Douglas William Jerrold was an English dramatist and writer. Jerrold’s father, Samuel Jerrold, was an actor and lessee of the little theatre of Wilsby near Cran brook in Kent. In 1807 Douglas moved to Sheerness, where he spent his childhood. He occasionally took a child part on the stage, but his father’s profession held little attraction for him.

In December 1813 he joined the guard ship Namur, where he had Jane Austen’s brother Francis as captain, and served as a midshipman until the peace of 1815. He saw nothing of the war save a number of wounded soldiers from Waterloo, but he retained an affection for the sea.