Frank Wild's Final Journey

Shackleton’s right hand man, Antarctic Explorer Frank Wild has recently been re-discovered and his memoirs, after years in obscurity, have finally been published by author Angie Butler in her book 'The Quest for Frank Wild'.

Frank Wild on the cover of his published memoirs and biography by Angie Butler.

Frank Wild was born in Skelton Yorkshire on 10^th April 1873 and believed himself to be the ‘secret’ great great grandson of Captain James Cook. From a young age Frank had wanted to join the Navy and at eight already had an interest in arctic adventure. When Frank was 11 his father took a headmastership at Eversholt School and the family moved to Bedfordshire. Frank joined the Merchant Navy at 16 years old and then the Royal Navy in 1900, allowing him to apply for the National British Antarctic Expedition under Captain Scott. He was selected from over 3,000 applicants to join the crew of the Discovery and was proved wrong in thinking Scott would only choose ‘big hefty men’.

Wild’s memoirs, which he began in 1934 but never completed, provide an insight into life on polar expeditions. Frank’s knowledge and survival techniques are fascinating as one of only a few men who had first hand experience of the perils of Antarctica. Despite the tests of each expedition Frank writes ‘Even now, after five Antarctic expeditions and one to the Arctic, that longing (for polar exploration) is not extinguished’.

Icebergs in Antarctica from Crossing Continents photo album

 He was held in high esteem by Captain Scott and his good friend Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton, who was quite critical of other expedition members, when interviewed simply said; 'There is nothing to say about Frank Wild, he is my other self'.

His most famous expedition was the Nimrod expedition with Shackleton, getting just 100 miles from the South Pole before being forced to turn home. It is the Imperial Trans-Atlantic expedition in 1914 though that shows Wild at his best in dire straits.

Within weeks of setting sail in early 1915, the Endurance was trapped in ice and 10 months later it was crushed; "It was a sickening sensation to feel the decks breaking up under one's feet, the great beams bending and snapping with a noise of heavy gun fire…”. Later, once the men had abandoned the ship and were camped on the ice, Shackleton shouted, 'She's going boys!'. "Running out, we were just in time to see the stern of the Endurance rise and then a quick dive and all was over… I felt as if I had lost an old friend."

Illustration of Frank Wild by artist David Litchfield, created  for the Bedford Clanger local newspaper 'Great Bedforidans' feature in the March 2012 issue. For more of David's drawings go to his website.

Having retrieved a banjo, and smuggled out a bottle of whisky from their sinking ship, Frank organised evening concerts, complete with liquid refreshment, to try to keep up the crew's spirits whilst they were forced to camp for many weeks exposed on the ice. When they finally travelled to Elephant Island Frank was heroic in his leadership in building a secure dry shelter from two upturned lifeboats, some rocks and wood. Shackleton left in the third life boat to alert others and bring a rescue team. This took him over five months and four attempts, being prevented by the extreme weather from reaching them. Two weeks after Shackleton had left for a rescue party Frank would roll up his sleeping bag remarking to the others, "Get your things ready boys, the boss may come today".  The men were kept alive by eating seal and penguin meat and seaweed and were very fortunate to survive the bitter cold of - 45C.

Despite his wishes to be buried with ‘the boss’ as he affectionately called Shackleton, Frank was cremated in South Africa on 19^th August 1939. Angie Butler discovered his ashes whilst researching Frank Wild for her book and sought to return his remains to South Georgia to be re-united with Shackleton’s. You can listen to a recording about the journey that descendants from the Wild and Shackelton families took to attend Wild’s final journey back to Antarctica on the BBC Radio 4 Crossing Continents Podcast. You can view pictures of the trip on the Facebook Crossing Continents album.

There will also be a BBC2 programme about Frank Wild, due to be aired in April 2012 – so keep a look out in your TV guide.      

Lydia Saul,

Keeper of Social History

Thanks to: 

Angie Butler for her permission to reproduce quotes from her book 'The Quest for Frank Wild'

David Litchfield for the fantastic illustration of Frank Wild

Article reproduced from March Issue of the Bedford Clanger newspaper

Celebrating International Women's Day: Miss Elizabeth Brooks, a Woman of the Home Guard

Today is International Women’s Day, so I thought both an object of the week and a celebration of a young woman, who was one of the first women recruited into the Home Guard during the Second World War would be something well connected to blog about. It is not really widely known, but women were accepted as members of the Home Guard. 

