James William Slessor Marr (9 December 1902 – 30 April 1965) was a Scottish marine biologist and polar explorer. He was leader of the World War 2 British Antarctic Expedition Operation Tabarin during its first year, 1943–1945.

Biography

Marr was born in Cushnie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on 9 December 1902. Son of farmer John George Marr and Georgina Sutherland Slessor. While studying classics and zoology at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, he and Norman Mooney were selected among thousands of

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

volunteers to accompany 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 ...

on the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition in 1921, on board the vessel ''

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 ...

''. The expedition failed to reach its final objective the Weddell Sea due to Shackleton's death on 5 January 1922. Upon his return Marr completed his MA in classics and BSc in zoology. In between he had to participate in fund raising events that were organised in order to cover the expedition's debts. Which included standing in scout uniform outside cinemas where the film ''Quest'' was being shown. Marr spent 1926 as a

Carnegie Scholar The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

at a marine laboratory in Aberdeen. He took part in the

British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition The British Australian (and) New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) was a research expedition into Antarctica between 1929 and 1931, involving two voyages over consecutive Austral summers. It was a British Commonwealth initiative, dr ...

(BANZARE) with Sir Douglas Mawson. He went on to become a marine biologist, taking part in the Discovery Investigations (1928–1929, 1931–1933 and 1935–1937) specializing in

Antarctic Krill Antarctic krill (''Euphausia superba'') is a species of krill found in the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. It is a small, swimming crustacean that lives in large schools, called swarms, sometimes reaching densities of 10,000–30,000 ind ...

. In 1943, during

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 ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Marr was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on appointment as expedition leader of Operation Tabarin. This was a secret British Antarctic Expedition launched in 1943 with the intent of establishing permanently occupied bases, thus solidifying British claims to the region. Marr led the overwintering team at Port Lockroy in 1944 but resigned in December due to poor health. In 1949, he joined the National Institute of Oceanography as a Senior Scientific Officer working there until his death on 30 April 1965. His 460-page work Natural History and Geography of Antarctic Krill was published three years after his death.

Honours and awards

*1936 -

W. S. Bruce Medal This is a list of recipients of the W. S. Bruce Medal. Established in 1923, the medal is awarded quinquennially for notable contributions to "Zoology, Botany, Geology, Meteorology, Oceanography or Geography, where new knowledge has been gained th ...

- ''for his work in the southern ocean and more particularly for his monograph on the South Orkney Islands'' *7 October 1941 - Clasp to the Polar Medal (Bronze) - ''for good services between years 1925–1939, in the Royal Research Ships "Discovery II" and "William Scoresby": James William Sleesor Marr, Esq., M.A., BSc (now Temporary Lieutenant, R.N.V.R.), H.M. Ships Discovery II and William Scoresby.'' *30 November 1954 - Polar Medal - ''For good services with the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in Antarctic expeditions: Temporary Lieutenant-Commander James William Slessor Marr, R.N.V.R., Base Leader, Port Lockroy, 1944.'' Mount Marr, in Antarctica, was discovered in January 1930 during the course of BANZARE and subsequently named after Marr.

Marr Bay Marr Bay () is a bay lying between Cape Valavielle and Fraser Point along the north coast of Laurie Island, in the South Orkney Islands off Antarctica. It was mapped in 1903 by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition under William Speirs Bruce, ...

, on Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands was named in Marr's honour in 1933 by members of the Discovery Investigations.

References

Sources

External links

* James Marr,
Into The Frozen South
' (1923) *
British Antarctic Oral History Project
- Includes interviews with Operation Tabarin members Marchesi, Taylor, Back, Davies, Farrington and George James (wireless operator HMS ''William Scoresby''), all of whom speak about Marr.
British Antarctic Survey
- British scientific organisation that originated from Operation Tabarin. The Archives holds official expedition records, photographs and moving film. {{DEFAULTSORT:Marr, James Explorers of Antarctica Recipients of the Polar Medal Scottish marine biologists Alumni of the University of Aberdeen 1902 births 1965 deaths Scottish biologists Scottish explorers People from Aberdeenshire Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II Military history of the Falkland Islands in World War II 20th-century British zoologists

Biography

Honours and awards

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links