Annual report on the Falkland Islands and Dependencies / Colonial Office.

  • Great Britain. Colonial Office.
Date:
[1951]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Falkland Islands and Dependencies / Colonial Office. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    47/60 (page 39)
    Chapter 11 : Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey The S.V. John Biscoe (Cdr. H. J. Kirkwood, D.S.C., R.N.) left [Port Stanley on her first Southern voyage of the 1949-50 season on 26th November. She carried on this occasion, in addition to her normal complement, two pilots and ground crew from the R.A.F. and R.C.A.F. and—crated upon her deck—a Norseman and an Auster float plane. She sailed in company with the R.F.A. Gold Ranger (Captain Parker) which had been loaned by the Admiralty to take down aviation spirit for the aircraft and gas oil for the Bases. Both vessels experienced difficulty in negotiating pack-ice in the Boyd Strait and it took them seven days for the voyage to Deception Island which normally takes three. Neither vessel suffered any damage but accumulation of ice in Whalers Bay hampered unloading. A more unexpected contret¬ emps was the development of measles by one of John Biscoe's crew which soon spread and seriously disturbed the ship’s routine ; this was the subject of a most amusing 4th Leader in The Times. The task of immediate importance was the relief of Base “ E ” (Stonington Island, Marguerite Bay) where four members of the Survey—two of them reported to be in poor health and causing anxiety —had already spent three winters owing to the ship’s inability to relieve the Base in 1948-49 (see previous report). The experts had prophesied as bad an ice season, if not worse, for 1949-50, so that it was necessary to provide for evacuation by plane. Thus, while the John Biscoe carried on with her routine replenishment of the northern Bases all hands at Deception were busily engaged on the assembly of the aircraft ; as no facilities of any sort were available, this work had to be undertaken on an exposed beach in very low temperatures and frequently impeded by bad weather. It is a tribute to all concerned that both planes were airborne by the end of December and they escorted the John Biscoe into Harbour when the Governor arrived in her on 20th January, 1950, to conduct the relief. The plans for this having been unanimously agreed and a reconnaissance to the Argentine Islands (Base “ F ”) having been carried out the ship moved on to Port Lockroy which, unused in the previous year, was re-opened so that it could serve as an intermediate fuelling station for the air oper¬ ations ; she was joined here by the Auster and after the Base had been set up and a fuel depot had been laid, both moved on to the Argentine Islands where they were joined by the Norseman. As reported by the latter on her reconnaissance, ice- conditions south of the Base appeared to present an impenetrable barrier and it was decided, therefore, to commence evacuation by air ; the distance to be covered was approxim¬ ately 220 miles and the plane had to carry sufficient petrol to be able to turn back again if unable to touch down at the Base. The charts