Back in 2000 I read "The Ice Master," a book about the 1913-1914 voyage of the Karluk to the Arctic. The book is compiled from the journals of the crew stranded on Wrangel Island, but mostly based on the extensive journals of William Laird McKinlay. McKinlay lived until the age of 92 still consumed by what had occurred on the expedition. At the time of his death he was in the process of writing a book that he intended would clear the name of Captain Bartlett and set the record straight surrounding the expedition's leader Vilhjalmur Stefansson. I was gripped by the book while reading the prologue (always a good sign) while reading a quote from McKinlay.
"Not all the horrors of the Western Front, not the rubble of Arras, nor the hell of Ypres, nor all the mud of Flanders leading to Passchendale, could blot out the memories of that year in the Arctic."
My knowledge of the Western Front mostly consisted of a viewing of "All Quiet on the Western Front" and a few documentaries, but I found the quote chilling. It stuck with me as I read on about the horrible events that transpired that long year on the ice.
As a geography student I'd been interested in the Age of Exploration but had never really done much reading on the subject outside of textbooks. So I read several more books, "Ninety Degrees North", "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage", "South", and "Mawson's Will." If you're not aware of Shackleton's 1914-1917 expedition, I highly recommend reading "Endurance."At the time I was reading these books I was also doing a fair amount of waterfowl hunting, sitting in very cold blinds from just before sunrise until noon. At the end I could drive home to a hot shower. Not so for those trapped at the poles.
Both the crews of the Karluk and the Endurance expected to be greeted as heroes upon their return. World acclaim and the books and speaking engagements that followed were how these men expected to be paid and fund their next expedition during this heroic age of exploration. As many hundreds of thousands had already died or were wounded horribly on the fields of France by the time of their return, the British public had little appetite for stories of survival.
Getting back to McKinlay, when he returned home in 1914 he spent months recuperating. His frostbitten feet would give him problems the rest of his life and he had lost all but one of his teeth. He served as an officer in the 51st Highland Division, like many of those who returned, he was eager to do his part. He was also not alone in hoping that war would erase his memories of what had happened. He was wounded at Cambrai in 1917 and discharged. The war had done little to assuage his nightmares.
After his years in the army, McKinlay came to a conclusion about his tragic experiences in the Arctic. It wasn't just Stefansson he was disappointed in, his army days had show him what real comradeship was.
"this was what had been entirely missing up north; it was the lack of real comradeship that had left the scars, not the physical rigours and hazards of the ice pack, nor the deprivation on Wrangel Island."
The book I'm currently reading on the Great War in Africa, "World War I: the African Front" by Edward Paice includes several quotes from soldiers who fought both on the Western front and in Africa.
"What wouldn't one give for the food alone in France, for the clothing and equipment! For the climate, wet or fine and above all for the fighting where one knows one is up against the real thing. I am perfectly ready to be killed, but if that is to happen, please, I want to die a strong man, with all my faculties intact, not a half-starved weakling." -Officer with the 40th Pathans
The war in Africa was a war of disease, starvation and incredible hardship. As in Arctic survival, determination and logistics played enormous roles in the success of any operation. While the experiences of the crews of the Karluk and Endurance was arctic and not tropical, perhaps some of their skills would have been more useful in East Africa, than in the mud of Flanders.
"Not all the horrors of the Western Front, not the rubble of Arras, nor the hell of Ypres, nor all the mud of Flanders leading to Passchendale, could blot out the memories of that year in the Arctic."
My knowledge of the Western Front mostly consisted of a viewing of "All Quiet on the Western Front" and a few documentaries, but I found the quote chilling. It stuck with me as I read on about the horrible events that transpired that long year on the ice.
As a geography student I'd been interested in the Age of Exploration but had never really done much reading on the subject outside of textbooks. So I read several more books, "Ninety Degrees North", "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage", "South", and "Mawson's Will." If you're not aware of Shackleton's 1914-1917 expedition, I highly recommend reading "Endurance."At the time I was reading these books I was also doing a fair amount of waterfowl hunting, sitting in very cold blinds from just before sunrise until noon. At the end I could drive home to a hot shower. Not so for those trapped at the poles.
Both the crews of the Karluk and the Endurance expected to be greeted as heroes upon their return. World acclaim and the books and speaking engagements that followed were how these men expected to be paid and fund their next expedition during this heroic age of exploration. As many hundreds of thousands had already died or were wounded horribly on the fields of France by the time of their return, the British public had little appetite for stories of survival.
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| The men of Shackleton's expedition rescued at Elephant Island. Two men are not pictured. Shackleton had succeeded in bringing home all 22 men. This feat is often referred to as the greatest survival story in history. |
After his years in the army, McKinlay came to a conclusion about his tragic experiences in the Arctic. It wasn't just Stefansson he was disappointed in, his army days had show him what real comradeship was.
"this was what had been entirely missing up north; it was the lack of real comradeship that had left the scars, not the physical rigours and hazards of the ice pack, nor the deprivation on Wrangel Island."
The book I'm currently reading on the Great War in Africa, "World War I: the African Front" by Edward Paice includes several quotes from soldiers who fought both on the Western front and in Africa.
"What wouldn't one give for the food alone in France, for the clothing and equipment! For the climate, wet or fine and above all for the fighting where one knows one is up against the real thing. I am perfectly ready to be killed, but if that is to happen, please, I want to die a strong man, with all my faculties intact, not a half-starved weakling." -Officer with the 40th Pathans
The war in Africa was a war of disease, starvation and incredible hardship. As in Arctic survival, determination and logistics played enormous roles in the success of any operation. While the experiences of the crews of the Karluk and Endurance was arctic and not tropical, perhaps some of their skills would have been more useful in East Africa, than in the mud of Flanders.
This started out as a great summary/review of the Karluk incident, but then you went off on a tangent to the Africa theater in WW1. I was all prepped to read more about McKinlay's experiences as summarized by you. Thus I decree you should continue that path of discourse. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree, the segue was a bit awkward. Just trying to bring things back to where the blog is heading next. I've wanted to write about this for some time and was planning to write about it when my "Mountains of Madness" Cthulu project gets off the ground. That project is not going anywhere right now, and I couldn't resist the urge to tell the story anymore. You'll just have to live with the segue whiplash.
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