Was Long John Silver a peg-legged Welshman? The real pirate could have born near Rhyl

It's a twist worthy of any great adventure story – Long John Silver was based on a Welsh adventurer in the West Indies, researchers claim.

They say that Robert Louis Stevenson modelled his classic novel Treasure Island on the lives of Owen and John Lloyd, brothers born in the town of Rhuddlan, North Wales.

Owen is believed to have sailed to the West Indies and went on to bury 52 chests of Spanish silver pieces of eight on the deserted Norman Island, part of the British Virgin Islands.

And John had a wooden leg – just like the book’s famous character.

Memorable: Long John Silver (left, as portrayed by Eddie Izzard) is the most iconic character from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, right



The men initially carved out careers as respected merchant captains, but turned to piracy when a storm forced a stricken Spanish galleon filled with booty to seek refuge in the American seaport of Ocracoke in 1750.

The pair, who had bitter experience at the hands of the Spaniards in what was called King George’s War, exacted their revenge by sailing away with the treasure.

Following a nine-year investigation, author John Amrhein is adamant that the brothers, who were born near the resort of Rhyl, were the inspiration for Stevenson’s famous book.

His claims contradict the long-held belief that Stevenson’s pirate was based on his close friend, the poet and editor William Henley, who also had one leg.

Mr Amrhein points out that the date on the Treasure Island map matches the month and year of the Ocracoke raid, and the book’s notorious Captain Flint appears to be named after the pair’s home county of Flintshire.

Influence: Long John Silver, inspiration for the popular Pirates of the Caribbean series, may have his origins in North Wales

He said: ‘There would be no Pirates of the Caribbean without Treasure Island, and there would be no Treasure Island without the daring theft of Spanish treasure at Ocracoke.

‘I re-read Treasure Island and was reminded that Stevenson’s Treasure Island contained a map dated August 1750 – it was in August of 1750 that the hurricane brought the galleon of Juan Manuel Bonilla to Ocracoke.’

Mr Amrhein, who lives near Ocracoke in North Carolina, enlisted the help of a team of researchers, including staff at the National Library of Wales.

He said: ‘Llona Jones at the National Library of Wales made the connection of John and Owen Lloyd hailing from Rhuddlan. In London, in the Admiralty records, we found John Lloyd giving his age and birthplace – Wales.

Fierce: The vicious pirate, played by Orson Welles in the 1972 film of Treasure Island, may have been based on a pair of buccaneering brothers

‘In the archives of the Netherlands we found the testimony of Owen Lloyd about the stolen treasure. He stated his age, birth month, and that he was born in Wales.’

Maggi Blythin, a genealogist who lives in Rhuddlan, was astonished to hear of the possible link to her home town, and after examining local archives found proof showing the two brothers had been born there.

She said: ‘Owen and John’s father Vincent died in Rhuddlan and so we didn’t find out an awful lot more after that. They had eight children and Owen and John were born in Rhuddlan.

‘I think it is very likely that Robert Louis Stevenson was influenced by their story.’ Mr Amrhein’s findings, which are detailed in his book, Treasure Island: The Untold Story, undermines the theory that Stevenson modelled Long John Silver – who was famously portrayed on- screen by Robert Newton – on William Henley.

Henley, who had his left leg amputated as a child, was described by Stevenson’s stepson as having ‘a big red beard and a crutch’ and being ‘jovial’ and ‘astoundingly clever, with a laugh that rolled like music’.

The Monterey Historical Society in America, which aims to preserve the historical past of the United States, has backed Mr Amrhein’s work.

Back in Britain, Neil Ross of Edinburgh’s Robert Louis Stevenson Club, said: ‘It is certainly a very interesting theory and shouldn’t be discounted, although the model for Long John Silver is traditionally thought to have been William Henley.