Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Cortlandt James Woore Simpson,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

, PM (2 September 1911, Westbourne,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

– 9 May 2002,

South Hams South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Services divide between those provided by its own Council headquartered in Totnes, and those provided by Devon County Council headquartered in the city of Exete ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

) was an English polar explorer and naval officer.

Personal life

Simpson was born into a naval family. His grandfather Vice-Admiral Cortlandt Herbert Simpson was the commander of HMS ''Mullett'' and other vessels, and his father Rear Admiral Cortlandt Herbert Simpson also had a distinguished naval career. His family home for three generations was in Stoke-by-Nayland in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. Simpson sold it in 1969, building a smaller house for himself in the grounds, before eventually moving to Somerset and then to Devon in later life. Simpson was married four times and had one daughter. His great-grandfather was

John Busby John Busby (24 March 1765 – 10 May 1857) was an English-born surveyor and civil engineer, active in Australia. __NOTOC__ Early life Busby was born in Alnwick, Northumberland, England, eldest son of George Busby, a miner and coalmaster of St ...

, who along with his great-uncle

James Busby James Busby (7 February 1802 – 15 July 1871) was the British Resident in New Zealand from 1833 to 1840. He was involved in drafting the 1835 Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand and the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. As British Resident, ...

were the fathers of the

Australian wine The Australian wine industry is one of the world's largest exporters of wine, with approximately 800 million out of the 1.2 to 1.3 billion litres produced annually exported to overseas markets. The wine industry is a significant contributor ...

industry.

Naval career

He was commissioned into the Royal Navy following graduation from the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. After service on several vessels, he resigned his commission in 1936 in order to study electrical engineering at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He returned to the Royal Navy in 1939 as an electrical officer, serving as an anti-submarine specialist, and in

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in the 1945

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

. He retired from the Royal Navy in 1961.

British North Greenland expedition

North Ice was the name of a research station of the British North Greenland expedition (1952 to 1954) on the inland ice of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. The expedition was led by Simpson, for which he received the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

Patron's Medal The Royal Geographical Society's Gold Medal consists of two separate awards: the Founder's Medal 1830 and the Patron's Medal 1838. Together they form the most prestigious of the society's awards. They are given for "the encouragement and promoti ...

in 1955.

References

1911 births 2002 deaths English explorers English polar explorers Explorers of the Arctic Presidents of the Alpine Club (UK) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Navy officers People from Stoke-by-Nayland People from Westbourne, West Sussex {{UK-explorer-stub

Personal life

Naval career

British North Greenland expedition

See also

References