The Harry mystery

But what about Harry? Who was he? Why were his bones found in another part of the wreck, near the captain's storeroom? Did he have a good reason for being in or near the storeroom at the time of the sinking?

If he did have a good reason, perhaps he was Robert Bowler, the Purser's Steward, who happened to be in the storeroom going about his daily routine when the Pandora struck the reef, or he had been sent down into the storeroom to get something of value at Captain Edwards' request. In which case this would have happened within two hours of striking the reef, given that Edwards' "Report" mentions that the hull was leaking, and within this time the level of water in the hold had risen to 8 feet (Thompson, 1915:72). Located on the platform deck, the storeroom would have been more or less entirely inundated after this, especially if the vessel was listing to starboard.

Or he was Alexander Arbuthnott, who, being the Sailmaker's Mate, may have been sent below to assist with repairs, especially as these included attempts to use a sail for "thrumbing" and "fothering" the hull (Hamilton, 1998:105; Thompson, 1915:72).

Was Harry just a thief?

Or was he Robert Brown, the Carpenter's Mate? He was another crew member with a good reason to be below decks while making repairs to the damaged hull.

Possibly the rising water trapped Harry while the Pandora wallowed. Or was he struck or trapped by floating cargo items while working to repair the damage?

Bowler, Arbuthnott and Brown are all possible candidates, in light of what can be surmised about the situation onboard at the time of the vessel striking, and the crew's efforts to save their ship during the night.

Alternatively, Harry may just have been an opportunistic thief, who was bent on some easy pickings from the storeroom and was trapped below decks as the ship foundered. Or perhaps, he was just a scared and confused sailor, who was there to indulge in the captain's private wine stores; thinking perhaps that to get roaring drunk one last time would be a better way to die.

No doubt, it would be possible to think of various other scenarios and speculate about why Harry was in that part of the ship. But, unless relevant new documents-i.e. new eyewitness accounts-are found, the actual sequence of events will never be reconstructed with certainty.