by Ed Fox and his crew ‘Bonaventure’, which was formed in 2003. This was held at Morwellan Quay, Devon, and by then the Sheppey’s were using their own cannon! It was at this event in 2006 that Captain Ade proposed to June, who happily said, “yes”.

Later, the Sheppey’s joined in with other crews at the Brixham Pirate Festival, fighting on the ‘Golden Hind’ replica in the town’s harbour, and forming strong links with the Colchester Historical Re-enactment Society, ‘The Sea Wolves’ (later becoming ‘The Greyhounds of St Edmund’) and meeting Paul Winter of a group called Black Flag, who was to found the wellrespected River Rogues. The Sheppey’s also attended events at HMS Endeavour of Captain James Cook fame in Stockton on Tees and at Fort Amherst in Kent.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was released in the UK on 8 August, 2003. This increased the public’s interest in pirates and their role in the history of those times, so a new feature at many events from then on was the appearance of ‘Captain Jack Sparrow’ and other cosplayers representing the crews of what was to become a highly successful series of films in the Disney franchise.

Today’s Sheppey Pirates have become much more of a living history group, wearing reproduction period clothing, recounting tales of reallife pirates, demonstrating navigation, sword-fighting, boarding pike, musket drill and firing pistols, blunderbusses, grenade launchers and, of course, cannon. Often portraying a Careening Camp to scrape the barnacles off, borrowing locals’ tents to stay dry. The public attending our events expect to see certain things like Tricorns (Cocked hats), so you will see some being worn, but the Sheppey’s do try and keep it as authentic as possible.

The Walking the Plank Championship needed help to cover the insurance and the event was rescued by Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame of Faversham, in 2004 and by the Isle of Sheppey Round Table in 20025 and 2007.

The 13th and final plankwalk was held on Sunday, 15 August, 2010. During the event, disrespectful teenagers were reported to the police for trespassing over moored boats and, subsequently, some of the land needed for any future event became unavailable. There were also reports of eggs being thrown at the

On Sunday, 17 August, 1997, the stage was set for the World Walking the Plank Championship at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey

lifeboat crews, which led to a decision to pull the plug on one of Sheppey’s most popular attractions.

The Pirates’ Invasion and water-fight kept getting bigger and when the plankwalking was finally abandoned after the disappointing behaviour in 2010, it became Sheppey’s number one attraction, with thousands flocking to Barton’s Point to meet the pirates, get soaked and listen to live bands. The pirates were soon billing it as ‘probably’ the world’s biggest water-fight. Free open-air films began to be shown on the Friday night.

Legoland launched the Pirates of the Caribbean Lego range in 2011 and the Sheppey’s had a big enough membership to provide a crew of 60, adding some excitement to the whole two weeks of the promotion. That same year, they were invited to the launch of the William Kidd exhibition at the London Docklands Museum.

During the last few years, Brixham Pirate Festival, Military Odyssey and the Harwich International Shanty Festival (via the River Rogues) had become regular fixtures before Covid-19 put paid to events. The crew also made occasional forays to Whitby Pirate Festival, including an

Top: June Collins of Sheppey Pirates can parry any thrust (picture courtesy of James Hughes). Centre: All at sea with the brave crew of the Sheppey Pirates (picture courtesy of James (Obi Ron) Medhurst). Bottom: Miss Sheppey was one of the contestants in the first World Plank Walking Championships.

unscheduled invasion of the Abbey.

At the Kent Showground, Detling, the Sheppey’s would sometimes substitute as French irregulars when the French Napoleonic forces failed to attend. On one occasion, the fleet of foot and quick thinking ‘Earl’ and ‘Lucky’ from the crew flummoxed the British ranks by running between the two formations and dropped to the floor as they then fired on each other. In another battle James, ‘Skelly’ and ‘Lucky’ held the British at bay with a large fence rail. Sometimes, the crew also raided the Viking encampment for fun, once temporarily capturing their longship.

In 2018, the fund-raising water-fight for charity had to be abandoned when the Barton’s Point venue organiser cancelled at the last minute, stating that the event had become “too big” for her. The crew moved their living history camp that year to the Sheppey Rugby Club, where there were, unfortunately, no water games, but plenty of live bands and the everpopular ‘Beat the pirate’.

Sheppey Pirates are a crew with a big heart and often team up to work with other re-enactment groups, notably the 79th Cameron

Highlanders, Hearts of Oak, King’s German Legion, Miquelets de Catalunya, River Rogues, Sea Fencibles, Tempus Experimenta and the Wimborne Militia.

They will return to Brixham after restrictions have ended and in 2021, they plan to attend the Military Odyssey at Detling and the Shanty Festival in Harwich. Meanwhile, some of the crew are volunteering to help renovate the site at Fort Amhurst when conditions allow.

*Information supplied by Sea Scribe John Nurden (Scurvy Dog) and Captain Ade Collins (Captain Cutlass). Material collated and edited by crew member Mark Jenkins (Mad Dog).

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