Remembering Francis Rose

In 1983 the Rose family kindly gave this brass plaque for safekeeping and display at Station 3 Table Bay.

The plaque reads as follows:

IN MEMORY OF FRANCIS ROSE WHO, ON THE MORNING OF 4^TH JANUARY 1821,

DISPLAYING EXTREME GALLANTRY, LOST HIS LIFE IN SAVING ALL ON BOARD A SHIP THAT HAD COME TO GRIEF IN TABLE BAY. AFTER HOURS OF BATTLING AGAINST STORM TOSSED SEAS AND RIDING TOWARDS THE SHORE FOR THE LAST TIME, HIS NOBLE HORSE BECAME UTTERLY EXHAUSTED AND WAS SWEPT AWAY WITH ITS RIDER

FRANCIS ROSE WAS ONLY 17 YEARS OLD.

30 years later, in 2013, family of the brave young 17 year old came to visit NSRI Station 3, Table Bay to view the plaque and to remember the selfless act the sea rescue hero, Francis Rose, undertook in 1821. Like Wolraad Woltemade before him, his act of valour set the standard for selfless bravery; today emulated by NSRI crews in saving lives at sea.