The most famous of the survivors of the Royal Charter shipwreck, a disaster where over 450 people lost their lives, was Guzeppi Ruggier. Anglicised to Joseph or Joe, Rogers or Rodgers. His act of bravery, to swim ashore with a rope tied around his middle to enable a bosun's chair to be rigged, enabled 40 individuals to be ferried to the shore. Rogers was awarded a gold medal by the Board of Trade and was celebrity for a time before returning to a life at sea.