Huberht Taylor Hudson, RD (17 September 1886 – 15 June 1942), commonly known as Hubert Hudson instead of by his actual first name (an Old English version of the name), was a navigating officer in the British

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 ...

, who took part in Ernest Shackleton's

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 ...

to Antarctica. Hudson joined the expedition whilst a 'mate' in the Royal Navy. He earned the nickname of 'Buddha', when the rest of the crew successfully tricked him into dressing-up in little more than a bedsheet for a 'fancy dress' party on the whaling station at South Georgia. Hudson was described as a "young dandy" who was somewhat self-centered and a poor listener, "simple and a little irritating....a little impressed with his own good looks, but really not too sure of himself." During the expedition, Hudson was famed for his ability to catch penguins, which the crew used as a source of food whilst trapped on the ice. Hudson would be put in charge of steering the tiller of one of the lifeboats, the ''Stancomb Wills'', once the crew escaped from the pack ice, eventually landing on

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 ...

. Towards the end of the expedition, Hudson suffered a severe breakdown of mental morale, possibly due to a massive boil that he developed on his buttocks. His illness caused

Frank Wild John Robert Francis Wild (18 April 1873 – 19 August 1939), known as Frank Wild, was an English sailor and explorer. He participated in five expeditions to Antarctica during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, for which he was awar ...

, the second-in-command, a lot of worry that he would not survive. However, Hudson pulled through and eventually recovered his health. Upon return from the expedition, Hudson took part in

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 ...

, serving on

Q-ships Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...

. He later also took part in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a Royal Navy Reserve Convoy Commodore. Hudson died on 15 June 1942 while in

convoy HG 84 HG 84 was an Allied convoy of the HG (Homeward from Gibraltar) series during World War II. Background Following the U-boat Arm's defeat whilst attacking convoy HG 76, ''Befehlshaber der U-Boote'' (BdU), the U-boat high command, had temporar ...

when his ship, the merchant vessel ''Pelayo'', was torpedoed by .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Hubert Explorers of Antarctica Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Royal Navy officers of World War I 1886 births 1942 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Naval Reserve personnel Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Military personnel from London People from Holloway, London Convoy commodores