Title: William Schaw Lindsay MP: From Cabin Boy to Shipping Magnate
Speaker: Bill Lindsay

This is a rags to riches true story - Lindsay was Bill’s great-great-grandfather, who had an amazing life. Born in Ayr in 1815, he was orphaned aged 10, ran away to sea as a teenager and within 9 years was a captain of an ocean-going vessel. He retired from the sea, set up a shipbroking Company in London which very quickly became one of the largest in Britain. His ships were involved in emigration, the Crimean War, and the American Civil War. He then became an MP and met many famous Victorians and his diaries are full of anecdotes on them. They include Brunel, Nightingale, Dickens, Disraeli, Lincoln, Queen Victoria, and many more. Bill recently published his biography.

After retiring from a career in pharmaceutical marketing, Bill Lindsay has focussed on Victorian Merchant Shipping. He is Editor to the Online magazine Topmasts for the Society for Nautical Research. He is a member of many Historical Societies and has published articles on merchant shipping.