Historians believe they may have found the individual who may have been a person of interest in the sinking of Henry VIII's favorite flagship, the MARY ROSE, in July, 1545. He was the ship's bosun, who relayed the captain's instructions to the crew. It was his job to see that the gun ports near the water line were closed when the ship came about. When the MARY ROSE were raised in 1982, all these ports were open.
The bosun was identified when his skeleton was found with a bosun's whistle next to the remains. The bosun would have been one of only five people allowed to carry a whistle on his person. The whisle found next to him was the largest bosun call on the MARY ROSE and the only one found near any activity on board the ship.
When the MARY ROSE was raised from the bottom of the Solent, a number of the crew member's skeletal remains were found intact. The bosun's skeleton was found lying close to a cannon on deck. In the examination of this skeleton, it was determined that when alive, he stood at 5 feet, 4 inches tall, at the age of perhaps in his late 30s or early 40s. This individual worked manual labor in his youth, but had little evidence of physical exertion in his later years, which indicates he must have rose through the ranks to a position of authority at the time of his death. The bosun was one of 82 skeletal remains recovered out of an estimated 400 crew members on board the stricken vessel when she sank.
Forensic artists were able to build up the bosun's face starting with the muscle points by molding a putty like material around the head at different locations on the skull. Knowing his age, it was easy to decide his skin tone. Facial hair was added later, as it was known the individuals were allowed to have beards if they so chose during the navy of Henry VIII.
Built between 1509 and 1511, the MARY ROSE underwent many changes during her long career. She was the first English ship to fire a broadside of cannon fire. Retrieved from the sea in 1982, she is in a temporary museum until moved to a permanent boat shaped building in 2011, where all of her recovered artifacts can be viewed by an interested public.
Edited from an article from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and courtesy of CNN......Cracker's Nautical News.
Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.
Crackers 