Property of a gentleman - a fine Arctic Exploration group of...

Estimate

£5,000 - £7,000

Property of a gentleman - a fine Arctic Exploration group of three medals to George W. Emmerson, Royal Navy, comprising a scarce Arctic Medal 1875-76, named to G.W. EMMERSON CHF. PY OFFR. (Chief Petty Officer), H.M.S. DISCOVERY, with ribbon, together with an Egypt and Sudan 1882-89 Medal, dated 1882 to reverse, named to 'G.W. EMMERSON BO'SN. R.N. H.M.S. CHESTER', with ribbon (scarce - only 21 Egypt Medals were awarded to H.M.S. Chester), and a Khedive’s Star, dated 1882, unnamed as issued, with ribbon. Only 155 Arctic Medal 1875-76 were issued, with 59 of those being to H.M.S. Discovery. Under the command of Captain Sir George Nares the two ships H.M.S. Alert and H.M.S. Discovery set sail from Portsmouth on 29th May 1875, commissioned to discover a route to the North Pole between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. Having reached the highest latitude ever achieved by a ship both crews spent the late summer setting up depots of supplies for the sledging parties scheduled for the Spring, before setting up their Winter Quarters, the 'Alert' in Floeberg Beach, the 'Discovery' in Discovery Harbour, on the northern side of Lady Franklin Bay, Ellesmere Island. Three sledging party expeditions were started in April 1876 and George Emmerson played an important part in the expedition to explore the north coast of Greenland led by Lieutenant Lewis Beaumont. During the course of this expedition Emmerson was, at various times, in charge of the eight-man sledge 'Sir Edward Parry' and the five-man sledge 'Alert' (the other two sledges employed were named 'Discovery' and 'Stephenson'). His name is mentioned no less than 44 times in 'Journals and Proceedings of the Arctic Expedition, 1875-76', published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1877, and on three occasions in NARES, Sir George S. - 'Narrative of a Voyage to the Polar Sea during 1875-6 in H.M. Ships 'Alert' and 'Discovery'', published by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1878. The whole expedition was marred by scurvy and other sickness which led to Nares' decision to return a year earlier than anticipated, with several deaths to report (two men in Beaumont's expedition alone had perished). Although unsuccessful in finding a route to the North Pole the expedition did provide a large quantity of geographical & scientific data, together with photographic images of indigenous Inuit people.