Person

Wild, John Robert Francis (Frank) (1873 - 1939)

CBE

Born
18 April 1873
Skelton-in-Cleveland, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Died
19 August 1939
Klerksdorp, South Africa
Occupation
Antarctic explorer
Alternative Names
  • Wild, Frank (Also known as)

Summary

Frank Wild was one of the most experienced Antarctic explorers: between 1901 and 1922 he participated in five expeditions. He was a member of the team that crossed the Ross Barrier and the Beardmore Glacier during the British Antarctic Expedition. In 1911 he joined the Australasian Antarctic Expedition under the command of his friend Douglas Mawson, and was the leader of the Western Party (Queen Mary Land) which explored over 500 km of unknown coastline. During the Imperial Transantarctic Expedition, Wild was in charge of 21 crew members of Endurance stranded on Elephant Island while expedition leader Ernest Shackleton organised a rescue party. Wild was awarded the Polar Medal with four bars for his Antarctic endeavours. His later career was peripatetic and included farming in Africa. Cape Wild (Elephant Island), Mount Wild (Queen Alexandra Range, Antarctica) and Mount Wild (Graham Land, Antarctica) were named in his honour.

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Details

The five Antarctic expeditions in which Wild participated were:

1901 - 1904: British National Antarctic Expedition (Discovery Expedition) under the command of Robert Scott;

1907 - 1909: British Antarctic Expedition (Nimrod Expedition) under the command of Ernest Shackleton;

1911 - 1914: Australasian Antarctic Expedition (Aurora Expedition) under the command of Douglas Mawson;

1914 - 1917: Imperial Transantarctic Expedition (Endurance Expedition) under the command of Ernest Shackleton;

1921 - 1922: Shackleton-Rowett Expedition (Quest Expedition) of which Wild was leader after the death of Ernest Shackleton.

Chronology

1889 - 1900
Career position - Served with the merchant navy
1900 - 1939
Career position - Served with the Royal Navy
1901 - 1904
Career position - Able seaman, British National Antarctic Expedition
1907 - 1909
Career position - Member, British Antarctic Expedition
1909
Award - Polar Medal (Silver, clasp))
1911 - February 1913
Career position - Leader, Western Party (Queen Mary Land), and sledge-master, Australasian Antarctic Expedition
1914 - 1917
Career position - Second-in-Command, Imperial Transantarctic Expedition
1915
Award - Polar Medal (Silver, clasp))
1916
Award - Back Award, Royal Ggeographical Society
1920
Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
1921 - 1922
Career position - Second-in-Command (later Expedition leader), Shackleton-Rowett Expedition
1924
Award - Patron's Medal, Royal Geographical Society

Related Events

Archival resources

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

  • Frank Wild - Records, 1901 - 1937, ML MSS 2198; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
  • Frank Wild - Records, 1908 - 1909, ML MSS 2955; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Butler, Angie, The quest for Frank Wild (Warwick, U.K.: Jackleberry Press, 2011), 214 pp. Details
  • Mills, Leif, Frank Wild (Whitby, U.K.: Caedmon of Whitby, 1999), 350 pp. Details

Journal Articles

Resources

See also

  • Chester, Jonathan, Going to extremes: Project Blizzard and Australia's Antarctic heritage (Sydney: Auckland: Doubleday Australia, 1986), 308 pp. Details
  • Jensen, David, Mawson's remarkable men: the personal stories of the epic 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expediton (Sydeny: Allen and Unwin, 2015), 183 pp. Details
  • Lewis-Jones, Huw and Herbert, Karl, In search of the South Pole (London: Conway, 2011), 192 pp. Details
  • Mawer, Granville Allen, South by Northwest: the Magnetic Crusade and the Contest for Antarctica (Kent Town: Wakefield Press, 2006), 319 pp. Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023

EOAS ID: biogs/P001230b.htm

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