Kenneth Victor Blaiklock (6 December 1927 – 20 September 2020) was a British Antarctic surveyor who took part in Sir Vivian Fuchs's

Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) of 1955–1958 was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole. It was the first expedition to reach the South ...

that completed the first overland crossing of

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. ...

. During this expedition, he reached the South Pole by dog sled for the first time since Amundsen. He was awarded the Polar Medal with three bars.

Personal

Kenneth Victor Blaiklock was born in December 1927."Ken Blaiklock O.B.E." by David Mountfort, ''Polar Post'', Vol. 46, No. 4, December 2014, pp. 92-93.

Career

Blaiklock's Antarctic career began in 1947 at

Stonington Island Stonington Island is a rocky island lying northeast of Neny Island in the eastern part of Marguerite Bay off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It is long from north-west to south-east and wide, yielding an area of . It was formerl ...

under Sir Vivian Fuchs. From 1952 to 1954 he was employed as a surveyor at Base D, Hope Bay, in the

Falkland Islands Dependencies The Falkland Islands Dependencies was the constitutional arrangement from 1843 until 1985 for administering the various British territories in List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands, Sub-Antarctica and Antarctica which were governed from t ...

. In 1955 he served on the MV ''Norsel'' as a surveyor and helping to set up two bases on the Graham Land Peninsula. From 1956 to 1958, Blaiklock was part of Vivian Fuchs's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition that completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica. He was leader of the advance party which set up Shackleton Base and then he was part of the crossing party during which, with Jon Stephenson, they drove dog teams to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

for the first time since Amundsen. Blaiklock completed the Antarctic crossing by reaching

Scott Base Scott Base is a New Zealand Antarctic research station at Pram Point on Ross Island near Mount Erebus in New Zealand's Ross Dependency territorial claim. It was named in honour of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, RN, leader of two British exp ...

aboard the Sno-Cat "County of Kent". From 1959 to 1961, Blaiklock joined the second Belgian Antarctic Expedition with Captain Bastin which failed to reach the South Pole. In 1965 he worked for the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of list of global issues, global issues, and to provide an active prese ...

Adelaide Island Adelaide Island is a large, mainly ice-covered island, long and wide, lying at the north side of Marguerite Bay off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Ginger Islands lie off the southern end. Mount Bodys is the easternmost mounta ...

and on the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica. ...

. He did more survey work in the Antarctic and for Decca in the North Sea before retiring in 1996. Blaiklock died of pneumonia and bowel cancer on 20 September 2020.

Honours

Blaiklock 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 w ...

with three bars, the Cuthbert Peek Award in 1957 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 ...

, the Chevalier de la Couronne medal in 1961 by the Belgian government, the W.S. Bruce Medal in 1962 by the Scottish Geographical Society,W. S. Bruce Medal
Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Retrieved 17 November 2015. and in 1969 the

Order of the British Empire 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 ...

. Blaiklock Island, the Blaiklock Glacier and the Blaiklockfjellet, all three located in Antarctica, were named after him.

Family

Blaiklock's daughter is Catherine Blaiklock, former leader of the

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaiklock, Ken 1927 births 2020 deaths British surveyors Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Polar Medal