Midway Atoll & The Wreck of the Wandering Minstrel

Dark Histories

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In the heart of the Pacific in the late 19th century, an expedition planned by Frederick and Elizabeth Walker, turned into a nightmare. In the dead of night, their ship, The Wandering Minstrel, struck the jagged reefs of Midway Atoll, splintering beneath their feet. With no way to escape, they were stranded on a barren, wind-lashed island, surrounded by endless water and lurking predators. Days stretched into weeks and then months, as hunger, fear, and desperation set in. Worse, it appeared they shared the island with an unknown character, whose previous shipping career had almost certainly ended in murder.

SOURCES

Pearl, Matthew (2025) Save Our Souls: The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery & Murder. Harper, London, UK.

Liverpool Weekly Courier (1889) Story of the Wandering Minstrel. Liverpool Weekly Courier, Sat 22 June 1889, p2. Liverpool, UK.

Liverpool Mail (1867) Married. Liverpool Mail, Sat 11 May 1867, p7. Liverpool, UK.

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