“Over all the transitoriness of summer life and activity, Graham Land stood, a few miles away, massive mountains, huge glaciers, unchanging…proud!”
Cliff Pearce, “the Silent Sound” – The Book Guild Ltd.
Captain Tom Woodfield’s Last Voyage – read below
Editor’s Note: the layouts of some of the pages on this website have gone to Hell in a Handbasket. It will be sorted, but in the meantime, apologies. If anybody sees any missing graphics or text, or any other errors, please drop a note to: [email protected]
SEARCH THE WEBSITE
Use this Search facility to find all the references to Anybody or Any Place involved in Marguerite Bay
(Compilation: Roger Scott)
This website relates to the activities, work and people of BAS (The British Antarctic Survey) and its predecessor FIDS (the Falkland Islands Dependences Survey) from the period starting with BGLE in 1934, currrently through to 2000. All the people involved in these activities in the Antarctic are collectively referred to as “Fids” on the website.
This period covers all the exploratory Topographical Survey work carried out which produced the maps (see right) which are the basis of those now available to current day science and the general public, together with the related Geological, Geophysical and Glaciological exploration over that period, with extensive Meteorological observations performed throughout those years.
The area covered includes work carried out using Husky dog teams from Detaille Island Base (Latitude 66° 86′ S), Adelaide Island, Horseshoe Island and Stonington Island, Bases; work based at Fossil Bluff Base (Latitude 71° 19′ S) carried out by ‘skidoos’ and Muskeg tractors; and work further South still, airlifted and supported by aircraft operating from Rothera Base.
The website contains collection of historical and entertaining stories and facts – gripping stories of wintering at Fossil Bluff; epic winter journeys – in the Northern fjords, on Marguerite Bay sea ice trying to reach solid ground, and on Sodabread; Fids inadvertently marooned in various outlandish places; Otter, Porter and Twotter flights out of Adelaide and later Rothera to lay depots (and sometimes permanently mark depots – each crash landing its own story!); adventures and misadventures of the ships in Marguerite Bay; the development of Rothera and its increasing capabilities. The website is available for everybody to see and read the stories, pictures and research papers, rather than such information being lost in official archives.
Marguerite Bay is a beautiful area which left a permanent mark on the lives of hundreds of Fids, and we encourage all you Marguerite Bay Fids to contribute your yarns, stories and unique grips, whether from the 1930’s or the 2000’s. We want YOU to add your stories, whether major, significant, funny, serious, or just plain Fid-stupid.
Note the “Tabs” at the top of this and every page, one for each Base in Marguerite Bay, and for the various other related Topics – Dogs, Ships, Aircraft, and the “Archive of Interesting Stuff”
Captain Tom Woodfield’s Last Voyage
Most of you will already know from the BASC of the passing of Captain Tom Woodfield on Saturday, September 30th, 2023. Tom gave his written permission to use any excerpts from his book ‘Polar Mariner’ on the Marguerite Bay website.
Many Fids will have read the book, but re-publishing his chapter titled “The Grand Finale” seemed like a fitting tribute.
Most Fids who embarked on the Shackleton, John Biscoe or Bransfield will ‘feel’ his description of his final crossing of the Drake Passage, perhaps all too vividly:
“The season was over, done and dusted — or so we thought — as we left the fast-cooling, pristine southern continent, with its lessening hours of daylight, for warmer climes, but initially duller ones, until we could also leave the Falklands astern and head for the tropics and home.”
Marguerite Bay?
15 January 1905 – Jean-Baptiste Charcot led and financed the French Antarctic Expedition with the purpose built ship ‘Français’. The ship was a relatively small 3 masted schooner of 250 tons and 105 feet overall, but was “exceptionally well built of first class materials”. On the advice of Adrien de Gerlache of the ‘Belgica’, whom Charcot consulted, the ship was strengthened at the waterline with transverse beams, the bow was reinforced with iron.
Le Français ran aground south west of Adelaide Island, within sight of Alexander Island, and had to retreat northwards sighting the coast of Loubet Land to the east. While in the Antarctic Charcot was divorced for desertion by his first wife Jeanne, a grand-daughter of Victor Hugo.
In 1907, Charcot married Marguerite “Meg” Cléry. She was a painter and illustrator who accompanied him on some of his voyages and was constantly supportive. At the end of the year their daughter, Monique, was born.
15th January 1909 – Charcot, in ‘Pourquoi-Pas?’ rounded the southern cape of Adelaide Island and named it Cape Alexandra after the royal spouse of Edward VII. This was in honour of the English Captain John Biscoe who had discovered the island.
