PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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CHICHESTER MEMORIAL
On May 28th 1967 Mr Francis Chichester landed at West Hoe Pier, Plymouth, after competing the first recorded solo navigation of the world. The spot where he came ashore is now marked by a memorial. It was at exactly 8.56pm on that evening that Chichester sailed "Gipsy Moth IV" past the Breakwater Lighthouse at the western end of the Plymouth Breakwater, completing and winning the first ever OSTAR Transatlantic Race. He had covered some 24,000 miles, made only one landing, at Sydney, and taken 274 days to do so. A crowd estimated at 40,000 people completely obliterated the Hoe and foreshore to honour his return and after a short speech he was whisked away to a formal reception in the Plymouth Guildhall. Mr Francis Chichester was knighted by HM Queen Elizabeth II on July 7th 1968. Sir Francis died on August 26th 1972 and he was buried at Saint Peter's Church, Shirwell, near Bideford, in north Devon. For many years his widow tried to have a memorial erected to her late husband but without success. It was nearly 30 years before their son, Mr Giles Chichester, then a Member of the European Parliament for Devon and Eastern Plymouth, saw work commence on the plinth of the Memorial. The date was Tuesday June 24th 1997. The plinth is only some five feet in height and constructed of recycled grey limestone from the old South Devon and Cornwall Hospital at Greenbank, Plymouth. It was financed jointly by the Chichester family and Messrs Bardon Aggregates, whose workmen carried out the construction work. It carries a bronze relief depicting Sir Francis and includes one of his pithy comments 'Because it intensifies life'. The bronze was the work of sculptor, Mr Richard Grasby. HRH the Duke of Edinburgh unveiled the Memorial in a private ceremony on Friday July 25th 1997. It should be mentioned that the restored "Gipsy Moth IV" made a landing at the same spot on May 28th 2007, 40 years after its first visit. Sources:
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