ARCTIC AND POLAR MEDALS
972
The highly important C.B.E. and Polar Medal awarded to Commander J. R. F. “Frank” Wild, late Royal Navy and Royal
Naval Volunteer Reserve, the only man to explore Antarctica five times during the “Heroic Age” and the recipient of a
unique 4-clasp Polar Medal
THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, C.B.E. (Civil) Commander’s 1st type neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, in its
Garrard & Co. case of issue; POLAR MEDAL 1904, 4 clasps, Antarctic 1902-04, Antarctic 1907-09, Antarctic 1912-14,
Antarctic 1914-16 (A.B. F. Wild, “Discovery”), complete with original ribbon and pin-brooch as worn, good very fine
(2) £50000-60000
See Dix Noonan Webb, 13 December 2007 (Lot 1), for Wild’s other Honours & Awards.
John Robert Francis "Frank" Wild was born at Skelton, Yorkshire, in April 1873 and was educated at Bedford.
Having entered the Merchant Navy in 1888, aged 15 years, Wild transferred the Royal Navy in 1900, and was among those to
volunteer for the National Antarctic Expedition under Commander Robert Falcon Scott, R.N., in 1901. Still rated an Able Seaman, he
nonetheless gave ample evidence of the qualities that would permit him to take part in more Antarctic Expeditions than any other
explorer.
In March 1902, 12 members of a sledging party under Lieutenant Charles Royds set out for Cape Crozier to leave details for the relief
ship. Advancement was slow and it was decided to send all but three men back to base. The returning men were caught in a blizzard
and were unaware that they were at the head of a steep slope. As they lost their footing and slid towards the edge of the sheer ice cliff
and into the sea, Wild, who had previously knocked nails into his boots, managed to drag four men to safety. Sadly, Able Seaman
George Vince who was clinging to Wild, let go and slid to his death. Wild then took charge of the safe return of the remaining party.
In September of the same year he participated in the South-West reconnaissance to Koettlitz Glacier, and a month later joined
Lieutenant Royds's party on its journey to Cape Crozier. Having bagged an N.A.E. Sports Medal for second place in the Toboggan Race
held on the King's Birthday in November, he started out with 'B' sledge party under Petty Officer Allan at the end of the month, on
Lieutenant Armitage’s "Western Journey" that established the route to the Ferrar Glacier. On this occasion the sledge reached 7,600 feet
but did not, however, gain the summit owing to the severe illness of Petty Officer Macfarlane and the mild attacks of mountain sickness
suffered by Wild and another member of the team. Finally, almost a year later, he was one of the party which reached 25 miles beyond
Minna Bluff in support of Lieutenant Barnes's South-West effort. Interestingly, it is recorded that after these experiences Wild could be
counted among those who declined to follow Scott a second time, even ‘after the most pressing invitations’.
Upon his return to England, Wild received his R.G.S. Medal in February 1905 from Sir Clements Markham, and, as Petty Officer 1st
Class, was presented with his Polar Medal by the Commanding Officer of H.M.S. Pembroke on 19 December of the same year.
Wild was was next lent to the British Antarctic Expedition under Ernest Shackleton in 1907, when he took charge of the provisions.
Furthermore, he was one of the three men that Shackleton chose for the attempt on the South Pole between October 1908 and
February 1909. While the party, consisting of Marshall and Adams, besides Wild and Shackleton, failed in its principal aim, the attempt
beat all previous records, reaching Latitude 88 degrees, 23 minutes South, or only 97 geographical miles from the Pole, thereby
establishing a new “Farthest South” record. During this latter epic, Wild carried out repairs to the sledges and other equipment, and
assisted Shackleton in making geological observations. Indeed it was Wild at 6,000 feet who found the outcrop of coal on the Upper
Beardmore Glacier.
www.dnw.co.uk
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