“When Jesus woke up, He
rebuked the wind and said to the waves ‘Silence! Be Still!’
Suddenly the wind stopped and there was a great calm.”

 

Mark 4:39

 

Sir Martin Frobisher

          Married in this Church

Frobisher is most famous for the three voyages that he made to the “New World” looking for the North-West Passage (a trade route to Asia).

On his first visit, Frobisher sailed to north-east Canada, and entered what is now known as Frobisher Bay (see map below).

On his second visit, Frobisher discovered what he thought to be gold ore, and carried 200 tons of it home to England. Buoyed by this success, Frobisher returned to Canada with a larger fleet and carried 1,350 tons of the gold ore back to England.

Unfortunately, after all of the “gold ore” was smelted, it turned out to be iron pyrite, commonly referred to as “Fool’s Gold”.

Following this failure, Frobisher had to seek other employment, and became a Privateer. This term is often incorrectly confused with Pirate but a privateer is actually a private individual who fights on behalf of the government rather than as part of the navy. In England, privateers were often given a Letter of Marque that confirmed their authority.

Frobisher took part in raids on Ireland to put down insurrections against the crown, and then became a trusted advisor to Sir Francis Drake. He was appointed as Vice Admiral of the fleet commanded by Drake, and was
commander of Triumph, the largest ship in the fleet, when the Spanish Armada was sighted and engaged.

On the 26 July 1588, Frobisher was knighted for valour against the Spanish. On the 28th July, the English fleet launched fire ships into the midst of the Spanish fleet, and the next day, Frobisher and Drake engaged in the
final battle to drive off the Spanish Fleet.

Sir Martin Frobisher died in 1594 from an infection that resulted from a gunshot wound to his thigh during an operation on Brest.

1862 Map of Frobisher Bay