Nottingham's Cannibal Pirate Spy - Captain John Deane of Wilford

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In this very first episode of East Midlands Chronicles, my guest is Adam Nightingale, a Nottinghamshire historian who specialises in the more unusual and often grizzly history of the county.

We'll be talking about Captain John Deane, a sailor from Wilford, who after being marooned on a small island off the American coast, was forced to eat one of his crew mates to survive. After becoming infamous as a result, he fled to Russia where he was taken into the confidence of the Tsar, before being cast aside and having to turn to spying for England.

You can read more about Captain John Deane in Adam's book The Shipwreck Cannibals: Captain John Deane and the Boon Island Fleshing Eating Scandal.

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Trailer - Welcome to East Midlands Chronicles

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 20:49:05 +0000

Welcome to the new East Midlands Chronicles podcast, hosted by Tom Andrews, with the support of the Nottinghamshire Local History Association, and the University of Derby. In this podcast, we will be exploring the often lesser known histories of the East Midlands region, with expert guests and a broad range of topics.

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