In 1886 my grandmother, together with her parents and 6 brothers, went to live in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. After a few years her father died and being very homesick her mother decided to bring the family back to England. Mother was very poor and very pregnant with her 7th son. During the journey home she was quite ill and the ship’s captain heard of this brave lady and every evening he sent her a glass of sherry. At the end of the voyage the captain asked her to keep the glass in his memory and when, nearly 100 years later, my grandmother was very old she gave the glass to me. This little glass may have crossed the Atlantic many times and it must have given my greatgrandmother just a little happiness on that difficult voyage.

Loaned by Joan Whitaker