Francis Skead was born on 9 April 1823 at Chatham, Kent. He was educated at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich, entering the Royal Navy in 1838. He later served in HMS Modeste off the Cape of Good Hope and HMS Starling during the First China War where he gained his first experience in survey work. After passing his master's examination in 1848, he served on the Cape of Good Hope Station from 1848 until 1849.
On his return to England, Skead was appointed second master in HMS Enterprise on the British Naval Franklin Search Expedition, 1850-1855 (leader Richard Collinson), sent by the Admiralty to search for Franklin's missing Northwest passage expedition by way of Bering Strait.
On his return from the Arctic, Skead was appointed master and assistant surveyor to the Cape of Good Hope, serving until 1856 when he succeeded to the charge of the survey. Retiring from active service in the Navy in 1865, he took up the post of harbour master at Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony, a post he held until his retirement in 1889. He died in 1891.
From the guide to the Francis Skead collection, 1849-1852, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