Charcot named the bay after his wife Marguerite, and Jenny Island after the wife of second officer Bongrain.
Read “The Rest of The Story” of How Marguerite Bay was explored, long before and long after Charcot – 200 years from 1821 to 2021: HERE
WikiFid – The Fid Glossary – Chris Edwards & Others
There are surely lots more Fidese words – Use the Comments to send more – Here:
Latest Additions
FIDS Deception Songs
Ian ‘Spike’ Sykes
At a post-Dundee AGM Gathering, Spike was cajoled into knocking out some old tunes on his banjo. Age, Memory and alcohol meant that only shortened versions could be performed that night, but true to his word, he racked his brains on a more sober day and produced the FULL VERSIONS
and a big part of this website**, was awarded the Admirals’ Medal “for being a good boy”, by the Lieut. Governor (Queen’s rep in Newfoundland) at Government House Aug 23. “A bit nerve-wracking. Great honour though. Appropriate name for the medal given the team we both drove!”
** – Among much, bleg & depubing specialist. Link to MORE
East Coast Geology – Bowman Coast
Bernie Care
Eight BAS sledgers gathered in the Survey/GA office at Base E early on the morning of 29 Aug 1974 at the start of what was to be the final spring and summer field seasons on the Antarctic Peninsula for dog-team supported scientific parties. That past winter we had been informed by BAS management that Stonington Island Base would close at the end of the 1975 summer work season.
Establishing Damoy Point Refuge
Bernie Care
The author and about ten other Fids (scientists, builders and GA’s) arrived off Doumer Island at the northwestern end of the Antarctic Peninsula in late October 1975 after sailing down on the RRS John Biscoe from Southampton via Argentina and Port Stanley. The plan was to fly from the Doumer airstrip to Adelaide Island, and from there onto our respective summer work areas – but first we had a bit of building to do!!
Seven Happy Years
Mike Bell
Here are a few unedited snippets from those letters to my mother together with some reminiscences to try to paint a simple picture of our fun and adventure during those happy years.
Geology Adventures on Rothschild Island
Bernie Care
The first reported sighting of Rothschild Island was made by Thaddeus von Bellingshausen in 1821 during his voyage past the NW coast of Alexander Island. He described three mountains separated by gaps, which are now identified from west to east as Mirnyy peak (Rothschild Island), and St George Peak (Havre Mts) and Mt. Bayonne (Rouen Mts) in northern Alexander Island.
Becoming a Fid
Rod Pashley
1! pause… 2! pause… 3! pause… Three loud blasts from the bridge on the RRS John Biscoe’s ships horn as we left Southampton for Antarctica – Wednesday 23rd October 1968. I would finally arrive at Base T (Adelaide Island) on Saturday, 8th March 1969.
The ‘Piloto Pardo’ comes visiting Adelaide
Rob-Campbell-Lent
Steve Wormald kindly brought my attention to Richard Barrett’s new story “The Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition 1955 – 57 (FIDASE)”, that he had published in MBW (here’s a LINK ), as he thought it might be suitable for my weekend reading. He was right. I eventually found details and the date of the ship’s visit to Base “T” in the BAS newsletter for January 1971, and from there I found my own diary entries for the two day visit and flying operations.
From my diary Sunday 17 January 1971.
Woke up very late in the morning and heard someone telling Richy (BC) that the boat from the (Chilean Navy ship) ‘Piloto Pardo’ was here, and someone ought to get up and meet them!
The Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition 1955 – 57 (FIDASE)
Richard Barrett
In July 1945 Peter Mott, who had spent the war years with the Indian Military Survey, wrote to Brian Roberts (formerly of BGLE) at the Foreign Office Research Department with a proposal for an air survey of the Antarctic Peninsula. Wheels turned very slowly and Peter was recruited into the Colonial Survey department of Brigadier Hotine, but instead of developing the Antarctic project he was instructed to go to Ghana. Declining this offer Peter joined Hunting Aerosurveys Ltd as Chief Surveyor.
These Fids or Their Families Contributed Stories & Anecdotes
Last Updated October 25th, 2022
With Grateful Acknowledgements to:
Related Links
Halley Bay Website (Z-Fids)
BAMT (British Antarctic Monuments Trust)
BAOHP (British Antarctic Oral History Program)
UKAHT (UK Antarctic Heritage Trust)
BAS (British Antarctic Survey)
DFB (Dictionary of Falklands Biography)
Background Music
“The Song Of The Ice” below by Steve Garrett will automatically play as background music when you open this Home page, and will loop. You can stop the music as with any other music video, and it will stop automatically when another MP4 video is started. The complete “The Song Of The Ice” video is on the Movies & Videos page
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