William Stephenson (19 April 1889 – 19 August 1953) was an English marine engine stoker. 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.

Career

Stephenson was born on 19 April 1889 in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

, probably in the suburb of Sculcoates. He served from 1914 until 1915 as a stoker aboard the ''

Endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from a ...

'', the exploration vessel built for the

headed by of 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 ...

. After the vessel sank in late 1915, Stephenson joined the other members of the ship's crew as a castaway and was rescued in August 1916. Stephenson is one of the lesser-known explorers in Antarctic history. In the words of the ''Endurance'' crew's biographer, John F. Mann, "very little is recorded or known about his life, and of the 28 members of the ''Endurance'', he is perhaps the most mysterious." By 1914, he is believed to have been a veteran of the Royal Marines, who had served as an officer's steward. Possibly before and certainly after his Antarctic service, Stephenson served for many years as a seaman on the

fishing trawlers A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...

that put out from the Yorkshire coast to the fishing banks of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. Despite his sea experience, he occupied a humble space on the ''Endurance'', and few of the diaries and journals kept by his shipmates mention him or flesh out his character. One tiny fragment of information indicates that although William Stephenson's nickname in civilian life was "Bill", he was known on the ''Endurance'' as "Steve". Press coverage of Stephenson's dramatic rescue from the Antarctic in August 1916 appears to have been confined to the printing of his name on a manifest listing the passengers on a steamboat marking the final stage of their return to England in late 1916.

Personal life

Stephenson lived in obscurity until his death in hospital in Hull in August 1953.

Legacy

With his fellow fireman-stoker

Ernest Holness Albert Ernest Holness (7 December 1892 – 20 September 1924) was an English marine engine stoker. He is best known for his service in the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1916. Biography Holness was born on 7 December 1892 in Kin ...

, William Stephenson was one of four members of the ''Endurance'' crew to be denied the Polar Medal. The reasons, if any, for expedition leader Shackleton's failure to recommend Stephenson for this honour are unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, William 1889 births 1953 deaths Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Seamen from Kingston upon Hull