William Joseph Cosens Lancaster, who was born on May 23, 1843, and died on June 10, 1922, wrote over 40 adventure books for boys, most of them set on the sea. His pen name was Harry Collingwood. Collingwood was the oldest child of Captain William Lancaster (1813-1871) and Anne, née Cosens (c. 1820-9 October 1898). Lancaster was a master mariner. His birth record says he was born at Concord Place in Weymouth, Dorset, on May 23, 1843, at 9:30 a.m. In its Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, it is said that his date of birth is given as 1851 in most sources except for his birth certificate. The date he was born is given on his application to become an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers as May 23, 1846. They had three kids, and Collingwood was the first one. His sister Ada Louise was born around 1852 and died on January 8, 1929. His sister Sarah Anne was born on June 1, 1853, and died on December 27, 1941. He was eight years old at the time of both births. There were two women in the 1871 census who worked as drapers' helpers. Collingwood's father had already died by that time, and his mother lived with her daughters until she too died. After moving out of her dad's house, Ada lived with her sister and never got married.
