| Collection: | The Angus Erskine Polar Collection |
| | 14 Series form part of this Collection, for more details click here |
| Date: |
n/a |
| No. held by RSGS: |
The RSGS has 764 of this Collection, click here to list them (this will produce a long list and may take some time to appear). |
| Collection Extent | 4 boxes of 35mm slides; 3 boxes of 16mm cinefilm reels & 1 box of multimedia; 7 pieces of artwork & assorted large photographs; 7 boxes of periodicals; 3 boxes of artefacts & 1 artefact; 1 box of photographs; 2 boxes of expedition reports; 16 boxes of research papers. |
| History/Scope | Commander Angus Bruce Erskine, RN (1928-2006)
Angus Erskine was the son of Sir Arthur Erskine, Crown Equerry to King George V and King George VI. Educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, he went to sea as a midshipman in the closing weeks of World War II and eventually went on to command three ships: HMS Wizard, Alert and Diana.
In 1950, as a sub-lieutenant on HMS Bigbury Bay, Angus sailed to Antarctica for the first time. As a result of this experience and his skill in mountaineering, he was chosen for the British North Greenland Expedition (1952-54). In 1956 he returned to Antarctica as harbourmaster at the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey base on Deception Island and during the winter of 1957 became the base leader on Detaille Island. A year later Angus sledged up onto the Antarctic Peninsula plateau and down what was later to be named Erskine Glacier to recover a party that had been stranded by open water. During 1963-64 Angus was the UK Liaison Officer in Antarctica, charged with visiting US stations under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty that permit signatories to inspect each other?s stations.
In 1972 Angus Erskine retired from the Royal Navy to lead a seven-man expedition to explore NW Ellesmere Island in the Arctic. He subsequently skippered the adventure training ship Captain Scott for several seasons and was expedition leader and lecturer on the Linblad Explorer and World Discoverer. In 1979 Angus set up his own travel company, Erskine Expeditions, to take small parties into remote areas of the Arctic and Antarctic.
Angus Erskine was a member of the Council of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) and served on the Society?s Expeditions Committee for over 20 years. He was also Chairman of the RSGS Scotia Centenary Programme which celebrated the 100th anniversary of Dr William Bruce?s Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-04.
Angus Erskine was awarded the Polar Medal for his work on the British North Greenland Expedition and a clasp for his service with the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. In 1996 he received an Honorary Fellowship from RSGS and in 2005 was awarded the Scotia Centenary Medal. |
| Notes: | Donated by the widow of the Arctic and Antarctic explorer, Commander Angus Erskine |
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