William Lashly (25 December 1867 – 12 June 1940) was 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 Fr ...

seaman who served as lead stoker on both the ''Discovery'' expedition and the ''Terra Nova'' expedition 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, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

, for which he was awarded the

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 ...

. Lashly was also recognised with the Albert Medal for playing a key role in saving the life of a comrade on the second of the two expeditions.

Career

''Discovery'' expedition

The son of a farm worker, Lashly was born in

Hambledon, Hampshire Hambledon is a small village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire in England, situated about north of Portsmouth within the South Downs National Park. Hambledon is best known as the 'Cradle of Cricket'. It is thought that Hambledon Clu ...

, a village near

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

, England. At the time he joined Scott's ''Discovery'' expedition in 1901, he was a 33-year-old leading stoker in the

, serving on . On this expedition, Lashly proved a success and was a member of Scott's "Farthest West" party exploring

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 ...

in 1903. A teetotaller and non-smoker, he was quiet and strong, good-natured, dependable and acknowledged by

Reginald Skelton Sir Reginald William Skelton (3 June 1872 – 5 September 1956) was a British vice-admiral and engineer who served as chief engineer and official photographer of the 1901-1904 Discovery Expedition to Antarctica. Early life Skelton was born at Lon ...

as 'the best man far and away in the ship'. Before joining Scott's next Antarctic expedition in 1910, he served as an instructor at the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course last ...

, on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

''Terra Nova'' expedition

On Scott's second expedition in 1911–1913, Lashly was initially in charge of one of the expedition's two motor sledges which were to haul supplies southward in support of the polar party. However, the sledges quickly broke down, and the motor party had to switch to man-hauling the supplies. On 4 January 1912, along with Lieutenant Edward Evans and

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 ...

, he was a member of the last support party to be sent back by Scott on his way to the pole. During the return journey, Evans became seriously ill with

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease, disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, ch ...

, and on 11 February, collapsed, unable to walk any further. Still from Hut Point camp and safety, he tried to persuade Lashly and Crean to leave him to save themselves, but they refused. Strapping him onto the sledge, they pulled him for days until with only one to two days' food rations left, but still four or five days' sledge pulling to do, they had to stop. Lashly then stayed with Evans in the tent to nurse him while Crean walked the remaining alone in 18 hours to reach Hut Point camp, where he was able to fetch help. Extracts from Lashly's polar journals, chronicling his tribulations with the motor sledges and the return journey with Evans, were included in

Apsley Cherry-Garrard Apsley George Benet Cherry-Garrard (2 January 1886 – 18 May 1959) was an English explorer of Antarctica. He was a member of the ''Terra Nova'' expedition and is acclaimed for his 1922 account of this expedition, '' The Worst Journey in t ...

's book, '' The Worst Journey in the World''. Both Lashly and Crean received the Albert Medal for saving Evans' life.

Royal Navy

After returning from the Antarctic, Lashly retired from the Royal Navy with a pension, but promptly joined the reserves and served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

on and . Later he served as a

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

officer in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. Upon his retirement in 1932, he returned to Hambledon where he lived in a house he called "Minna Bluff", after one of the landmarks on the road to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

. Lashly died on 12 June 1940.

Antarctic diaries

In 1969, Lashly's diaries were edited and published by A. R. Ellis as ''Under Scott's Command: Lashly's Antarctic Diaries''. It provides insight into both the ''Discovery'' and ''Terra Nova'' expeditions from the perspective of one of the men rather than the more common accounts published by officers.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lashly, William 1867 births 1940 deaths Explorers of Antarctica People from Hambledon, Hampshire Recipients of the Albert Medal (lifesaving) Recipients of the Polar Medal Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Navy sailors Terra Nova expedition