Hi,

I've been working on the Child ballads and have put nearly all the North American versions on my site. Yesterday I started a
More English & Scottish Popular Ballads section which will provide information about ballads not covered by Child.

I've started with:

1. Gosport Tragedy (The Cruel Ship's Carpenter; Pretty Polly)
   link: http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/1-the-cruel-ships-carpenter-pretty-polly.aspx
2. The Drowsy Sleeper (Awake, Awake; Silver Dagger)

If anyone has suggestions for ballads to be covered outside the Child opus- let me know.

I'm curious about Fowler's article SFLQ. He associates the ballad broadsides to a historical event, even naming the ship carpenter John Billson, who joined the Bedford (moored at Gosport) in that post on May 1, 1723, and remained there till his death on-board in September 1726.

Fowler found a crewman named Charles Stewart who was aboard the vessel at the same time.

Does anyone think that this ballad was based on these actual events?

Richie