People often claim that our ancestors life expectancy was 35 but that was an average that covers a far more complex record. Interestingly it’s also the age when sailors often retired, exhausted after a life at sea that involved rotating 6-hours of gruelling hard work, fitting in snatches of sleep, food, repairing and cleaning clothes.

When Elizabeth sent Drake etc to claim colonies she offered as many gaol birds as they needed, so most sailors were poor and expendable. Many young boys, especially in ports were sent to sea. In the 19th century some ships were so bad they were known as coffin ships until Samuel Plimsoll established loading limits to stop them sinking with huge death rates.

Agriculture involved men working from dawn to dusk cutting the grain while women gathered and stacked it to dry, often whilst minding children and bringing high energy food and drink to the exhausted men.

Coach drivers were often condemned in the press for riding on the horses, as they could fall and cause the vehicle & passengers to crash. It seems this was more comfortable than juddering high on the seat.

Men were generally the workers in underground mines, at risk of gas leaks, rock falls & explosions whilst women were generally above ground.

I was surprised to learn that police stations in Britain had rifles until the 1920s to stop rampaging cattle, often with large horns for goring victims. Rabid dogs were probably more likely to kill men as they were more often outside. Few people survive bites, even now.

There were lots of other ways for men to die, whilst for women the main source of death was childbirth. I have seen a memorial in a church porch to a woman I think who reached 110, suggesting she was exceptional and the parish took pride in her survival.

The Industrial Revolution introduced many more dangers for men. They often worked swing shifts which destroyed their normal sleep cycles. I read of a man who was so exhausted he walked into a furnace.

This gender difference is important as we are fortunate to be living in safer times when premature death is far less common. But it is also worth remembering this when discussing historic relationships between men and women.

Men generally had more freedoms and rights than women. But they also faced more violence and responsibilities. A woman could leave her family and maternal responsibilities. She might struggle to survive, she might be shamed, but she could do it. A husband faced arrest if he abandoned his family.