Statue to Sir John Franklin, High Street, Spilsby, Lincolnshire
This statue was built in 1861. It is inscribed "Sir John Franklin, Discoverer of the North West Passage. Born at Spilsby April 1786, died in the Arctic regions, June 1847". Franklin joined the navy aged 15. He fought in the battle of Trafalgar but is best known for his surveys of the Arctic. He mapped over 3000 miles of the coastline of North Canada. His final journey to find the North West Passage actually ended in failure. He'd taken two ships and 129 men on the expedition. It took many years to uncover the story of what had happened to them, as none of them returned. The ships had become stuck in the ice.
