But, who was Sir John Franklin, anyway?

Sir John Franklin Community Centre takes its name from one of Canada's most famous explorers, hence the title of our team, The Explorers.

For more information on Sir John Franklin (1786 - 1847), visit www.sirjohnfranklin.com. Franklin has a firm place in history partly because of the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of his last voyage, to find the elusive North-West Passage that would secure a very profitable trade route across the Canadian Arctic.

Here is a selection from that web site:

The Franklin expedition of 1845 is by far the biggest Arctic maritime disaster known. It is mainly popular in a few Commonwealth countries, curiously not so in England and the USA. Sir John Franklin and his crew of 130 men disappeared in the Canadian Arctic with nothing but a few remnants and bones as proof of their passage.

Another excellent web site on Sir John Franklin is one by Dr. Russell Potter. He also provides some excellent links to further reading.