Frank Bickerton
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2019) |
Francis Howard Bickerton | |
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Cardiganshire , Wales | |
Occupation(s) | Explorer and aviator |
Francis Howard Bickerton (15 January 1889 – 21 August 1954) was an English treasure hunter,
Bickerton was a friend of author Vita Sackville-West and was the model for the character of Leonard Anquetil in her 1930 novel The Edwardians.
Early life
Francis Howard Bickerton was born in
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE), 1911–1914
Immediately upon his return from Cocos Island, Bickerton volunteered for the
Over the next eleven months, Bickerton spent the majority of his time working on the conversion of the wrecked monoplane and on the erection of the two huge wireless masts intended to enable, for the first time in the history of Antarctic exploration, direct communication between an Antarctic base-camp and civilization. In October 1912, Bickerton was also chosen to lead one of the expedition's four main sledging parties. His particular task would be to steer the air-tractor along the western coast of Commonwealth Bay, accompanied by Dr Leslie Whetter and Alfred Hodgeman. Bickerton and his companions began their trek on 3 December 1912, with Bickerton piloting the heavily laden air-tractor and Whetter and Hodgeman proceeding on foot. Almost immediately, however, the machine became a cause for concern and, on the following day, the engine seized so abruptly that the propeller was smashed; with no spare-parts and with little or no time to effect repairs, the three men agreed to abandon the aeroplane and to proceed on foot. Despite this disappointment, the following day, 5 December, marked an important milestone in Antarctic science, with the discovery of a 1 kg olivine-hypersthene – the first meteorite ever to be found in Antarctica. The discovery of the
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917
While still in Antarctica, Bickerton had learned about and volunteered for Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic (or "Endurance") Expedition. Shackleton intended to take a number of motor-driven sledges on his expedition, including one very similar in design to the converted REP monoplane. As the only man ever to have attempted the use of such a machine in Antarctica, Bickerton's expertise was second-to-none and his application was accepted. In May 1914, Bickerton accompanied Shackleton, Frank Wild, George Marston and Thomas Orde-Lees to Finse in Norway to test the propeller-sledge. Shortly after the party's return from Norway, Britain declared war on Germany and Bickerton decided to abandon any plans for a return to Antarctica and instead joined the Army.
World War I
On 11 September 1914, Bickerton enlisted with the 16th (Public Schools) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. He soon applied for an officer's commission, however, and in April 1915, he joined the 7th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment as a platoon commander in D Company under Captain G.H. Impey. The Battalion crossed to France on 31 May 1915 and a few days later took up a position near Armentieres on the River Leys. It was here, on 28 June, that the Battalion lost its first officer, Captain John Bussell, Bickerton's brother-in-law, being shot through the head during an inspection of the trenches. The Battalion then played a minor role in the Battle of Loos during September with most of its casualties being suffered by D Company.
In May 1916, Bickerton volunteered to serve as an aerial gunner and observer with the
From August 1916 to February 1917, Bickerton recuperated in England. He then attended the
Bickerton's final injuries of the war were suffered in May 1918, when he was serving as a test pilot at the Aeroplane Experimental Station at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk. On 18 May, he was testing bomb-aiming equipment in a Vickers Vimy bomber. When the aeroplane suffered simultaneous failure in both its engines, forcing Bickerton to attempt a crash-landing. The resulting smash destroyed the aeroplane and left Bickerton with concussion and broken fingers.
Post-War
In 1920, Bickerton joined fellow Antarctic veterans, Frank Wild and Dr
Having spent some time in Paris with his friend, the artist Cuthbert Orde, he travelled in Newfoundland, where he joined a colony of ex-pats established by Antarctic veteran Captain Victor Campbell. During the late 1920s, Bickerton regularly travelled between Newfoundland and England, combining the lives of a Canadian backwoodsman with that of a fashionable party-goer in the London of the Roaring Twenties. It was during this period that the novelists Stella Benson and Vita Sackville-West both became acquainted with the explorer. The former fell passionately in love with Bickerton and asked him to become the father of her child (an honour which Bickerton declined), while the latter took Bickerton as the model for Leonard Anquetil, the hero of her best novel, The Edwardians (1930).
In 1928, Bickerton abandoned his farm in Newfoundland and decided to invest capital in a company founded by the American equestrian and golfing champion, Marion Hollins. Ultimately, he would become heavily involved in the development of the Pasatiempo Country Club in Santa Cruz, working closely with both Hollins and the world-famous golf-course designer, Dr Alister MacKenzie. It was also during this period that Bickerton commenced what would ultimately become a disastrous love-affair with Marion Hollins's niece, Hope Hollins. The acrimonious break-up of the affair saw Bickerton quarrel with his business partner and, with the onset of the Wall Street Crash, he eventually fled the US and returned to England, a disillusioned and unhappy man.
During 1932–1933, Bickerton embarked on a world tour in company with William Rhodes-Moorhouse and Tom Hanbury. Having travelled from England to New York and then through British Columbia shooting grizzly bear, the trio sailed from the East Coast of America to South Africa on board a cargo ship. They then travelled by train, plane and automobile from Cape Town to Cairo, frequently pausing to hunt.
Back in England, Bickerton took up a role within the film industry, working as screenwriter and film-editor on a range of films, including My Irish Molly with Maureen O'Hara and an adaptation of Jack London's Mutiny of the Elsinore with the future Oscar-winner Paul Lukas.
On 27 May 1937, Bickerton married Lady Joan Chetwynd-Talbot, sister of the Earl of Shrewsbury, by whom he had one daughter.
With the outbreak of
Frank Bickerton died on 21 August 1954 in the Welsh town of
Bibliography
- Born Adventurer: The Life of Frank Bickerton, Antarctic Pioneer by Stephen Haddelsey (Sutton Publishing, 2005)
- The Wings of the Morning by Patrick Garland (Bantam Books, 1990)
- The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West (Virago, 2000)
References
- 1891 Census of Headington District– RG12/1166 Folio 49 Page 9 (Charley Hall, The Parks, Oxford)