Forfarshire was a paddle steamer with brigantine rigging, built in Dundee in 1834, and which struck and later foundered on one of the Farne Islands on 7 September 1838, giving rise to the rescue for which Grace Darling is famed.

A group of eight sailors and a passenger (Sarah Dawson) managed to lower and escape in a lifeboat, to be picked up the following morning by a passing schooner bound for Hull.

The remaining passengers and crew were left to the mercy of the sea, which swung the Forfarshire around and tore off the stern quarterdeck and cabins, leaving only the bow and fore sections of the ship anchored to the rock.

After a short breakfast, though, Grace prevailed and they set off in their Northumberland coble, a 21-ft clinker-built open rowing boat designed for a minimum crew of three strong men.

William, with the aid of two of the rescued crew, then rowed the boat back to the lighthouse while Grace comforted Mrs. Dawson, who had by this time lost the bodies of her two children to the sea.

Behind the altar of Dunkeld Cathedral, a plaque is erected "To the memory of Rev John Robb who, on a voyage for the benefit of his health, perished by the wreck of the Forfarshire Steamship off the Fern Islands".