For the parishes of Sculcoates, Cottingham, and Little Weighton, A few able-bodied SEAMEN or LANDMEN to serve in His Majesty’s Navy during the present War ONLY.... The Families and Friends of Volunteers will receive Monthly Pay, and the Volunteers themselves will have a bountiful supply of Cloathing, Beef, Grog, Flip, and Strong Beer, also a certainty of Prize Money, as the men entered for this service will be sent to capture the rich Spanish Galleons, and in consequence will return loaded with Dollars and Honour, to spend their Days in Peace and Plenty.
May the constitution of England endure for ever, and
the Parishioners of Sculcoates, Cottingham and
Little Weighton live to see it.
Hull, November 28th, 1796.
But the results of this ‘Recruiting for the Navy’ were not always satisfactory, notwithstanding the ‘certainty of Prize Money’ and the ‘bountiful supply of ... Grog, Flip, and Strong Beer.’[Beer.’] So recourse was had to the Press Gang, and many were the tricks practised by the captains and crews of Hull whalers to reach home safely.
The First Steamship Built on the Humber.
A ship of war was stationed in the Humber to board incoming whalers and impress men for service in the navy. To escape, numbers of the men were landed at Easington or at lonely spots farther north, and these would make their way home as best they could by land.