Born into a family of generations of mariners, Albert John Emptage earnt his living by the sea, having begun to work with boats at the age of eight. Whilst he had a turbulent domestic life, his skill at sea was undisputed. Albert was a member of the Margate lifeboat service for 40 years, many of them as coxswain. It was not just his height which made him a ‘giant of a man’.
Bonaparte’s Hat
The story of an encounter with a veteran boat man named Hemptage and of his meeting with Napoleon Bonaparte. Why was it so important?