Letter by James Hill Daniel, first mate on the JANET WILSON of Greenock, to his sister Elizabeth in Axminster, Devon. It gives a detailed account of the wrecking of his previous vessel, the LADY GRAY of Shields, on a reef off the coast of Queensland on 1 September 1844. The crew had to take to the boats and subsist on short rations until being taken off the Sir Charles Hardy Islands by HMS FLY. Daniel was later given a berth on the JANET WILSON at Singapore and sailed for Glasgow on 19 December 1844.

Administrative / biographical background
An article on the wrecking of the LADY GRAY (or LADY GREY) can be found in the 6 January 1845 issue of 'The Times' newspaper. A record of the employment of James Hill Daniel on the LADY GRAY and JANET WILSON can be found under numbers 37930 and 6087 in the Board of Trade collection of certificates issued to masters and mates.