Elizabeth Brooks Home Guard badge from c.1942 - 1945, made from bakelite by A Stanley and Sons, Walsall, BEDFM 2009.14.1

This Home Guard badge belonged to Miss Elizabeth Brooks and was given to the collection by her sister, Dorothy in her memory. Elizabeth was born on 31^st December 1923 in South Yorkshire. In 1936, during the depression years, her father acquired work at London Brick Company, Stewartby. At that time it entitled him to a house in the growing village of Stewartby, then a new development for families of workers at the London Brick Works.

Metal and enamel Home Guard badge issued in the early part of the war, before metal became economised,
 BEDFM 2003.350

Elizabeth continued her education at Bedford Modern School for Girls and was still a pupil there when war started in 1939. When she left school in 1940, she worked for in the office of Bedford County Council’s Highways Department. While working there she volunteered to assist with Civil Defence duties and received training for Air Raid Precautions being able to act in “Report and Communication Measures”, her Certificate was issued in November 1940.

Elizabeth's ARP Certificate awarded to her in November 1940

We do not know exactly when Elizabeth applied to become a member officially of the Home Guard, but it is likely to have been during 1942. The Home Guard was formed to resist an enemy invasion and, in line with government and military policy, women were not allowed in 'front-line' or 'combat' units. Initially it was felt that there were enough voluntary organisations that women could join, including the Womens' Voluntary Service and Civil Defence and so they were not officially admitted into the Home Guard. Even though they were not technically allowed to do so, some units decided to allow women to do administrative or other 'non-combat' duties within their unit. Then later in 1942 it was agreed that if needed women could be taken on to do administrative and non-combatant duties within their unit, but were know as Woman Home Guard Auxiliaries. They were issued with a Home Guard badge with the initials HG. By 1942, due to economies required in the use of metal these badges were made of bakelite, an early plastic to save on materials. This particular badge was made by A Stanley and Sons, Walsall.

Back of Elizabeth's badge, showing manufacturers name.

 Women were conscripted for wartime work from 1941 onwards between the ages of 20 and 30. When Elizabeth reached calling up age in 1943 she failed on health grounds for acceptance into the forces, but was instead seconded into working for the Post Office telephones (now BT) in the Bedford Telephone Exchange doing repair work and setting lines up, but not outside work. Elizabeth remembered there was one line that had to be kept open whatever might happen and thought that perhaps it was a secret line for Churchill and his cabinet to safely getaway from London, but as it transpired, she later realised it was to the Bletchley Park decoding Centre. She continued her role as a member of the Home Guard until the end of the Second World War.

Letter thanking Elizabeth Brooks for her service in the Home Guard

We have a letter sent from Elizabeth’s Commanding Officer (signature unfortunately illegible) in the “E” Company, 5^th Bedfordshire Battalion. He thanks her for her contribution and far from being a standard response, comments; “I cannot help feeling proud that we were the First Unit to introduce women to the Home Guard, and that later this procedure was adopted universally. Please accept my thanks for the very real work you did, and for the splendid way you gave up your spare time.”

Woman Home Guard Auxiliary Certificate

Certainly there were many women, with whom the Country relied upon during the Second World War to keep the nation running, whilst such large numbers of men were at the front. It did help women become more independent and prove, both to themselves and others, that they were just as capable as the men in fulfilling roles in the work place, which eventually led to a fight for equality. Allowing women into the Home Guard, even though regarded as a separate department, was one small step toward a more equal society for women.

Lydia Saul
Keeper of Social History

Thanks to Dorothy Brooks for donating her sister's badge and correspondence.

Conversations in Lace Event and the Lester Lace Collection

Last weekend, on Saturday 25th February, the Art Gallery and Museum staff were invited to join Bedford Creative Arts artist Arabel Rosillo de Blas at her Conversations in Lace event at the Tourist Information Centre, which is part of the Lace in Place season. Deciding which pieces of Bedfordshire Lace to take out for display was quite tricky as there are so many beautiful pieces in the collection. Our largest collection of lace was donated by Amy Lester the Grand-daughter of Thomazin Lester in 1947. Thomazin was a lace dealer in Bedford from the early 1800’s, and his sons Thomas and Charles Lester continued his business until the turn of the twentieth century.

Thomazin Lester (1791 - 1867), dealer in lace in Bedford from 1811 onwards, picture c.1860.

The early Nineteenth Century pieces are influenced by lace design from Lille, France in a Point Ground (net like backing with decorative motifs) style and the sample books we have from Lester’s shop are all of this type from this period. Lester exhibited at the Great Exhibition in 1851 and won recognition for his lace designs. Maltese lace was also exhibited and influenced the development of Bedfordshire Maltese Lace, which was a much more openly worked plaited lace.

