Death and Glories
From Arthur Ransome Wiki
- As these characters almost invariably appear together, information about them is combined here
- Bill redirects here; not to be confused with Red-haired Bill, ship's boy on board the Viper, later crew member of the Wild Cat
The Death and Glories are the crew of the eponymous Death and Glory. Their names are Joe, Bill and Pete, and they are usually mentioned in that order, which seems to reflect their ranking within the crew and their relative ages. Bill and Pete are the two engines of the Death and Glory. Their fathers are all boat-builders.
Joe is skipper of Death and Glory and owner of a white rat, Ratty. Joe's Dad works for Hannams boatbuilders in Horning.
Bill is apparently second-in-command. He is Chief cook of Death and Glory (BS21). Bill's Aunt Alice works at the Ferry Inn (BS14). Bill is the only crew member of Death and Glory who has a bike (BS15).
Pete is the youngest of the Death and Glories, thus often addressed as "young Pete". He is the keenest fisherman in the crew (cf: St Peter). His father is also called Peter (BS2).
In sketch notes, Arthur Ransome listed their names as Joe Southgate, Bill Jenkins and Peter (sic) Woods (Ransome's draft for Coot Club quoted in LAR10). Pete's father is called Peter as well. Pete might therefore be Peter Woods Jr.
[edit] Appearances
- Coot Club: their encounter with the Hullabaloos precipitates the making of Tom Dudgeon an outlaw; they help him to keep a low profile and later they rescue the stricken Margoletta.
- The Big Six: arguably the central characters, falsely accused they struggle to clear their names with the help of the Coot Club.
- 'Coots in the North': firmly earned a place as central characters, they stow away in a boat on a transporter lorry that is going to the Lake in the North in an attempt to meet the Ds.
