Abstract
LIEUT. JAMES MARTIN, who has been reported lost at sea, had an unusual career compared with other polar explorers of the last twenty years. His whole interest was the sea, and his contributions to Antarctic discovery depended on his intimate knowledge of seamanship and his devotion to shipwork. He broke away from office work in the City to serve before the mast in the sailing ship Garthpool, and some years later he signed on as a seaman in the Discovery on a summer voyage to the Antarctic in 1929–30 under Sir Douglas Mawson. Martin shipped on her again in the following season and was ranked as boatswain. In order to improve his knowledge of ice navigation he then went to Norway for spring sealing in the White Sea and served as a seaman in the Quest. Soon afterwards he was chosen as leader of the 1933 Oxford University Expedition to Spitsbergen, but was prevented in the end from actually taking part owing to having been severely frostbitten whilst sledging in Northern Canada.
Enjoying our latest content?
Log in or create an account to continue
- Access the most recent journalism from Nature's award-winning team
- Explore the latest features & opinion covering groundbreaking research
or
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
WORDIE, J. Lieut. J. H. Martin, R.N.V.R. Nature 146, 553 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/146553b0
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/146553b0
