12th February 1787
My name is Connie Brown, I have lived in England my whole life with my younger sister and 5 older brothers; my parents had been sentenced to death 3 years ago for stealing food . I worked as an apprentice to a tailor and earned two shillings a week; but it wasn't enough and I always had to steal food to help feed the family. For six months I got away with it but then one day they caught me; like my parents before me I was sentenced to death.
I had to wait for 3 weeks before I was to be hanged. Through out that time I was forced to work in a factory near the prison. The week before my hanging the judge who had sentenced me was inspecting the prisoners working at the factory, I heard him mention to the guard 'transportation' and 'the need for tough prisoners' he walked past me and sadly at that point I had to be carrying a sack of coal (which looked a lot heavier then it was) he took one look at me and said "Her as well". I was shackled and my leg was chained to a group of seven other prisoners and we were marched out of the factory and down the main street in the direction of the pier.
It suddenly dawned on me that there was a chance that I was going to be transported; I wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad. I mean on one hand I wasn't being killed but on the other hand I would never see my family again and I hadn't even got a chance to say goodbye. I hung my head and kept walking in the direction of the sea and whatever fate awaited me there…