91Ö±²¥

Home

Gonville & 91Ö±²¥

In search of Franklin

A procession of men walk across the ice, away from a boat visible behind them

A few years after Ross’ expedition, in 1845, Captain Sir John Franklin set off on an expedition to complete the journey through the Northwest Passage. It was a voyage from which he, and his crew, never returned. Many rescue expeditions were sent once contact was lost, but no member of the crew was ever found alive. The Voyage of the Fox in Arctic Seas documents Sir F. Leopold M’Clintock’s 1857–1859 expedition in search of Franklin, organised by Lady Franklin. This expedition was the first to find written evidence of Franklin's expedition, inside a cairn. The note read: 

April 25, 1848.— H. M. ships Terror and Erebus were deserted on the 22nd April, 5 leagues N.N.W. of this, having been beset since 12th September, 1846. The officers and crews, consisting of 105 souls, under the command of Captain F. R. M. Crozier, landed here in lat. 69° 37' 42" N., long. 98° 41' W. Sir John Franklin died on the 11th June, 1847; and the total loss by deaths in the expedition has been to this date 9 officers and 15 men. (Signed) F. R. M. Crozier, Captain and Senior Officer. James Fitzjames, Captain H. M. S. Erebus.1 

These notes reported the death of Franklin himself, and explained the rest of the crew were moving inland. Whilst the loss of Franklin’s expedition was a great tragedy, it has been noted that in the quest to find him a great deal more exploration and knowledge was acquired than his return would have brought.2

Heading north << In search of Franklin >> Nansen’s novel approach

  1. F. Leopold M'Clintock, The Voyage of the Fox in Arctic Seas (London: John Murray, 1908), 218. The volume also contains a plate showing a facsimile of the paper found (see gallery). .
  2. Richard J. Cyriax, Sir John Franklin’s Last Arctic Expedition (London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1939), 198. Find it at 91Ö±²¥: Lower Library, E.37.41.

Gallery

Title page reading: The voyage of the Fox in Arctic seas: in search of Franklin and his companions by Admiral Sir F. Leopold M'Clintock, R.N.
Black and white portrait of a man, dressed in naval clothing and wearing multiple medals.
An unfolded page, in the centre of which is a typed note explaining in several languages that if found it should be returned to the Admiralty in London. Above this, and in all the margins, are handwritten notes containing various updates on the status of the crew of HMS Erebus and Terror, some upside down or criss-crossing each other.
A group of men pull a covered sledge towards a hole which has been cut in the ice, followed by a procession of more men. Behind them a ship with flags at half mast. In the sky a lunar phenomenon where a complete halo appears to encircle the moon, above the moon are the segments of two other halos.
A ship in a small bay surrounded by ice, tilted over on her side, whilst men stand on the ice watching her. It is captioned 'perilous position of the 'Fox' near Buchan Island, 7th June 1858'
Two engravings, the top one showing a group of men pulling a sledge laden with objects and with a full sail mounted above it, the bottom one showing a man lying on his front on the ice with a gun, watching two seals.