Lewis Raphael Rickinson (21 April 1883 – 16 April 1945) was an English marine engineer. 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 Ernest Shackleton, Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the ...

of 1914–1916, for which he was awarded the Silver

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 ...

Biography

Rickinson was born on 21 April 1883 in

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, which was then part of the

County of Kent Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...

but has since become part of

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. His father was Charles Napier Rickinson and his mother was Emma Isaac Rickinson. As a man trained for work with marine engines, he signed on the ''Endurance'' as the chief engineer. Although the ''

Endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, forbearance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, persistence, tenacity, steadfastness, perseverance, stamina, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a ...

'' was rigged as a

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing ...

, it also had a coal-burning engine and spent much of its time under steam. Under the expedition plans and the articles that Rickinson had signed as chief engineer, his job was to work the engines during the Antarctic summer of 1914–1915 to get the ''Endurance'' to the Filchner Ice Shelf. Once the vessel had reached her destination, she and her crew were supposed to unload the expedition leader, 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 Antarcti ...

, and a shore party for expedition work in the interior 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. ...

. Rickinson and the ship's company were then supposed to steam north toward warmer waters to avoid the worst of the Antarctic winter of 1915. However, when the ''Endurance'' was beset by pack ice in the

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha C ...

, these plans could not be implemented. With all of the other members of the expedition, Rickinson was first forced to spend the winter in the depths of the southern Weddell Sea, and then shared the fate of his fellow explorers as castaways when the mother ship was crushed and sunk by the ice. After camping on the melting ice for some months, the ship's company and shore party were forced to take to lifeboats. Rickinson was assigned to the lifeboat ''Stancomb Wills''. Shackleton was impressed by Rickinson's ability to take on his share of the survival duties of the party. In April 1916, when the lifeboat party was making a hazardous landing on the shore of

Elephant Island Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...

off the coast of 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. ...

, Rickinson was stricken while wading ashore in the surf. Once all were safely on shore, the expedition doctor diagnosed the 32-year-old engineer with a mild

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He was advised to rest as much as possible in a crude lean-to hut, the ''Snuggery'', built by the men. Meanwhile, Shackleton and a picked crew of volunteers had separated from the main party to mount a forlorn open-boat attempt to escape from Antarctica and fetch help for the Elephant Island castaways, including Rickinson. After enduring more than four months of near-starvation rations Rickinson, who was still classified as an invalid, was rescued from Elephant Island with his comrades. His time in the Antarctic was over; it was 30 August 1916. Upon returning to Britain Rickinson found

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

being fought. Despite his cardiac diagnosis he joined the colours, was passed as fit, and served in the Royal Navy. In 1918 he married Marjorie Kate Snell. Two children, son Lewis F. Rickinson (1919) and daughter Betty Rickinson (1923), were born of this union. With the coming of peace Rickinson chose life on shore. He became a consulting engineer, specializing in the shipbuilding design and installation of marine power units. With the coming of

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 ...

, Rickinson rejoined the colours and was assigned to HMS ''Pembroke'', the pseudo-floating naval barracks and training establishment at Chatham in the

Medway Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...

. He rose to the rank of engineer naval commander and served until his diagnosis with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

. He was seconded to a

Newbury, Berkshire Newbury is a market town in West Berkshire, England, in the valley of the River Kennet. It is south of Oxford, north of Winchester, southeast of Swindon and west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. It is also where West Berkshire Council is hea ...

nursing home for

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

care, and died there in April 1945, age 61.

Legacy

In 1916–17, Rickinson was awarded the

in silver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickinson, Lewis 1883 births 1945 deaths Personnel of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition British explorers of Antarctica Recipients of the Polar Medal Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II Deaths from lung cancer in England