William Speirs Bruce and the Polar Medal: myth and reality

Dudeney, J.R.; Sheail, J.. 2014 William Speirs Bruce and the Polar Medal: myth and reality. The Polar Journal, 4 (1). 170-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/2154896X.2014.913915

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2154896X.2014.913915

Abstract/Summary

The paper assesses the candidacy of members of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition for the Polar Medal, instituted in 1904, and, more particularly, the widely held assertion that it was Sir Clements Markham who effectively prevented its award. Contemporary documentation indicates such royal denial of the medal to Bruce’s expedition arose not from doubts as to its scientific achievements, or from the malign influence of individuals, but paradoxically from its self-sufficiency in requiring neither government monies nor Admiralty rescue. King George V was not prepared, in 1910, eight years after the expedition, to overturn the decision of his father King Edward VII by honouring Bruce and thereby setting a precedent by widening the scope of the medal.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1080/2154896X.2014.913915
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Pywell
ISSN:	2154-896X
Date made live:	15 Mar 2019 11:17 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/522537

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1080/2154896X.2014.913915

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Pywell

ISSN:

2154-896X

Date made live:

15 Mar 2019 11:17 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/522537