BiographyDibdin's patriotic sea-shanties became so popular that in 1803 Pitt's Government offered him a pension in order to compose and sing War Songs to keep up morale during the war with France. A lot of his songs were published postumously in 1841 in 'Songs, Naval and National, of the Late Charles Dibdin', a collection arranged by Thomas Dibdin with sketches by George Cruikshank.