Surgeon Captain Edward W. Bingham , was a British Royal Navy officer and

polar explorer This list is for recognised pioneering explorers of the polar regions. It does not include subsequent travelers and expeditions. Polar explorers * Jameson Adams * Mark Agnew * Stian Aker * Valerian Albanov * Roald Amundsen * Salomon August ...

who had the rare third clasp added to his

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 ...

.Obituaries - Cambridge Journals
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Biography

Edward (Ted) William Bingham was born on 2 January 1901 in Dungannon, County Tyrone, the son of the headmaster of Dungannon Royal School. In 1926 he graduated in medicine from

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

. Joining the Royal Navy in 1928, in 1930 he volunteered to become a member of the

British Arctic Air Route Expedition The British Arctic Air Route Expedition (BAARE) was a privately funded expedition to the east coast and interior of the island of Greenland from 1930 to 1931. Led by Gino Watkins, it aimed to improve maps and charts of poorly surveyed sections of ...

(BAARE) led by

Gino Watkins Henry George "Gino" Watkins Royal Geographical Society, FRGS (29 January 1907 – c. 20 August 1932) was a British Arctic exploration, Arctic explorer and nephew of Bolton Eyres-Monsell, 1st Viscount Monsell. Biography Born in London, he was ...

, exploring the east coast and interior of Greenland. He took part as the expedition doctor and to be in charge of the expedition's

sled dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in Dog harness, harness, most commonly a Dog sled, sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transpor ...

s. He was in the party that established a meteorological station on the ice cap. With surveyor Alfred Stephenson and geologist

Lawrence Wager Lawrence Rickard Wager, commonly known as Bill Wager, (5 February 1904 – 20 November 1965) was a British geologist, explorer and mountaineer, described as "one of the finest geological thinkers of his generation"Vincent and best remembered for ...

he took part in a three-month journey to map the

ice cap In glaciology, an ice cap is a mass of ice that covers less than of land area (usually covering a highland area). Larger ice masses covering more than are termed ice sheets. Description By definition, ice caps are not constrained by topogra ...

border of the

Schweizerland Schweizerland, also known as Schweizerland Alps, is a mountain range in King Christian IX Land, eastern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Sermersooq Municipality.Google Earth Its highest point is one of the highest peaks in G ...

mountains and to attempt the ascent of

Mont Forel Mont Forel is a mountain in King Christian IX Land, Sermersooq Municipality, Greenland. It is part of the Schweizerland range, also known as 'Schweizerland Alps'. This peak is located in a popular climbing destination, together with the Watkin ...

, the highest point of the range. Back from Greenland, he was appointed to carry out an hydrographic survey of the coastal area of the

Labrador Peninsula The Labrador Peninsula, also called Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, Strait of Belle Isle and the Gulf of ...

on HMS ''Challenger'' for two years. He wintered at Nain and, whilst working by dog sled, increased his experience of

huskies Husky is a general term for a type of dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies ...

and dog team driving. Bingham went to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

with the 1934-1937 British Graham Land Expedition, led by his former BAARE teammate

John Rymill John Riddoch Rymill (13 March 1905 – 7 September 1968) was an Australian polar explorer, who had the rare second clasp added to his Polar Medal. Early life Rymill was born at Penola, South Australia, the second son of Robert Rymill (7 J ...

, as medical officer and in charge of the dog sled teams. He took part in a major 535 mile trip across Graham Land from a base on the

Debenham Islands The Debenham Islands () are a group of islands and rocks lying between Millerand Island and the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. Location The Debenham Islands are in Marguerite Bay in Graham Land on the Fallières Coast of the Antarctic P ...

to within sight of the Weddell Sea that proved that Graham Land was part of a peninsula not an island as previously thought. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Bingham was a Surgeon Commander at the Royal Naval Hospital in Plymouth until July 1941. He then served on HMS ''Duke of York'', as Principal Medical Officer, contributing with his Arctic and Antarctic knowledge to the manufacture of improved protective cold-weather clothing for Royal Navy ship watchkeepers and lookouts. Following various shore appointments, in 1945 Bingham was seconded to the Colonial Office to lead the newly formed

Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey The Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE) was an aerial survey of the Falkland Islands Dependencies The Falkland Islands Dependencies was the constitutional arrangement from 1843 until 1985 for administering the v ...

(FIDS). He was responsible for recruitment, procurement of supplies and equipment, including sledge dogs, and once in the field for the establishment of three new bases, at Stonington Island, Marguerite Bay; Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, and Argentine Islands, Palmer Archipelago. He wintered at Stonington Island in 1946, returned to the UK in 1947 and administered the London Office of FIDS for a year before re-entering regular naval service. Bingham was Principal Medical Officer at the Royal Naval Air Station Eglinton, 1948–52, and was promoted to Surgeon Captain in 1951. This was followed by service as Fleet Medical Officer in HMS ''Vanguard'', and finally as Principal Medical Officer at the Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent. He retired from active Royal Navy service in 1957. He died on 1 September 1993, aged 92.

Honours

Bingham Glacier Bingham Glacier is a glacier long flowing eastward to the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, with Cape Reichelderfer as its southern portal. The coast where Bingham Glacier reaches the Larsen Ice Shelf was photographed by Sir Hubert Wilkins ...

Palmer Land Palmer Land () is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica that lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the Advisory Committee on Antarctic N ...

, is named in his honour. *

1932 (Arctic 1930–31), 2nd clasp 1939 (Antarctic 1935–37), 3rd clasp 1953 (Antarctic 1946). *

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

1947. * Murchison Grant awarded by 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 ...

1950.

References

External links

British Antarctic Oral History Project
- interview with Bingham 1985
Archives - Edward Bingham Collection at Scott Polar Research Institute

Archives - Riley, British Arctic Air Route Expedition, Collection at Scott Polar Research Institute

Archives - Scott Polar Research Institute
- records of the British Graham Land Expedition
Archives - British Antarctic Survey
- reports, files and photographs of Bingham's service with FIDS {{DEFAULTSORT:Bingham, E.W. 1901 births 1993 deaths Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Irish officers in the Royal Navy 20th-century Anglo-Irish people British explorers of the Arctic Royal Navy officers of World War II People from Dungannon Recipients of the Polar Medal Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Military personnel from County Tyrone Explorers from Northern Ireland 20th-century British explorers 20th-century Irish explorers

Biography

Honours

References

Further reading

External links