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OXFORD UNIVERSITY ELLESMERE LAND EXPEDITION, 1934.

HAMPTON COURT PALACE. CONFIDENTIAL.

MIDDLESEX.

Enclosure.

19th March 1936.

Dear Lord Tweedsmuir,

It was very kind of you to take up the matter of Robert Bentham's expedition. It now seems that there are good prospects of his getting financial support in England, and I understand that the Royal Geographical Society have voted him £100, and the Royal Society £200.

In the meanwhile, I am enclosing some plans which I have worked out together with other members of the recent expedition, for completing the work which we began in Northern Ellesmere Land. They are the outcome of the conclusions which we formed during our last trip, and I have taken into consideration all the ways in which we went wrong in our last expedition. This new one is designed to produce the maximum amount of· efficiency, as opposed to the last expedition, which was away fourteen months, and was only able to spend very few months in the field. In fact, in the light of our increased knowledge, I have tried to produce what seems to us to be the ideal plan, with particular regard to the safety factor.

To summarise, the plans are as follows: An Advance Party, consisting of about four men to go up by ship to the Robertson Bay neighbourhood, establish winter quarters there, hunt, and lay in stocks of dog-food, arrange for Eskimos to accompany the sledge parties during the Spring journeys, and generally get ready for the Main Party who would arrive by ship at Ivigtut in early March. From there, they would

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fly north, arriving at the Base not later than Mareh 31st. They would have at least two big weight carrying machines, with a pay load of approximately 4,000 lbs., and two smaller planes. From the Base at Robertson Bay, flights would be made to Lake Hazen, where, with machines of the capacity mentioned, it would be easy to establish and maintain an Advance Base from which sledge journeys could be carried out. The main objectives of these sledge journeys, as detailed in the plans, would be to carry out geology, and to fix control points astronomically for the aerial survey. The parties would be supplied by air, and would return at the latest by the middle of June. July and August would be taken up mainly with aerial survey in Northern Ellesmere Land, and general scientific work in the Lake Hazen district, which is undoubtedly, an important breeding district, and should provide a magnificent field for an ornithologist. Finally, one or two flights would be made over the Arctic Ocean, north-west of Ellesmere Land, to search for new land close to the "Pole of Inaccessibility", and to claim it for Canada. Thus the Main Party would only be in the field for five months, during which time they would work continuously.

The plan has been drawn up in some detail, and safeguards and precautions have been worked out for all the emergencies that can be foreseen. For instance, flying will only take place during the months of continuous daylight; machines will always fly in pairs; machines will be fitted with directional wireless, and for preference, at least two engines, to reduce the risk of forced landings. However, at the moment, I am trying to get some really expert advice on the aerial side of it, from people who have already flown in the Canadian Arctic.

The most important factor in carrying out work in this part of the world, is the assistance of the Eskimos. Aeroplanes alone could, of course, produce very little in the way of actual returns, and even aerial survey requires ground control points, fixed by sledge parties. It would be impossible to collect enough white men with experience of

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Arctic travel in these regions, where ice conditions are rather severe, and in any case, no white man is anything like as efficient as an Eskimo, when it comes to sledging. In order, therefore, to keep the scientific parties to the minimum necessary for doing the work, and carrying out the necessary journeys, we should rely largely on Eskimos. I explained these plans to the Eskimos at Robertson Bay, and they told me that they would willingly work in with some such sceme, since they know us. I doubt whether they would do this for strangers, since they are always rather afraid that they would lead them into trouble, as for instance Kruger did. We should have had difficulty during the last Expedition, I think, in getting the right Eskimos for our party, had they not known Stallworthy was going with us .

With regard to the personnel, there are several members of the last Expedition who would like to go north again. We feel that now that we have begun the work in Ellesmere Land, we should like also to go on and finish the job. There is the additional advantage also that we know the country, and the Eskimos. Bentham is particularly keen to take part in the expedition, and we have worked out an arrangement so that it would be possible for him to join us without interfering very greatly with his own particular trip. Stallworthy too, would be willing to come with us again, as far as his personal relations with us are concerned, but he cannot say definitely as his police career comes first. If he did come, his job would be that of Leader of the Advance Party, in charge of the Base.

So far, the matter has only been discussed confidentially with the University authorities, and a few friends, such as Colonel Vanier, in London. I have also informed Sir James MacBrien about them. It is I am afraid rather too big a scheme to tackle as an Exploration Club Expedition, since it would not be possible, from what the University authorities say, to raise any large sums of money within the University. However, they seem anxious to help. The plans have been discussed very fully with

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Charles Elton, and we are keen for the expedition to be as closely connected with the Club as possible. Certainly the scientific results might be published under its auspices.

I have been in touch with friends in the Air Ministry, and there is the possibility that they would be Willing to help by lending pilots and even aeroplanes, if the Canadian Government were willing to co-operate in some way also. By the Spring or Summer of 1938 there should be an enormous number of machines, and certain types will by then be obsolete from the point of view of speed. Nevertheless, they would be entirely suitable for an Expedition. Of course, I realise this possibility is contingent on the international situation being settled. Apart from these machines, the total cost should not be more than £10,000 to £12,000, the bulk of which, it should, I think, be possible to raise from outside sources, such as the Press, Book, Films, etc . There is no doubt in my mind that we should be able to get the same support from Firms for our supplies, that we had on the last Expedition. But of course, it is impossible to arrive at a detailed financial estimate until the amount of cooperation from the Governments concerned, with regard to the loan of aeroplanes and equipment can be ascertained.

I must apologise for troubling you again so soon with the plans for another expedition, especially when the details are by no means settled, but I should very much like to have some sort of indication as to whether the Canadian Government would regard it favourably, and even be prepared to help. I should be most grateful if, when a suitable opportunity arises, you could consider putting the matter forward.

I am enclosing a copy of 'Oxford,' which contains an article on our recent expedition, and on page 76 there is a map which will also do to illustrate the new plans.

Yours sincerely,

Eddie Shackleton

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.

[underline]PLANS FOR EXPEDITION TO CANADIAN ARCTIC.[/underline]

[underline]Objectives[/underline]:

1. To complete the exploration of ELLESMERE LAND, north of Latitude 79, (BACHE PENINSULA AREA).

2. To carry out detailed Geological and Topographical Survey of the same area.

3. To carry out flights over ARCTIC OCEAN, North-West of ELLESMERE LAND, to "Pole of Inaccessibility".

(a) To search for new land in Canadian Sector.

(b) If found, to claim it for Canada.

(c) To plot its location on the map, either, roughly, by aerial observation, or, accurately, by ground observation, if a landing is possible.

4. To carry out detailed Ornithological, Botanical , Biological, Archaeological and other Scientific work in ELLESMERE LAND, for five months in the Spring and Summer.

5. To carry out the same scientific work over a period of twelve months in NORTH WEST GREENLAND, with the addition of Meteorological and Physical observations.

[underline]Personnel and Composition of Expedition:[/underline]

The expedition will be organised as follows:

1. [underline]Advance Party[/underline], consisting of:

Leader of Advance Party in charge of Base Camp. Doctor and Biologist. Physicist and Meteorologist. Wireless Operator and Engineer (Air Expert).

[underline]Total:[/underline] 4.

1.