It's a small pub; just a few chairs and tables on the cobbled Wapping streets.

The person behind the bar is dressed in full army regalia, buttons polished to a shine.

‘So...'
They smile knowingly
'You’ll be wanting to hear my story? The story of the Widow in Masquerade?’ 1/

Today I want to share the story of one of the favourite people I have researched in a long time!

This is the (very truncated) story of the Widow in Masquerade, AKA the Female Soldier AKA Hannah Snell. 2/

*I will be using the pronouns she/her for this story, although arguably they/them and he/him could be deemed appropriate. Based on writings about Hannah this is for me the closest to how she would have described herself. But as you will see Hannah defied convention! 3/

Hannah was born in Worcester in 1723. It is said that at a young age she would play soldiers (although this may have been made up later). Either way you get the sense of a young person who did not act or behave the way 18th century society expected her to. 4/

At the age of 17 Hannah was married to a Dutch sailor called James Summes, by today’s standards this is incredibly young but at the time this was not a particularly surprising occurrence.

Hannah would become pregnant soon after the marriage, but was then abandoned by James. 5/

Hannah gave birth to a little girl who she called Susanna. Sadly, only one year later Susanna would die. Infant mortality being incredibly high at the time. Young Hannah was devastated. 6/

This is where Hannah’s story takes a surprising turn; she decides she is going to track down her runaway husband and confront him. So she decides on a course of action that would define her life story… 7/

Hannah’s brother in law was a man named James Grey. Hannah decided to assume his identity; She took his suit, cut her hair, padded her stomach to hide her chest, and even took his name.

For the next 9 years, Hannah would be James. 8/

Hannah/James went on a quest to find her husband, she followed the trail which lead to a surprising place: Her husband had been convicted of murder and had been executed!

It’s here you might expect Hannah to return to her previous life… well… she didn’t! 9/

Hannah joins the army of the Duke of Cumberland, fighting against Bonnie Prince Charlie. Later she would join the Marines and travel to Lisbon, Mauritius and Pondicherry.

As James, Hannah travelled the world and became a fearsome soldier and sailor. 10/

During this time Hannah experienced all manner of trials and tribulations. At one point trying to desert the army it is said she was caught and received 500 lashes. She was also severely wounded in her legs and her groin. 11/

One story suggests Hannah may have performed surgery on herself to remove a bullet from between her legs rather than going to a doctor. Either that or she may have asked a local woman to help her in secret. 12/

The story also goes that Hannah became engaged to a woman whilst docked at port, apparently courting her and going through the whole process until the eve of the wedding night, when she fled! 13/

It is only in 1750, at the age of 27, that with her crewmates around her, Hannah told her story announcing to all present that she was in fact a woman.
The story would travel quickly through 18th century England, becoming a staple of gossip and headlines. 14/

Hannah, who had now left the army, was also petitioning for her pension (a pension due to every soldier who had served for a certain length of time.) The courts refused as they claimed that Hannah had lied and as a woman was not entitled to any money. /15

Being a showman and canny self-promoter, Hannah took to the stage in full army dress, posed for paintings and spoke publicly about her tale.

The public saw her as a scandalous oddity, but there was clearly a love for her incredible story. The story of ‘The Female Soldier’. /16

In the end Hannah was paid her pension, a huge feat for the time. She then opened a pub in Wapping called ‘The Widow In Masquerade’.

The pub would almost certainly have attracted punters for the opportunity to see Hannah, the infamous widow in question, and hear her story. /17

Sadly this story has a bittersweet ending… with the emphasis on the bitter...

After leaving London, remarrying twice and having two children, Hannah was said to suffer from mental health issues which had been plaguing her for some time. /18

Whether these were actually issues, or more about a society that could not handle a fierce, independent and queer woman is up for discussion.

Either way she ended up in the infamous Bethlehem asylum in 1791 at the age of 68. /19

Only two months later, Hannah died. We don’t know how or why, but we can be sure the terrible and inhumane conditions of the ‘Hospital’ (also known as Bedlam) were at least partly responsible. /20

Still, one positive ending note: Hannah is buried in the Royal Hospital Chelsea Burial Ground amongst all the other soldiers. Irrespective of the gender assigned at birth, Hannah was treated in death with the same esteem and reverence as any other soldier. /21