Sea Shanty Town

Nautical Treasury

Rogerson's Bilge Hoard

Rogerson's Bilge Hoard © Graeme Walker / The Pebble Museum 2019

US Marine, Gunner Rogerson's unusual colour photograph of a hoard of dirty bottled bilge water, which he discovered stowed beneath the floorboards of the half-sunk SS Preamble during the Battle of Ite, South Pacific, 1944. Neither the owner of the bottles (who had presumably abandoned ship), nor the reason for their collection has been discovered, although many speculate that the ship's log's mention of an unending ration of shellfish may have caused rapid onset flasciphilia.