Alexander John Henry Kerr (2 December 1892 – 4 December 1964) was an English

marine engineer Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...

and wholesale newsagent. He is best known for his service in the

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing ...

of 1914–1916, for which he was awarded the Silver

Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...

Biography

Kerr was born on 2 December 1892 in

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the Becontree Hun ...

, which was then part of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

but has since become part of

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

. As a man trained for work with marine engines, he signed on the ''Endurance'' as the second engineer. Although the ''

Endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from a ...

'' was rigged as a

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing r ...

, it also had a coal-burning engine and spent much of its time under steam. Working under the supervision of chief engineer

Lewis Rickinson Lewis Raphael Rickinson (21 April 1883 – 16 April 1945) was an English marine engineer. He is best known for his service in the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1916, for which he was awarded the Silver Polar Medal. Biography Ric ...

, who became Kerr's friend and cabin-mate, Kerr tried to help power the ''Endurance'' to the destination selected by the expedition leader, Sir

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...

. Their goal was the

Filchner Ice Shelf Wilhelm Filchner (13 September 1877 – 7 May 1957) was a German army officer, scientist and explorer. He conducted several surveys and scientific investigations in China, Tibet and surrounding regions, and led the Second German Antarctic Expeditio ...

attached to the continent of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. To get to this goal the ''Endurance'', her crew, and her shore party had to make their way through the ice-filled

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha ...

. Instead of reaching the ice shelf, the expedition ship was beset by

pack ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...

as the Antarctic winter of 1915 closed in. Conditions worsened during the winter and Shackleton was forced to order his men to abandon the ''Endurance'' in November 1915. Kerr and his expedition mates were castaways on the Weddell Sea. With Rickinson and his other comrades, Kerr camped on ice floes that drifted north towards the

Drake Passage The Drake Passage (referred to as Mar de Hoces Hoces Sea"in Spanish-speaking countries) is the body of water between South America's Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connects the southwestern part of the Atla ...

and into warmer water. As their solid refuge melted under their feet, Kerr and the other men of the expedition were then forced to take to lifeboats. After a dangerous open-boat journey, the party made land at

Elephant Island Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...

off the coast of the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

. The Elephant Island party was rescued in August 1916. FW SLV Kerr with sounding machine 13

Upon returning to Britain, Kerr joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and served on mine-sweepers during the second half of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. With his polar experience, he was assigned to the

North Russia Intervention The North Russia intervention, also known as the Northern Russian expedition, the Archangel campaign, and the Murman deployment, was part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution. The intervention brought ...

, an abortive attempt by the United Kingdom and other Western Powers to provide support for non-tsarist, non-communist forces in revolutionary Russia. Kerr retained his ties with Shackleton while serving in Russian waters; and when the veteran explorer announced plans for one more Antarctic expedition in 1921, Kerr signed articles to serve aboard the ''

Quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...

'', this time as chief engineer. The ''Quest'' expedition proved tragically abortive when Shackleton died in

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

in January 1922. With the end of what is called the

Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration was an era in the exploration of the continent of Antarctica which began at the end of the 19th century, and ended after the First World War; the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition of 1921–1922 is often cit ...

, Kerr returned to London for good. He resumed life as a civilian engineer, specializing in the power units of tugboats in the

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Sea ...

. In 1917, Kerr had married Lillian Mitchell. Two children, son Jack Kerr (1918) and daughter Eileen Kerr (1920), completed their family. In 1934, now middle-aged, Kerr again shifted careers and built a new life as a wholesaler to small shops. His Ilford-based firm distributed confections, tobacco, and newspapers to newsagents and tobacconists. Kerr died, age 72, in hospital in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

on 4 December 1964, thus maintaining his ties with

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

until his death.

Legacy

In 1916–17, Kerr was awarded the Polar Medal in silver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Alexander 1892 births 1964 deaths Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Recipients of the Polar Medal People from East Ham Royal Navy personnel of the Russian Civil War