Transcript Primary Schools at the National Maritime Museum

Sir John Franklin, daguerreotype by Baird, 1845
• Sir John Franklin was an officer in the Royal
Navy. In 1845 he led an expedition to look for
the North-West passage, a sea route linking
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
• He took two ships, the Erebus and Terror.
These set sail from Kent in 19 May 1845. On
26 July, the captain of a whaling ship saw
them off the coast of Baffin Island. This is the
last time the ships or men were ever seen.
‘HMS 'Assistance' in the ice’ by Thomas Sewell Robins, 1853
• This painting shows HMS 'Assistance' in the Arctic Ice.
The ship was part of a search expedition, which was
looking for Sir John Franklin and his two ships,
'Erebus' and 'Terror'.
• The ship was commanded by Captain Erasmus
Ommanney and the crew included a young Inuit guide
called Qalasirssuaq, who led the ship north to check
on a rumored massacre of Franklin's men.
Pocket chronometer from the Franklin expedition
• This is a relic of Sir John Franklin's search for the
North-West passage. It was issued to HMS 'Terror' in
1845. The chronometer was found in an abandoned
boat at Erebus Bay in May 1859.
• The boat was 28 foot long and mounted on a heavy
sledge. It had been abandoned by the men of the
Franklin expedition during their attempt to escape
overland in 1848. When it was found, it contained
many personal possessions and two skeletons.
Snow goggles from the Franklin expedition
• These snow goggles are a relic of Sir John Franklin's
search for the North-West passage. They would have
been used to protect your eyes from snow blindness.
• European explorers had begun to draw on Inuit
survival practices and these snow goggles are
inspired by their Inuit counterparts.
• They were found in an abandoned boat at Erebus Bay
in May 1859, along with many other personal
possessions and two skeletons.
‘Group portrait of Inuit girls and women’
by Captain Edward Augustus Inglefield, 1854
• This photograph was taken during Captain Inglefield’s
expedition to the Arctic in the summer of 1854.
• He was looking for traces of Sir John Franklin and his
two ships, 'Erebus' and 'Terror'. He also took the
latest photographic equipment with him. This
photograph shows a group of Inuit in Greenland,
where British ships stopped to take on supplies.
‘One of the Greenland Inuit’ by Captain Edward Augustus Inglefield, 1854
• This photograph was taken during Captain Inglefield’s
expedition to the Arctic in the summer of 1854.
• He was looking for traces of Sir John Franklin and his
two ships, 'Erebus' and 'Terror'. He also took the
latest photographic equipment with him. This
photograph of an unidentified man was taken in
Greenland, where British ships stopped to take on
supplies.
‘Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922)’, by Reginald Grenville Eves, 1921
• In 1914 Shackleton led an expedition to try
and cross Antarctica. Before reaching land his
ship became trapped in ice and was
eventually crushed.
• Shackleton and his men were marooned, but
managed to use their life boats to reach
Elephant Island. Shackleton then led an epic
800-mile voyage, with five companions, to
seek help from South Georgia.
The ‘Endurance’ stuck in the ice by Frank Hurley, 1915
• This photograph shows Shackleton’s ship, the
Endurance. The photograph was taken by Frank
Hurley, who was the official photographer on the
expedition.
• On 19 January 1915, Endurance became locked in
the ice of the Weddell Sea. Over the course of the
next nine months the ship was gradually crushed,
finally sinking on 27 October.
Hussey and James onboard 'Endurance' by Frank Hurley, 1915
• This photograph was taken by Frank Hurley, the
official photographer on Shackleton’s expedition. It
shows Leonard Hussey and Reginald James in the
laboratory onboard ‘Endurance’.
• The laboratory was known as the ‘Rookery’. Hussey
was the meteorologist on board the expedition and
James was a physicist. This photograph was taken
during the winter of 1915. The ship sank on 27
October.
Ocean Camp by Frank Hurley, 1915
• This photograph was taken by Frank Hurley, the
official photographer on Shackleton’s expedition to
cross Antartica.
• It shows Ocean Camp, which was established when
the crew were forced to abandon ‘Endurance’.
•
Most of the dog-sledges are ready packed, but it
proved impossible for the 28 men to drag their boats
and stores across the frozen sea. Instead, Shackleton
camped on the ice and drifted with it, before setting
sail for Elephant Island.
Banjo from the Shackleton Expedition
• This banjo belonged to Leonard Hussey, the
meteorologist on the Endurance expedition.
• Despite the fact that each man was only
allowed to take two pounds of possessions for
the march towards land, Shackleton insisted
that Hussey keep his banjo. Writing and
performing songs helped the men get through
their ordeal
Marine Chronometer
• This chronometer is thought to be the one
used by Ernest Shackleton and his five
companions on the voyage to South Georgia
from Elephant Island.
• It could be used to help plot your position at
sea. The journey took 17 days onboard the
James Caird, a lifeboat that was just over 7
metres long and 2 metres wide.
Captain Robert Falcon Scott
• Robert Falcon Scott was an officer in the Royal Navy.
He joined his first ship when he was 13 years old. He
led two expeditions to the Antarctic in 1901 and 1911.
During this second expedition Scott led a party of five
men to try and reach the South Pole.
• However, when they arrived they found that the
Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had got there
before them. On their journey back from the pole
Scott and his men all died.
Polar explorer’s sled
• Sled’s like the one shown in this picture were used by
polar explorers to transport their supplies.
• These were often pulled by teams of sled dogs and
the expedition led by Roald Amundsen used dog sleds
to reach the South Pole. However, often the sleds
were pulled along by the explorers themselves.
Polar explorer’s glove
• Gloves like this one were used to protect
polar explorers from the extreme cold.
Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth
and clothing like this was essential for
preventing frostbite.
• The worst type of frostbite can freeze
muscles, tendons and blood vessels,
and can eventually lead to amputation.