Victor Lindsey Arbuthnot Campbell (20 August 1875 – 19 November 1956) was an English

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 ...

officer and Antarctic explorer.

Career

''Terra Nova'' expedition

In 1910, he was first officer on the ''Terra Nova'' expedition by

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

. After arriving in Antarctica in January 1911, his role was to lead an eastern party of six men to explore and carry out scientific work in King Edward VII Land, to the east of the Barrier. On 26 January 1911, Campbell's party left in the and headed east. After failing to find a suitable landing site on the King Edward VII Land shore, Campbell decided to sail to

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Antarctic Plateau. I ...

. On its return westward, ''Terra Nova'' encountered Roald Amundsen's expedition camped in the

Bay of Whales The Bay of Whales was a natural ice harbour, or iceport, indenting the front of the Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island, Antarctica. It is the southernmost point of open ocean not only of the Ross Sea, but worldwide. The Ross Sea ex ...

, an inlet in the Barrier. After returning to

Cape Evans Cape Evans is a rocky cape on the west side of Ross Island, Antarctica, forming the north side of the entrance to Erebus Bay. History The cape was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, under Robert Falcon Scott, ...

and informing Scott of Amundsen's location, Campbell's party were renamed the "Northern Party" and set off again, sailing northwards and put ashore at Robertson's Bay, near Cape Adare. They built a hut and wintered at Cape Adare but due to the sea ice conditions were unable to fulfil much of their intended summer explorations. In January 1912, ''Terra Nova'' returned from New Zealand, and transferred the party of Campbell,

Raymond Priestley Sir Raymond Edward Priestley (20 July 1886 – 24 June 1974) was an English geologist and early Antarctic explorer. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, where he helped found The Raymond Priestley Centre on the shores ...

George Murray Levick George Murray Levick (3 July 1876 – 30 May 1956) was a British Antarctic explorer, naval surgeon and founder of the Public Schools Exploring Society. Early life Levick was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, the son of civil engineer George L ...

, George P. Abbott, Harry Dickason, and Frank V. Browning to Evans Coves, a location south of Cape Adare and northwest of Cape Evans. However, they only had sledging provisions for six weeks with the intention of completing the geological work in a couple of weeks. After the work was done they were left with rations for about four weeks. It was not anticipated the ship would have trouble picking them up as arranged in February but ''Terra Nova'' could not reach them due to heavy pack ice. Unable to connect with their ship, the Northern Party was forced to winter in Antarctica again. The party built an ice cave on

Inexpressible Island Inexpressible Island is a small, rocky island in Terra Nova Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica. Description The island is bounded in the east by Evans Cove and the Hells Gate Moraine, and in the west by the Nansen Ice Sheet. The eastern side is re ...

where they spent the winter in miserable conditions, supplementing their rations by killing scarce seal and penguins. On 30 September 1912, they set off for

, finally arriving on 7 November, after crossing more than of sea ice. After learning of the death of Scott and the entire Polar party, as the senior remaining naval officer, Campbell assumed command of the expedition for its final weeks.

First World War

During the

First World War 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 ...

, Campbell fought as commander of the Drake Battalion in the Dardanelles campaign at Gallipoli—where he received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO)—the Battle of Jutland and the

Zeebrugge Raid The Zeebrugge Raid ( nl, Aanval op de haven van Zeebrugge; ) on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge. The British intended to sink obsolete ships in the canal entrance, to prevent Germ ...

on board in 1918. Campbell served in the

Dover Patrol The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dove ...

and sank a U-boat by ramming it, for which he was awarded the bar to his DSO. In his further service with the

, he reached the rank of captain.

Later life and death

During the winter of 1918–1919, Campbell was posted to

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') ...

in North Russia during the Archangel campaign, having been recommended by fellow Antarctic explorer 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 ...

to help instruct British forces in the use of Arctic equipment.Damien Wright. ''Shackleton's men in the Arctic: polar explorers and Arctic warfare in North Russia 1918–19''. Orders & Medals Research Society Journal, September 2017, pp. 188–198. For this work he was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire 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 ...

. Campbell emigrated to the Dominion of Newfoundland in 1922. He died in 1956 and was buried at Montgomerie Street Catholic Cemetery in Corner Brook.

References

Footnotes

Sources

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Victor 1875 births 1956 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order English emigrants to Canada Explorers of Antarctica Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Brighton Royal Navy officers Royal Navy officers of World War I Terra Nova expedition