William Colbeck was a British seaman who distinguished himself on two Antarctic expeditions.

Biography

William Colbeck was born on 8 August 1871, at Myton Place,

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 o ...

, Yorkshire. He was the fifth child in a family of ten born to Christopher Colbeck, a baker, and his wife Martha. Educated at Hull Grammar School, Colbeck served a merchant navy apprenticeship on the Loch Torridon between 1886 and 1890 and completed a six-month course in navigation before going to sea.Borchgrevink 1901 He earned his second mate's certificate in Calcutta in 1890, first mate's certificate in July 1892, master's in March 1894. He joined the firm of Tomas Wilson, Sons and Co, Ltd., of Hull and served on RMS ''Montebello'' as the second mate under Captain Pepper. He passed as extra master in November 1897. He was awarded a

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 ...

reserve commission in 1898. In that year he studied at Kew Observatory making a special feature of magnetism and it was in the capacity of Magnetic Observer that he was invited by the Norwegian

Carsten Borchgrevink Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink (1 December 186421 April 1934) was an Anglo-Norwegian polar explorer and a pioneer of Antarctic travel. He inspired Sir Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, and others associated with the Hero ...

to join the

Southern Cross Expedition The ''Southern Cross'' Expedition, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, 1898–1900, was the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, and the forerunner of the more celebrated journeys of Robert Falcon Sc ...

to the Antarctic. This would be the first expedition to overwinter on the Antarctic mainland; Colbeck took charge of the expedition's magnetic observation work. After returning to Britain in 1900, Colbeck was soon going southward again, this time in command of the relief ship , sent to resupply

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 ...

's , then trapped in the ice at

McMurdo Sound McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo ...

in the Antarctic. He was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's

Back Award The Back Award, also referred to as the Back Grant, was first given by the Royal Geographical Society in 1882 for "applied or scientific geographical studies which make an outstanding contribution to the development of national or international pub ...

in 1901. On their way south the ''Morning'' celebrated Christmas Day 1902 by crossing the

Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. So ...

and discovering a previously uncharted island which they named

Scott Island Scott Island is a small uninhabited island of volcanic origin in the Ross Sea, Southern Ocean, northeast of Cape Adare, the northeastern extremity of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It is long north–south, and between and wide, reaching a h ...

. Colbeck and three officers landed on the island where they collected rock samples and had a drink. The adjacent cone-shaped islet Colbeck named Haggitt's Pillar, after his mother's maiden name. In January 1904, Colbeck returned with ''Morning'', this time with firm instructions that unless ''Discovery'' could be speedily released from the ice, she was to be abandoned; Colbeck was to bring Scott and the expedition home. In a race against time, and with a fortunate shift in ice conditions, ''Discovery'' was freed and sailed safely home. Thereafter Colbeck made no further Antarctic ventures but resumed his job with the Wilson line in Hull. In 1914 he went to work for the United Shipping Company of London, ultimately becoming their Marine Superintendent. The family moved to south London, living at 51 Inchmery Road, Catford. Captain Colbeck became a founder member of the

Honourable Company of Master Mariners The Honourable Company of Master Mariners is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. While the other Livery Companies are entitled to the style '' Worshipful'', the Master Mariners are styled ''Honourable'', King George V having gran ...

. In 1930 he was elected President of the Antarctic Club but died suddenly later that year of heart failure, after a bout of bronchitis. He is buried in

Hither Green Cemetery Hither Green Cemetery, opened as Lee Cemetery in 1873,''The Times, History of London, New Edition'', edited by Hugh Clout p. Chapter 11 Monuments and cemeteries, map of London cemeteries locations with opening dates: Lee Cemetery opened 1873 is a ...

. Colbeck married Edith Robinson and they had four sons. One of these, William Robinson Colbeck, joined the British Australia and New Zealand Antarctic expeditions of 1929–1931 as second officer and navigator in the old ''Discovery''. He was responsible for much of the charting during the two voyages, and the

Colbeck Archipelago Colbeck Archipelago () is an archipelago of numerous small rocky islands centered 1 mi northwest of Byrd Head, just east of Taylor Glacier, off Mawson Coast. Discovered in January 1930 and charted in February 1931 by the British Australian ...

—off the

Mawson Coast The Mawson Coast is that portion of the coast of Mac. Robertson Land, Antarctica, lying between William Scoresby Bay, at 59°34′E, and Murray Monolith, at 66°54′E. The coast was sighted during the British Australian New Zealand Antarctic R ...

—is named after him.Maritime Historical Studies Centre.''The Colbecks''. Retrieved 21 July 2014

Legacy

His work in the Antarctic was commemorated by the naming of

Colbeck Bay Colbeck Bay () is a cove between Duke of York Island and Cape Klovstad in the southern part of Robertson Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica. The geographical feature was first charted by the British Antarctic Expedition 1898–1900, under C.E. Bo ...

at and

Cape Colbeck Cape Colbeck is a prominent ice-covered cape which forms the northwestern extremity of the Edward VII Peninsula and Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica. It was discovered in January 1902 by the British National Antarctic Expedition and named for Cap ...

on the King Edward VII peninsula, at . A plaque was placed on the site of his residence at 51 Inchmery Road, London SE6 in September 2016. In the same year, a plaque was installed at Hull Paragon station, jointly commemorating Colbeck and

Alfred Cheetham Alfred Cheetham (6 May 1866 – 22 August 1918) was a member of several Antarctic expeditions. He served as third officer for both the ''Nimrod'' expedition and Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition. He died at sea when his ship was torpe ...

(1866–1918): 'Two of many Hull seafarers on the ship ''Morning'' who participated in the Antarctic expeditions to relieve Captain Scott 1902–1904 and were welcomed by thousands at this station on their return'. William Colbeck's second sledge flag as commanding officer of relief ship Morning has been lent to the National Maritime Museum by his family. It is actually the burgee of the Pirate Yacht Club, Bridlington, made of machine‑sewn wool bunting, printed with a skull and cross bones. The Pirate Yacht Club is no longer in existence having gone out of business before the First World War.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colbeck, William 1871 births 1930 deaths Explorers of Antarctica Royal Navy officers British Merchant Navy officers