This is a good book, well worth reading.
It contains historical research, 'Boys own' adventures, detailed examination of the Ship and the men who crewed her, and is very well written.
I first attempted to read this book during lockdown and just could not be bothered with it at the time. Recently I picked it up again and on this occasion I could not put the book down. The story raced along and indeed by the end I found myself wishing the author had got another book ready for us. A very good read indeed.
HMS 'Erebus,' was built in 1826 in Pembroke Dockyard and commissioned into the Royal Navy. Known as a 'Bomb ship' she was not a sleek vessel, indeed she was a plump small, tough ship, which as it turned out, was ideal for exploring the polar boundaries. She was given the name 'Erebus,' a Greek word for the dark regions of Hades. That's a good start!
With British victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 (Don't tell Blucher) war disappeared from Europe for a few years. This, mixed with the Victorian quest for knowledge and exploration, adding to the desire for nationalistic heroes saw the Royal Navy play its part by sending ships on exploration and scientific journeys around the world. Much of the world knowledge we possess today began during these, often daring, voyages. However, for a year or two she was used on routine naval duties patrolling the Mediterranean Sea. After this she lay unused until the James Clark Ross expidition to the Antartic regions.
During their Artic adventure in 1831 James Clark Ross, accompanying his uncle James Ross commanding the mission, reached and discovered the North Magnetic Pole, very important in the shipping world. During 1839, this time in command, James Clark Ross sent off in search of the Southern Magnetic Pole, and to survey and discover what lay at the southern end of the planet. Several, including French and American ships, had already ventured south but the magnetic pole had not been discovered, Ross was intent on finding fame, fortune and the magnetic answer at the Pole.
Here we see the adventure. The 'Erebus' accompanied by HMS 'Terror,' no exploration was carried out by one ship alone, arrived in Van Deiman's land, now called Tasmania, Ross met another Arctic adventurer Sir John Franklin. Now inserted as governor of the colony Sir John really wanted to be out there exploring the polar regions once again. This far off prison colony, now receiving many more prisoners as Botany Bay was no longer being used, the routine of such life must have bored him. After Ross and his crew had enjoyed their time ashore the 'Erebus, accompanied by the 'Terror,' headed south.
Palin's writing makes this an exciting adventure. It is one of those books where you can feel yourself on the ship with the men. You see the ice cliffs towering a hundred feet above them, you feel the minus 24 cold, you taste the various birds, seals and fish caught for scientific experiments and then used for food, you go up with each rising wave and down as it descends, and never once suffer the seasickness. This may be because of your safe seat, warm coffee, and being in a building that does not rise and fall with the tides.
Ross sailed through the ice further south than any known human had done before. The scientific work continued, even if eaten, drawings were made, papers logged, measurements taken, and the coast, if it could be found among the ice, recorded. Many areas in that region now bear his name, though the two distant volcanoes the party noted were named after the ships.
Three times Ross took his ships beyond the Antartic circle, on one occasion almost losing them between two moving ice flows, all this in the dark! In between they rested in Tasmania or the Falkland Isles before returning home to cheers, and work away from the sea! The Magnetic South however, he never reached. It would require a journey of over 300 miles over the ice to achieve this, and that took many more years.
While many of the men who undertook the South Pole trip returned to a more normal life the ships were not retired. The Southern adventure had been successful but the Royal Navy, or at least those in charge, were determined Arctic explorers. They wished to discover the great prize, the North West Passage, and set out to do just that.
Again the 'Erebus' and the 'Terror' were called for. Their squat shape made them ideal for such work. Many advances were added to the ships, supplies abundant also, and now with Sir John Franklin, the experienced Arctic explorer in charge, and much relieved to be out of Tasmania, even though he had been removed by the London government, it was expected to be a success for English pride. 'England' was always the word used, never 'Britain' notice.
Setting off in a blaze of glory the two ships headed north. They reached Greenland and wintered on a place called Beechey Island. Here three of the crew were buried. No sailor, bar an accident, ought to have died in a well stocked, well run ship, within such a short time. Only some 6 months had passed when these men died. A mystery that has entertained many since the time though the tinned food, hastily prepared and packed may have been one cause.
However, three years after the ships sailed there had been no word from them. They disappeared from sight. Search parties found little to help them, the graves alone were discovered. Over the following years many searched for evidence of the two ships, with information from the local Innuit some idea of the struggles aboard began to appear. It seems a party left the ship and tried to move south, possibly they asked help from the innuit, who would have given it, possibly national pride and superiority stopped them doing this. They were after all, 'Englishmen!'
Evidence of the disaster has slowly accumulated, though it is as yet impossible to know all the facts. However, 129 men went out seeking fame, and did not return. In the middle of the Victorian age this was deemed a major disaster, indeed, a national disgrace. It was only in 2014 that the wreck of the 'Erebus' was discovered underwater.
Michael Palin knows the areas he has written about, he is well versed in travelling the globe. His account of the two ships adventures is enthralling and informative. The writing holds the reader and it is difficult to put the book down.
I recommend it.
_trapped_in_the_ice,_Nattilik_Heritage_Centre,_Gjoa_Haven,_September_2019.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
