George Stephen Ritchie
Rear-Admiral George Stephen Ritchie CB DSC (30 October 1914 – 8 May 2012) was a British admiral noted for his cartographic and hydrographic work. Naval career Ritchie was born in Burnley, 1914, of Scottish parents, Sir Douglas Ritchie and Lady Margaret Stephen Ritchie. He was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth from the age of 13, from where he went to sea at the age of 17. In 1936 he joined the Surveying Service, being appointed to the old coal-burning surveying ship, , operating in the South China Sea. During the Second World War the then Lieutenant Ritchie was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for bravery whilst surveying beaches in North Africa behind the enemy lines. From that time he worked continuously in that branch of the Royal Navy travelling all over the World and commanding four of HM surveying Ships: on a world circling voyage with scientists on board; HMNZS Lachlan, the New Zealand survey ship; , in the Persian Gulf and in the West Indies and North Atlantic. In 1951 on the survey ship HMS Challenger, recorded the deepest part of the ocean trench depth Challenger Deep of 5,960 fathoms (10,900 m, 35,761 ft) using echo