Jack Crawford was born on 22nd March 1775 at Pottery Bank  when, in a  fierce battle in 1797 on board the HMS Venerable,  part of the Venerable's mast was felled, including the admiral's flag. Lowering the Admiral's personal flag was a sign of surrender, and even if unintentional  this was unacceptable. Despite being under intense gunfire, Crawford climbed the mast and nailed the colours to the top, showing the Dutch attackers the identity of the ship.  The  phrase 'nail your colours to the mast' is thought to have referred to that incident.

Sadly, he became  one of the first victims of the cholera epidemic of 1831 and was buried in an unmarked "pauper's" grave.