An Important Collection Of British Antarctic ‘Terra Nova’ Expedition 1910-1913 archive material of Leading Shipwright Francis Davies, RN.

Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood, Fine Art Auctioneers of Exeter, have announced that they have been instructed to offer a number of artefacts from the collection of

Francis Edward Charles Davies (1885-1952), a Plymothian, who was the Royal Naval Carpenter and Shipwright aboard the RYS Terra Nova and a member of many later Polar Expeditions.?Davies’ name is commemorated by Davies Bay, situated between Drake Head and Cape Kinsey which was discovered in February 1911.

A full length studio portrait of F E Davies by Cooke of Plymouth.

Francis Davies was a Plymouth man through and through.?He was born and brought up in the Lower Crabtree and Laira Green area of the city and on leaving school, attained a shipwright’s apprenticeship at the Royal Naval Dockyard, Devonport.?After working in Devonport and as shipwright on H.M.S. Vanguard he heard mention of Captain Scott’s plans for an expedition to the Antarctic and that shipwrights were required.?He applied, was accepted and joined the British Antarctic Expedition on 30th May 1910.?He signed on at Poplar, London.

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His recollections of the Terra Nova, her crew and of the Expedition have been recently published in a book ‘With Scott Before The Mast’. , from his first impressions of seeing the Terra Nova and meeting both Captain Scott and Captain Oates, to the sadness shared among the whole expedition party on hearing of the death of their friends and colleagues.?The auction includes many of the photographs, letters and artefacts included within the book, which highlights the monumental task of organising and preparing for the British Antarctic Expedition.

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Charged with preparing both the ship and the expedition huts, Davies became well known among his crewmates and his character soon earned him the nickname of ‘Chippy’.?Davies established many friendships on the expedition, not only did he have a rapport with Captain Oates, but he also became friends with sailors and scientists alike including Harry Pennell, Edward Atkinson and Edward Wilson.

A signed studio portrait of Lieutenant Harry Pennell?

As the Terra Nova was an old ship she gave Davies many problems on the expedition. Three pieces in particular the windlass, hand pump and steering gear required constant attention and they were referred to by Davies and his ‘babies’. On the voyage from Port Chalmers to the Pole the hand pump became blocked during a severe storm and the ship was in danger of sinking. Davies played a vital role along with Lieutenant Evans cutting though a bulkhead to get to the pump to make repairs.?Such was Davies talents at keeping the Terra Nova running that despite his desires to stay with Scott and the Southern party, Lieutenant Harry Pennell insisted that Davies stay aboard in order to ensure that the Terra Nova could continue to sail.

A blueprint for 'General Arrangement, Terra Nova' included in the auction?

Davies was vital in the successful manufacturing and construction of the huts to be used by the expedition.?It is testament to his character that he questioned the factory sales representative supplying the timber saying that the lengths the factory were supplying would not be sufficient once they reached their intended destination.?After the representative rebuked Davies, he took it upon himself to go the factory and see the foreman who agreed with him.?Summoned before Captain Scott the following day and faced by a disgruntled sales representative, Davies stood his ground and Captain Scott sided with his crewman to demand the factory supply the correct timber for the expedition huts.?Among the papers in the collection is an updated invoice from the factory with a note ‘details as taken by your carpenter’. The main hut, which has now been conserved, is known as ‘Scott’s Hut’, about which Captain Scott wrote ‘We are simply overwhelmed by its comfort’.

The revised invoice with Davies's recommendations from Boulton & Paul Ltd, for teh British Antarctic Expedition Huts.?

Perhaps the most historically important pieces Davies kept after the expedition are charts ‘Antarctic Ocean Sheet VIII and IV’ . Each with details plotting the course for the Terra Nova from 1910 to 1913 with dates and annotations and detailing the voyages off South Victoria, McMurdo Sound, the Bay of Whales together with notes of the dates entering and leaving the pack ice. Captain Scott would have stood over these with other senior crew, discussing the ships progress before, committing his thoughts to his dairy.?Certainly the slow progress through the pack ice from December 20th to the 23rd 1910 gave him concerns, though he writes of the crew ‘A spirit of tolerance and good humour pervades the whole community, and it is glorious to realise that men can love under conditions of hardship, monotony and danger in such bountiful good comradeship’

Unable to land at Cape Crozier, Scott continued around Ross Island until landing at an inlet he named 'Cape Evans'?

Francis Davies played a key part in maintaining the morale aboard the Terra Nova, as well as honouring the lives of their friends by making the memorial cross which still stands on Observation Hill today.?A poem written aboard the Terra Nova at McMurdo Sound on the 18th January 1913 by another crewman, entitled ‘They Died Like Men’ is also included in the collection.?

An ice locked Terra Nova, British Antarctic Expedition, 1910.

Following the British Antarctic Expedition, Francis Davies served aboard H.M.S. Blanche 1914-1918 and H.M.S. Exmouth in 1918.?In 1919 he went to Archangel in Russia and was placed in charge of docking and repairs to all shipping operating in the White Sea and Severnaya Dvina River.?In 1919-20 he served in H.M.S. Sandhurst in the Baltic.?He took voluntary early retirement from the Royal Navy in 1920.?Between the years 1927-34 he served in increasingly senior roles in the Royal Research Ships ‘Discovery II’ and the ‘William Scoresby’ which were engaged in scientific work in the Southern oceans.?Also during this period, in August 1932, he passed the Board of Trade Examination for Certificate of Competency as Master (Steamship – Foreign going).?

He volunteered and served in the Second World War and was granted a Temporary Commission as a Lieutenant RNVR on 18th April 1940 and was appointed to H.M.S. Victory III for Special Service in Norway where he was commended for his services by the Rear Admiral, Narvik and the NOIC Harstead.?He returned to this country and was transferred to RNR and the Boom Defence Department.?Later promoted to Lieutenant Commander RNVR, his final appointment was as Boom Defence Officer, Grimsby.?

*Provenance- By Direct family descent.?

The auction will take place at St. Edmund’s Court, Exeter on 19th October.?All enquiries to Brian Goodison-Blanks.