Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte
Next employed in one of the teams supporting Scott’s ‘Southern Journey’, Dailey was out on the ice sledge-hauling from 2-12 November 1902, before turning back for Hut Point on the latter date; and again six weeks later, having received a ‘Sledging Order’ from Lieutenant C. Royds, R.N., dated 31 December 1902:
‘You will proceed tomorrow with Mr. Ford and Whitfield, with provisions for 14 days, to the depot off the Bluff, the position of which you already know, taking with you 3 bags of provisions, one gallon of fuel and one box of biscuit, as a depot for Lieutenant Armitage ... Owing to the number of parties away, there is not sufficient gear to send a relief party out, should you require it. Wishing you a pleasant trip ... ’
A trip that lasted for 17 days.
By the stage, Dailey had clearly established himself as a popular member of the expedition, Dr. Wilson, among others, enjoying his company:
Monday 22 June 1903:
‘We sat down to our Christmas dinner to which the four Warrant Officers had been invited, namely the Bo’sun, the Second Engineer, the Chief Carpenter [Dailey] and the Steward. They were great fun and enjoyed themselves well. I had the Carpenter next me at dinner, the nicest of the four. We had the remains of the champagne that was sent on board specially for the King at Cowes. It was by no means bad stuff. The Carpenter asked me what it was about three parts through dinner. He said it wasn’t like any champagne he had ever drunk, because it “didn’t seem to do you any good.” He had done his best and had been unable to get any forrarder on it.’
Champagne interludes aside, Dailey continued to lend valuable service, and was back out on the ice man-hauling with Scott in September 1903, in a journey to the Western Depot, and again in the ‘Western Attempt’ journey of 12-21 October 1903, Scott noting in his journal of the 14th that Dailey was ‘a bit seedy, probably a little overcome with the march.’ Given the prevailing temperature of circa -50, not great surprise.
With the arrival of the relief ships Morning and Terra Nova in January 1904, the expedition came to a close, although the Discovery did not break free of the ice until February. And the return voyage was not without incident in terms of Dailey’s post as Carpenter, Wilson noting how he came to the rescue when Discovery’s rudder was ‘smashed up’ at the end of the same month:
‘The only thing to do was to hoist it and put in our spare one. It is at all times a heavy and tricky undertaking, as the rudder weighs about 5 tons. Our spare rudder is a good deal smaller than the broken one and there are doubts as to whether it will steer the ship. How the shaft of our rudder got broken is not quite clear. It may have happened at the glacier, where our stern got a heavy bump, or it may have happened in Wood Bay when we were backing in some very heavy pack. Anyhow the shift is splintered and revolves in the collar with no answering movement of the blade. Dailey the carpenter noticed it.’
Dailey was invested with his Polar Medal by King Edward VII in December 1905, having earlier that year been presented with his Royal Geographical Society Medal by Admiral Sir Lewis Beaumont, G.C.B., at that time C.-in-C. Devonport.
And, as verified by Scott’s post-expedition geological observations, he also left behind a permanent memorial in Antarctica:
‘The Dailey Islands are fine small conical masses surrounded by the ice in the middle of McMurdo Sound. Only one of these - the largest - has been visited, and the usual scoriaceous basalts were procured.’
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