Kingswear Historians held their first meeting since the summer break and were delighted to welcome back Bill Lindsay.

Last year Bill described the rise of his great, great Grandfather, William Shaw Lindsay, from that of a humble orphan from Ayr to becoming the owner of one of the most important shipping lines in the UK which operated in the second half of the 18th century.

This year he developed his theme of emigration to the New World with a closer examination of the societies and individuals who influenced the emigration movement.

Lindsay stood as an MP for Dartmouth, but the activities of local landowner, Sir Henry Searle, including kidnapping and beer buying, meant that workers were easily bribed to support their landlord and Lindsay was beaten.

Eventually he was successful and became MP for Tynemouth.

Despite his rejection, he must have had a soft spot for Dartmouth as he used the port as a base for several of his ships that took emigrants and mail out to the New World.

The audience were intrigued to hear about the number of powerful and well-known people who supported emigration. Kingswear Historian, Richard Coe, commentated, “I was surprised to find that Dickens was involved in helping people to find opportunities and new lives in Canada and Australia.”

Lindsay met Disraeli and Gladstone, Queen Victoria and Napoleon III.

One of the key people involved with female emigration was Caroline Chisholm and Lindsay helped her find berths for women.

Bill Lindsay published a book about his ancestor a year ago and he told the audience about how, having found out about the existence of diaries kept by William. he spent several years researching the information that they held.

Next Kingswear Historians meeting will be held on October 13 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Entry is £5 .

The speaker, Ian Fraser, will tell the history behind the painting of The Fighting Temeraire which is also known as Mr Turner’s ‘darling’, an intriguing topic that will combine an historic subject with an artistic focus.