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Captain James Fairweather : his life and career /by his granddaughter Nancy Rycroft in association with Keith Mackay. Written by his granddaughter, this is a family history recounting the life of Captain James Fairweather (1853-1933). After working briefly in a Dundee factory, Fairweather went to sea in 1867 joining whaling and sealing ships such as the Victor and rising through the ranks to become Master in 1877 at the age of 24. The following year Fairweather took command of his first ship, the SS Active, a Dundee whaler working the Arctic oceans. Commanding the Aurora for six years, Fairweather continued in the sealing and whaling industry until 1888 when with the decline of the whaling industry, he sought employment in the general trade. He spent three years in command of the Vortigern taking coal from Calcutta to various Indian ports and founded Fairweather House in Calcutta as a social club for marine officers and engineers. At the outbreak of the First World War, Fairweather joined the Royal Navy Reserve, becoming Examination Officer on the Tay. In 1916 Fairweather was given a temporary commission as Lieutenant Commander R.N.R. and the command of the SS Discovery for the Shackleton Relief Expedition, although by the time he reached Montivideo Shackleton's men had already been rescued from Elephant Island. Includes excerpts from the family trees of the Fleeming, Duncan and Fairweather families, family photographs and illustrations of vessels commanded by Fairweather. 2005. 92FAIRWEATHER BOOK 1 copy available in Onsite storage - please ORDER to view.