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 …showed first 75 words of 1493 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1493 total…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.