London, Waterman's Badge,
London, Waterman's Badge, , Old Sheffield plate, circa 1803, arms of the City of London and Watermans' Company, FREE WATERMAN AT THE COMMAND OF OUR SUPERIORS, 5569, rev. an incuse version of the obverse, The silver surface now largely missing, very fine. £Sold
The watermen were initially employed by the insurance companies to act as firemen, not least because so many of the fires were near the docks packed with wooden ships.
In 1796 there were roughly 12,000 Watermen in London.
An Act of parliament from 1707 exempted those employed by the insurance companies from the naval press gangs, although this only applied to thirty men per company.
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