Jane Meace

Britain's Sea-Soldiers by Cyril Field
Liverpool 1924

Jane Meace, another lady who attempted to enlist for a Marine in 1762, was not so fortunate as Hannah Snell in evading discovery of her sex as will be seen by the following account published in Lloyd's Evening Post and British Chronicle, of 1st of December that year:

"Uttoxeter, Nov. 25.--On Thursday, the 12th instant, in the evening, a young girl in men's cloaths, came to a recruiting party of Marines at the Plume of Feathers, and inlisted; she wanted the whole bounty-money in hand, but being in want of cloathing and other necessaries, they would give her only one shilling till morning, but had the bowl of punch in, and the point of war beat; the party lay that night in one bed with her; and in the morning, one of the men laying hold of her coat over the breast, to see how it fitted, her sex was discovered. She inlisted by the name of John Meace, but her proper name is Jane Meace, and is well known in this country."