Sir Francis Chichester

Francis Charles Chichester was born on the 17th September 1901in Shirwell, the son of a Devon rector. He had a bleak and lonely childhood he once said that his father was rather a tormented man, who seemed to be disapproving of everything Francis did, and waiting to squash any enthusiasm that he had. For instance, when Francis was bitten by a viper at the age of 11 his father sent him off to bicycle all alone …

…Pier. Ships' horns and sirens blared out a welcome, a fireboat shot jets of water into the air and hundreds of people clustered on wharves, on the tops of buildings and on London Bridge to wave and cheer. <Tab/>He had to retire from a Trans-Atlantic race in 1972 due to ill heath; he was admitted to hospital and died a few weeks later on August 26 1972 at the age of seventy one.