Benjamin Gorbanson
 | The truthfulness of this article has been questioned. It is believed that some or all of its content may constitute a hoax. (October 2017) |
Benjamin Gorbanson (1561 – August 1605) was an English lookout on an English galleon by the name of Elizabeth Jonas. Gorbanson served under Robert Southwell on the Elizabeth Jonas during the Spanish Armada, and after being severely injured during the Battle of Gravelines, Gorbanson was given an honorable release from the Royal Navy.
Early life
Benjamin Gorbanson was born sometime in the summer of 1561 in East Greenwich, into a family of seafaring fishermen. He was the youngest of three boys, but was the only one to ever enlist in the Royal Navy. He was known to be a quite tolerable gentleman during the day, but when he was inebriated he was known to get into many fights.
Military Life
Gorbanson was stationed as a lookout on various trade ships for the first several years of his military career, up until the Spanish Armada. When conflict with Spain was imminent, he was moved to operate as the lookout for the galleon the Elizabeth Jonas. During the Battle of Gravelines, a cannonball struck the crow's nest and Gorbanson fell an estimated 10 meters (~33 feet). Miraculously, he survived the fall and was given an honorable release following the battle.
Later Years
After he spent almost two years recovering from the injuries he sustained from his fall, Gorbanson went to work as the lead ship builder at the Woolwich Dockyard along the River Thames in Woolwich. The story of his great fall was very well known among the workers, and on every ship constructed in the shipyard the words 'Gorbanson Nest' were engraved on each crow's nest of every ship constructed there. The HMS Vanguard was rebuilt in the Woolwich Dockyard and still exists today, and has the engraving on its crow's nest. However, the ship is privately owned as an antique.
External sources
Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing, 2009. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6 Search this book on 
..
Winfield, Rif (2010). First Rate: The Greatest Warships of the Age of Sail. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781591142645 Search this book on ..
"Spanish Armada." Notes and Queries s3-XII.304 (1867):331. Web.
References
This article "Benjamin Gorbanson" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
