Fildes, Robert

Epithet: Captain

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001088.0x000246

Robert Fildes was born on 13 July 1793 in Liverpool, England. He commanded merchant vessels from 1814, but the direction of his career changed when the news of the discovery of the South Shetland Islands by William Smith reached England in 1820. Ship owners learned that a quick profit was to be made from the fur seals that inhabited these islands. His father-in-law, Henry Wood, bought the brig Cora and Fildes was appointed master, leading the British sealing voyage, 1820-1821, from Liverpool. The expedition visited the Falkland Islands and South Shetland Islands, but Cora was wrecked on Desolation Island on 6 January 1821. Fildes prepared several charts and the first sailing directions for the islands while living in a hut made from the wreck. He and some of the crew were taken back to Liverpool aboard Indian .

The voyage of the Cora had brought Fildes financial loss, and he had to find another ship. Henry Wood offered him command of the brig Robert and Fildes again led a British sealing voyage, 1821-1822, from Liverpool. This expedition visited the Falkland Islands and Fildes made a comprehensive report about the South Shetland Islands. Robert was moored in Clothier Harbour for most of the summer but in March 1822, the brig sank.

After a brief period of unemployment on his return to England, Fildes became master of the brig Frances Ernest, a command he held for four years. Fildes died on 28 December 1827, shortly after the brig was badly damaged in a severe storm. Fildes Peninsula, at the southwestern end of King George Island, South Shetland Islands, is named for him.

From the guide to the Robert Fildes collection, 1820-1829, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)