Thomas Lester's Sample Book from his shop, BML.1

The Maltese style of lace had benefits over the point ground in being easier and less time consuming to make, it could compete more successfully against the machine-made lace being produced in Nottingham from the 1840’s and widening the sale of it to a mass market. Thomas Lester and his sons were able to keep their business going by adapting the design and style of the lace to meet current demand and trends in fashion, producing collars, cuffs, shawls and caps, then later parasol covers and fans. The industry, however, was greatly in decline toward the end of the Nineteenth Century and gradually lacemaking came to be kept up by just a small number of specialists.

More recently it has survived through interest as a leisure time handicraft through groups, such as the Aragon Lacemakers who were set up in 1977, to try to preserve the craft for the future enjoyment of their members and the general public. Aragon Lacemakers take their name from Katherine of Aragon, the Spanish first wife of King Henry Eighth who, the story is told, whilst imprisoned at Ampthill castle during the early Sixteenth Century, would go to a summer house in the village and teach the villagers lace there.

Lester Lace display from our collections for BCA Conservations in Lace event 

We took a selection of lace from the Lester Collection as you can see above, along with a few bobbins and prickings or lace patterns. There was one example of point ground Lille style lace displayed to see the difference in style between this and the Bedfordshire Maltese lace designs.

Lille Point Ground lace with a pineapple design, BML.162

The display included examples of cuffs and collars in the Bedfordshire style, with the recognisable trail of the river and leaf designs in several of the pieces. One of my favourite pieces is the Lester Eagle design, which were produced possibly as a set with a collar, lappets and cuffs in the collection, and the detail of which is exquisite.

Lester Eagle Design Bedfordshire Maltese Lace Cuff, BML.126

Marilyn from the Aragon lacemakers also joined the event, bringing her own lace pillow and making lace with her fantastic antique bobbins. She had a wonderful selection of hanging bobbins, which were produced by traders as a ‘souvenir’ of the day, including those of William Bull (1871), William Worsley (1868) and Joseph Castle (1860), which we have examples of in the collection also. Marilyn also had a John Bunyan bobbin, which was created to celebrate the unveiling of the Bunyan statue in 1874.

Marilyn from Aragon Lacemakers showing me (Lydia) her wonderful bobbin collection on her lace pillow.  

The purpose of the afternoon from Arabel's point of view was to invite the public to bring their own pieces of lace and share stories of what lace meant to them. We had a wide variety of visitors, many happy to talk about lace from countries where they had previously lived or travelled to. A few people brought lace in with them that had been handed down to them from family or made themselves.

Arabel Rosillo de Blas, artist from Bedford Creative Arts  talking to a member of the public about their lace.

One younger Bedfordian, Tracey, remembered being taught lace at her school when she was eight and brought the fruits of her work to show us. She also impressed us all by taking up the practice lace pillow and making some lace on the day, saying that she was surprised how much it came back to her even though she had been just a child when she learnt and had not touched a bobbin since!

Tracey's Bedfordshire Lace made when she was eight years old. 

If you want to get involved in BCA's lace events then please visit their website for further details click here for BCA Events. The next event is the Large Lace at Bunyan Meeting Museum on 24th March 1pm, where you can become a human bobbin. Arabel's commission will be launched in early May and is proposing to decorate a building in St. Paul's Square with enlarged lace patterns - can't wait to see the finished work. Do get in touch with BCA if you have some lace that might be of interest to Arabel and a story that you think relevant to the project. If this blog has inspired you to get more involved with taking lacemaking up as a hobby, then you would be welcome to contact Marilyn, the Secretary of Aragon Lacemakers. The Aragon lacemakers also have their 25th Anniversary event at St. Paul's Church on the 25th April later in the spring. 2012 will be a great year for celebrating Bedfordshire's lace-making tradition.


Lydia Saul
Keeper of Social History


Thanks go to Arabel Rosillo de Blas, Lyndall Phelps (Project Manager for Lace in Place), Jennie Stoddart (Curator Producer, BCA), Marilyn Two and the Aragon Lacemakers, Gemma and Cathy for their assistance on the day. 


For further information on Bedfordshire Lace and the Lester Lace Collection see the following:
Bedford Borough Introduction to Bedfordshire Lace

Lester Lace, Lace as Fashion and Bedfordshire Lace History

Lace Booklist