Last month we learned how the shocking wreck of the steam clipper Royal Charter inspired Admiral Robert Fitzroy to begin work on what we now know as the Shipping Forecast. In addition to the loss of 450 lives aboard that one ship, a further 300 people died in the storm and 150 ships were sunk around the British Isles in the hurricane force winds.
Something had to be done and Fitzroy was the man to do it. Born into aristocracy - he was the fourth grandson of King Charles II - while his status definitely helped him in life, what made him stand out was an incredible intelligence, combined with a strong sense of responsibility to help others.
At the age of 12 Fitzroy joined the navy and he was the first person to achieve 100 per cent in his lieutenant exam. on its mission to survey Tierra del Fuego (near Cape Horn), he took command of the ship when the captain, Pringle Stokes, took his life from depression and the strain of the job in terrible conditions. Fitzroy performed his task so diligently after Stokes’ demise that after the voyage he was given another special mission to survey South America and make new charts.
