(1832–1890), entered into the British Board of Trade as a boy clerk in 1851, becoming Head of the Maritime Department by 1869, a position he held for over 20 years, becoming deeply interested in everything related to ships and seafaring.
– A handsome little steam launch, a special hobby of Mr. Thomas Gray, of the Board of Trade, and constantly employed, under the able command of Captain Pitman, R.N., in the suppression of crimps and lodging-house "runners," the two most rapacious and venomous descriptions of vermin by which the Jack of other days was preyed upon.
The Midge also, under a recent provision, boards all homeward-bound vessels on their way up the river, and offers to any of the crew who may be desirous of proceeding straight home without waiting for their pay, a ticket to the desired destination, with a sufficient advance to sustain them on the way, the balance of their wages being sent after them from the Merchant Shipping Office in the East India-Road.
The Midge is one of the smartest little craft upon the river, and is certainly one of Jack's best and most practical friends.A variant of this poem was featured in "The Donkeyman's Widow" by Guy Gilpatric, a Glencannon story which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, 29 January 1938.
The Marine Society awards medals each year to recognise "deeds of professional merit" in relation to any aspect of seafaring.