Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal:Sir Francis Chichester and Gypsy Moth
AssociatedAssociated with
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
(Frogmore House, Windsor, England, 1900 - 1979)
Medallist
John Pinches, Medallists
DateMay 2004
Object NameMedal
MediumSterling Silver
ClassificationsMedals
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS072500.102
Keywords
Francis Chichester had the conventional upper-middle-class upbringing and education of his period but at the age of 18, instead of going to a university from his public school, he emigrated to New Zealand, where he worked at various jobs, eventually establishing a prosperous business. The income from this enabled him to return to England, learn to fly and become, in 1930, the second man to fly alone from Britain to Australia. He did so in a 'Gypsy Moth' biplane, the standard light aircraft of the period. He subsequently flew alone across the Tasmanian Sea from Australia to New Zealand and from Australia to Japan. He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and then established a successful publishing business in London. He took up ocean racing, and this interest developed into success in the first single-handed transatlantic race in 1960 with a yacht named after his early aeroplane Gypsy Moth 111.
He crossed the Atlantic six times in this yacht and was then able to find finance for his remarkable round-the-world single-handed voyage in a specially designed yacht, the Gypsy Moth IV. She is now preserved at Greenwich by the Maritime Trust in a drydock adjacent to the one occupied by the famous clipper merchant sailing ship Cutty Sark and not far from the National Maritime Museum.
The Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea, John Pinches Medallists Ltd.
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
May 2004
