The Greenock stowaways, or Arran stowaways, were six boys (Hugh McEwan, 11; John Paul, 12; Peter Currie, 12; Hugh McGinnes, 12; David Brand, 16; James Bryson, 16) and one young man, Bernard Reilly, 22, who, in April 1868, stowed away at Victoria Dock in Greenock, Scotland, on a cargo ship, the Arran, bound for Quebec, Canada. They were dressed in thin and ragged clothing totally unsuitable for the bitterly cold North Atlantic weather encountered on the voyage; two of the boys (John Paul and Hugh McGinnes) lacked any shoes. On board ship they were lashed, beaten, starved, sometimes stripped naked or near-naked, had ice-cold sea water thrown over them, were generally ill-treated and, on occasion, handcuffed. All the stowaways were regularly beaten except Peter Currie, whose father was a frie