Frank Wild
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2024) |
Frank Wild Antarctic explorer , sailor | |
|---|---|
| Awards |
|
| Military service | |
| Branch | |
| Service years | 1889–1939 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | Royal Naval Reserve |
Expeditions
|
|
John Robert Francis Wild
Early life
Frank Wild was born in
Wild's family next moved to the village of
Antarctic exploration
.jpg)
Wild took part in the following Antarctic expeditions:
- In 1901, he was a member of Robert Falcon Scott's crew as an able seaman on the Discovery, along with Ernest Shackleton, who was then a sub-lieutenant.
- In 1908–1909, he was a member of Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition and was a member of the team that crossed the Ross Barrier and Beardmore Glacier at a record latitude of 88º23'S.
- In 1911, he joined Douglas Mawson's Aurora expedition and was in charge of the western base on the Shackleton Ice Shelf.
- From 1914 to 1916, he served as Shackleton's second-in-command on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
- In 1921–1922, he served as second-in-command of the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition.
As second-in-command of Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Wild was left in charge of 21 men on desolate Elephant Island as Shackleton and a crew of five undertook an epic open-ocean voyage to South Georgia aboard the lifeboat James Caird in order to seek rescue. For more than four months, from 24 April to 30 August 1916, during the Antarctic winter, Wild and his crew waited on Elephant Island, surviving on a diet of seal, penguin and seaweed. They were finally rescued by Shackleton aboard the Chilean ship Yelcho. Point Wild on Elephant Island is named after Frank Wild; a monument dedicated to the Chilean captain Luis Pardo, who rescued him and his men, now stands at the site.
On returning to the United Kingdom in 1916, Wild volunteered for duty during
From 1921 to 1922, Wild was second-in-command of the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition, on the converted Norwegian ship Quest. Shackleton died of a heart attack on South Georgia during the expedition, and Wild took over command and completed the journey, combating unfavourable weather to Elephant Island and along the Antarctic coast.[1]
Wild's younger brother Ernest Wild also went on to become a Royal Naval seaman and Antarctic explorer, receiving a Polar Medal.
Later years
On 24 October 1922, Wild married Vera Alexandra Altman (née Bogosoff), the widow of a tea planter of
The enterprise was a financial disaster and after five years of drought followed by flood, Wild gave up. Next he was involved in railway construction and for a time had some success with a contract to extend the South African railway to the border with
Wild's marriage to Vera was in difficulty shortly after arriving in
He married for the second time on 18 March 1931. His new wife, Beatrice (Trixie) Lydia Rhys Rowbotham, was 47 years old and ten years his junior. They settled in Germiston, where in 1932, he worked supervising a stone-crushing machine at a Witwatersrand gold mine. Wild earned enough money not only to buy a car (a Wolseley) but to take two holidays in the hinterland and coast of South Africa.
Due to ill health, he was forced to leave the mining job and he was given a job by his brother-in-law Pat O'Brien Frost to oversee the building of Frost's house in
Death
Wild died of pneumonia and diabetes in Klerksdorp on 19 August 1939, aged 66 years. He was cremated on 23 August 1939 at Braamfontein Cemetery in Johannesburg.
In the 2000s, while journalist and author Angie Butler was researching a book about Wild she discovered his ashes were still in a vault at Braamfontein Cemetery. On 27 November 2011, the ashes of Frank Wild, Shackleton's "right-hand man", were interred on the right-hand side of Shackleton's grave site in
His grave is marked with a rough-hewn granite block with the inscription: "Frank Wild 1873–1939, Shackleton's right-hand man."
Honours and memorials
Wild was awarded the
On 25 November 2011, the Government of
In April 2012,
On 29 September 2016, a statue of Wild was unveiled in his hometown of Skelton-in-Cleveland.
References
- ^ a b c Glenn M. Stein, FRGS (15 September 2012). "Antarctic Medals – Frank Wild's Medals". The Antarctic Medals website. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ a b Bickel 2001, p. 27.
- ^ a b c d [1] Visit and Learn website
- ^ Nature Obit, 30 September 1939.
- ^ Telegraph, Forgotten hero, 8 December 2011.
- ^ Paul Ward. "Frank Wild (1873–1939) – Biographical Notes". Cool Antarctica. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ The Times 21 September 2009, p. 15
- ^ "Could polar hero Wild have saved Captain Scott's life?". BBC News. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ "Frank Wild: Antarctica's Forgotten Hero". BBC. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
Sources
- Bickel, Lennard (2001). Shackleton's Lost Men. London: Random House. ISBN 978-0-7126-6807-1.
- Lansing, Alfred (1959). Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.
- ISBN 978-1-84486-099-9.
- Leif Mills (1999). Frank Wild. Caedmon of Whitby, 350 pages.
- Angie Butler (2011). "The Quest for Frank Wild". Jackleberry Press, 214 pages.
- ISBN 978-1-84486-137-8.
- Naidoo, Romaana (20 October 2011). "Wild's ashes found in Joburg". joburg.org.za. City of Johannesburg. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- Marr, James W. S. (30 September 1939). "Commander F. Wild, C.B.E." Nature. 144 (3648): 578–579. doi:10.1038/144578b0.
- F.A. Worsley, Shackleton's Boat Journey
- Lusher, Adam (27 November 2011). "Forgotten hero Frank Wild of Antarctic exploration finally laid to rest, beside his 'boss' Sir Ernest Shackleton". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
External links
