I took a DNA test – and found I’m related to a famous explorer who was eaten by his crew

James Fitzjames , captain of HMS Erebus , left England in 1845 with another ship, HMS Terror , to explore the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic .

They were last heard from in 1848 , and the shipwrecks were not found for another 168 years .

Nigel Gambier , a retired furniture designer and salesman from Bury St Edmunds , was the second sailor on the expedition to be identified.

Sadly, a cut mark on his mandible meant he had also become the first identified victim of cannibalism.

Erebus and Terror set off from Kent in May 1845 to explore the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest Passage .

Expedition entailed navigating treacherous waters with thousands of icebergs up to 300 ft high.

The ships set off with live cattle, libraries containing over 1,000 books and a three-year supply of tinned foods on board.

Many of the remains were found with elevated lead, some of which leached into the food.

Two years earlier , DNA extracted from a skull had identified John Gregory , an engineer aboard Erebus .

Now Stenton wanted to track down a Gambier to confirm Fitzjames ’ identity.