Prison Escapes

Philip Dixon was also present and involved when one of the convicts named Hatter murdered the guard James Connor. Dixon states that he tried to prevent the murder by seizing the mallet from Hatter but could not overpower him before the guard was struck and instantly killed. Hatter was subsequently convicted of murder at Winchester Assizes and hanged. Along with many of the other convicts Dixon spent most days working on the gun wharf where on one occasion he managed to pick up a small file that he concealed under his sleeve and carried back to the hulk. He could not sleep on the hulk as he spent all the time thinking about his wife and family and was naturally worried about them and longed to be with them. Whilst lying awake at night Dixon’s thoughts concentrated on devising escape plans. With the other convicts fast asleep in their hammocks he began filing away at the bars on one of the port side windows. He tried to file as silently as possible but undoubtedly was heard by some of the other prisoners. He continued filing away during the next few nights, fortunately there was a strong wind outside for most of the time that he was filing and this prevented the guards above hearing any noise. By the ninth night he had created a space in the bars just large enough to squeeze through. At midnight he quietly pulled the iron bars back and levered himself up into a position from which he could escape through the gap. To his horror he found that the tide was completely out and to jump from a height into very shallow water would almost certainly result in serious injury. He decided to postpone the escape until the following night when he would try and combine his exit with high tide.