Friends in high places

Graham Loveluck-Edwards

The history of the south Wales coastal regions is strewn with stories of wreckers, pirates and smugglers.

Most people have heard of Henry Morgan and Black Bart but an altogether lesser known but no less entertaining pirate from these shores, was a man called John Callice.

The details of his birth and early life are not known. We believe that is because he was low born. More than likely to a peasant family somewhere in Glamorgan in the early sixteenth century.

As a young man he moved to London and joined the Royal Navy in 1571. The English Navy had received its first Royal Charter in 1536. He prospered and enjoyed a meteoric career.

By 1574 he was put in command of his first ship. Which is an impressive bit of career progression for anyone, but especially someone of his social class in the Tudor period.

It was in 1574 he seized an Italian merchant ship and sold off her cargo in Cardiff and Bristol, making a fortune.

After that he plundered mercilessly, and he would frequently dispose of his cargos in south Wales, where he had developed a network of landowners and Royal officials, including the Vice-Admiral to at best turn a blind eye to his activities or at worst, lend a hand.

He obviously had other friends in high places, because in May 1577, after he had been arrested and charged with six major cases of piracy, Queen Elizabeth I herself pardoned him. She did so at the request of the King of Scotland.

Everything about that is weird.

The King of Scotland in 1577 was James VI. The man who in 1603 would ultimately become King James I of England as well as James VI of Scotland. In 1577 however, he was only 11 years old.

You would have to ask, how on earth would a Welsh born peasant, only 8 years after joining the Navy, have a social network that included the 11-year-old King of Scotland? Or even someone who knew the King of Scotland?

Anyway, it worked. He was pardoned and as soon as he was released, he fled the country and headed to the Caribbean, where, for British naval officers, plundering Spanish ships was a way of life.

He served under several privateer captains until taking command of his own ship, a captured French galleon. He eventually died in battle in the Mediterranean.

This is an extract from Graham Loveluck-Edwards’ new book, called “Scoundrels Cads and Vagabonds from Welsh History”. All about some of our most colourful bad guys.

Throughout January and February 2026, he is doing a series of live performances based on the book, in 12 venues across south Wales.

For more information and to buy tickets visit www.grahamloveluckedwards.com.