Museum needs £120,000 to buy symbol of Arctic heroism for UK
IT IS a relic of the darkest chapter in the history of British polar exploration and a symbol of selfless heroism in the most inhospitable of lands.
As Captain Henry Kellett scoured the Arctic on sledges between 1852 and 1854, in an attempt to discover the fate of HMS Terror and HMS Erebus and their combined crew of 129, he flew a silk flag from his sledge bearing his family crest and the motto: Help From Above, in Latin.
Such personalised flags were often flown by Victorian polar explorers in a chivalric tradition handed down from medieval knights but Kellett’s flag is one of few known to have survived.
Despite its unique place in British maritime history, it is feared the flag may be lost to the nation, having been sold to an American buyer. However, the Government has imposed a temporary bar on the sale and given the National Museum of the Royal Navy two weeks to match the £120,000 fee paid and put it on display in Britain.
The likes of broadcaster Michael Palin and television historian Dan Snow have backed a fundraising appeal that launches today and runs until March 19.
Mr Palin described the flag as “an emblem of survival and heroism in the most appalling circumstances” and “an inspirational piece of naval history, which should be kept for all to see, so that the story of the brave men who flew it is never forgotten”.
Henry Kellett was born in Tipperary, Ireland, in 1806 and joined the Navy in 1822. He made his name in the Opium War of the early 1840s and was later recruited to help find out what happened to HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, ships that had vanished in 1845 after leaving England, under the command of Sir John Franklin, to search for the Northwest passage.
The vessels were discovered by Canadian researchers in 2014 and 2016.
As Franklin’s men, trapped on the ice, succumbed to starvation, it is thought they resorted to cannibalism. Such rumours shocked Victorian high society and were dismissed by Charles Dickens who said they would not have adopted such “dreadful” behaviour. However, recent analysis of crew remains has confirmed bones were scraped clean of marrow and skulls opened to reach brains.
“People … were in desperate straits, so it is not unlikely,” said Dominic Tweddle, director general of the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
Kellett was captain of HMS Resolute, which was dispatched to find the doomed expedition. He narrowly avoided a similar fate in 1853 when Resolute became trapped in the ice and he abandoned ship to lead his men across the ice to the safety of Beechey Island.
Kellett reached the rank of admiral and returned to Ireland, where he died in 1875. The flag eventually passed to Diana Kellett, the daughter of Colonel Edward “Flash” Kellett who was killed in the Second World War. She married Lord Holderness, a Conservative minister and peer, and hung the flag in their Yorkshire home. It is being sold by their son, Ed Wood, 71, so that it can be seen by more people. The family is backing the campaign for it to remain in Britain.
A £40,000 Art Fund contribution has been matched by the National Museum of the Royal Navy and it is hoped that the remaining £40,000 will come from the public. Donations can be made at donate.nmrn.org.uk