Timothy McCarthy (15 July 1888 – 16 March 1917) was an Irish
leading seaman
Leading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of c ...
(LB). 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 Bronze
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
McCarthy was born on 15 July 1888 in
Kinsale
Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...
,
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae ChorcaÃ) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
. He signed on the ''Endurance'' as an
able seaman
An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...
, and participated fully in the dangers and privations of the
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 ...
, particularly after the ''Endurance'' sank and the ship's company and shore party were marooned on a nearby
ice floe
An ice floe () is a large pack of floating ice often defined as a flat piece at least 20 m across at its widest point, and up to more than 10 km across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice floes. They may caus ...
. Later, the ship's company and shore party were forced to take to
lifeboat
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
...
s, and the seamanship of the ABs became a decisive element in the survival of the entire company.
Expedition commander
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 ...
was impressed by McCarthy's skill during the survival journey from the northern Weddell Sea to
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 ...
, and so when the expedition leader decided to relaunch the best lifeboat into the open
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...
, with the goal of contacting potential rescuers 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†...
, McCarthy was one of the five men he chose to accompany him. The sixteen-day
voyage of the ''James Caird'' in April–May 1916 became a classic story of human endurance, and the boat's navigator,
Frank Worsley
Frank Arthur Worsley (22 February 1872 – 1 February 1943) was a New Zealand sailor and explorer who served on Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1916, as captain of ''Endurance''. He also served in the Royal N ...
, offered fervent and repeated praise to McCarthy for his services in keeping the boat afloat and helping to ensure the survival of the party.
When the ''James Caird'', in a sinking condition, made landfall on
South Georgia's uncharted southern coast, two of the six men of the company were physically unfit for further service. Shackleton and his men turned over the boat and made it into a primitive shore shelter, which they called ''
Peggotty Camp
King Haakon Bay, or King Haakon Sound, is an inlet on the southern coast of the island of South Georgia Island, South Georgia. The inlet is approximately 13 km (8 miles) long and 4 km (2.5 miles) wide. The inlet was named for King Haak ...
''. Three of the men—
Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to:
*Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor
*Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer
*Tom Crean (basketball)
Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...
, Worsley, and Shackleton himself—crossed the icy island to finalise the rescue, while the other three, the ageing carpenter
Henry McNish
Henry McNish (11 September 187424 September 1930), often referred to as Harry McNish or by the nickname Chippy, was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. He was responsible for much of the ...
and incapacitated seaman
John Vincent, briefly remained at the camp under McCarthy's informal leadership. The island crossing was successful and the party was reunited after less than forty-eight hours. Soon McCarthy found himself heading northward. Having successfully participated in his own rescue, his part in the expedition was over.
Upon making landfall in the British Isles, McCarthy (who opposed the
Irish nationalist
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...
Home Rule movement
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a State (polity), state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers o ...
and identified himself with the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
) found his country fighting
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 ...
. He joined the
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...
as a
leading seaman
Leading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of c ...
. In these duties he was assigned to man a deck gun on the
S.S. ''Narragansett'', an
oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...
. On 16 March 1917, this vessel was
torpedoed and sunk with all hands in the
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...
. McCarthy, aged 28, was the first member of the Weddell Sea party of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition to die.
Legacy
In 1916–17, McCarthy was awarded the Polar Medal in bronze.
McCarthy Island, a rocky island just off
King Haakon Bay
King Haakon Bay, or King Haakon Sound, is an inlet on the southern coast of the island of South Georgia. The inlet is approximately 13 km (8 miles) long and 4 km (2.5 miles) wide. The inlet was named for King Haakon VII of Norway by ...
where the ''James Caird'' made landfall, was named in McCarthy's honour by the
South Georgia Survey
The South Georgia Survey was a series of expeditions to survey and map the island of South Georgia, led by Duncan Carse between 1951 and 1957.
Although South Georgia had been commercially exploited as a whaling station during the first half of ...
in the period 1951–1957. A joint bust of Tim McCarthy and his brother
Morty, also an Antarctic explorer, was unveiled in Kinsale in September 2000.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Timothy
1888 births
1917 deaths
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Recipients of the Polar Medal
Irish sailors in the Royal Navy
British military personnel killed in World War I
Catholic Unionists
People from Kinsale
Irish Antarctic explorers
20th-century Irish explorers
Military personnel from County Cork
Irish casualties of World War I