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Auction: 23001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 313

(x) 'In the decade leading up to the First International Polar Year (1882-83), during which eleven nations were set to co-operate in the study of the physical nature of the Polar regions by establishing research stations, three British Naval expeditions made major contributions to science. Only three individuals participated in all three voyages - one of them was a Gloucester County youth.'

Glenn Stein FRGS, FRCGS, on Able Seaman Winstone.

The outstanding Arctic Medal awarded to Able Seaman G. Winstone, Royal Navy, whose exploration career spanned three of the most famed Victorian endeavours

He opened his account with the Challenger expedition before being specially selected - and the youngest - for expedition to the Arctic under Captain George Nares, on which occasion he was one of the famed Northern Sledging Party who set the Farthest North on 12 May 1876, his final share in exploration came again under the watch of Nares when he was part of the survey mission to South America

Arctic Medal 1875-76 (G. Winstone. A.B. H.M.S. Alert.), traces of lacquer, good very fine

Provenance:
Sotheby's, March 17, 1894.
Glendining's, May 1911, Gaskell Collection (£5-10s).
Christie's, July 1977.

Exhibited:

200 Years of Polar Exploration; 1819-2019, Spink, November 2019.

George Winstone was one of 50 Boys borne as a permanent supernumery on Challenger.

He was born on 8 July 1855 at Cirencester, Gloucestershire and was a labourer by trade upon joining the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd class at Fisgard on 24 May 1871, signing on for 10 years continuous service from his eighteenth birthday. He joined Hector and was made Boy 1st Class on 5 June 1872.

First Strike - Challenger

He joined the Challenger on 10 December 1872, standing at 5 foot 6 inches tall with, light brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion. He was promoted Ordinary Seaman on 1 July 1873.

Undoubtedly the best of the 50 Boys borne as supernumeries, he was especially selected to accompany Captain Nares on the Arctic Expedition planned for 1875-76. It was at Hong Kong, after her adventures in the Antarctic and Australia, that Captain Nares took four men from Challenger to accompany him to the Arctic; these being Lieutenant Pelham Aldrich, Petty Officer Joseph Good, Captain's Steward Sphero Capato, and Winstone - who happened to be Good's nephew.

Second Innings - Arctic

He left Challenger on 31 December 1874 and transferred to Adventure for passage back to England, joined Iron Duke on 12 January 1875 and eventually Alert on 4 May 1875, having been made Able Seaman. He was to be the youngest who served on the Expedition and was to more than share in the events which were to follow.

Stein gives more detail of their time:

'In the fall of that year [1875], Discovery established winter quarters at the north end of Kennedy Channel in the High Arctic, a place now known as Discovery Harbor. Alert went further up the coast of Ellesmere Land (later discovered to be an island) making her winter quarters on the northeastern corner, at Floeberg Beach.

In the autumn Winstone joined the Northern Depot Laying Party, putting down supplies for next spring’s sledge party and the expedition's primary objective: the North Pole. During the Spring of 1876 the main sledge parties departed from both ships. One party from Discovery surveyed a deep fjord to the south, now called Archer Fjord, after the officer commanding the party. The Greenland Sledge Party (Lieutenant Beaumont) also set off from this ship to determine the distance land extended to the north. Meanwhile, the Western Sledge Party
(Lieutenant Aldrich) made its way from Alert, along the northern coast of Ellesmere.

Winstone had a place in the Northern Sledge Party under Lieutenant Markham. As it proceeded on its journey over the frozen sea, Markham’s men not only dragged sledges, but also two sledge-mounted boats, in case leads of water were encountered on the march. The journey was agonizing, and one boat was abandoned on the way.

In its 72 days away from Alert, the party encountered massive pressure ridges and shifting ice. Progress was very slow, and insidious scurvy attacked the men. If left untreated, scurvy is invariably fatal. The early stages of the disease produce any of the following symptoms: gums become soft, tender and spongy, and teeth fall out; internal bleeding, and spots appear in various parts of the body, more so on the thighs and legs, looking like small blood-blisters, red and purple in color; severe joint and muscular pain; skin becomes pale, eyes are sunken, and the victim may be extremely irritable and appears depressed. Exhaustion, diarrhea, fainting, kidney or lung disease follow.

Tuesday, May 9: “… [three men] and George Winstone (A.B.), of the [sledge] “Victoria,” are also complaining of great stiffness and soreness of the legs, some of which show slight symptoms of discolouration on the inside parts of their thighs and under the bends of their knees.”

Sunday, May 21: “Ferbrache can scarcely move one leg before another; Rawlings, Simpson, and Winstone, are nearly as bad; yet they resolutely maintain their places on the drag ropes. … All
the of the party are more or less suffering from stiffness and aching bones.”

By the time a furthest north record was achieved on May 12 (Latitude 83º 20’ 26” N), it was a fight for survival to get back to the ship. One by one, crippled sledgers fell out of the drag ropes and some were so bad off they had to be put on sledges. The other boat was also eventually abandoned. Markham recorded the sufferings in his sledge journal:

Tuesday, June 6: “Winstone will scarcely last the day, and is of very little use on the drag ropes; but he perseveres bravely.”

Wednesday, June 7: “Winstone is unable any longer to work on the drag ropes, and has to join our trail of “hobblers” in rear of the sledges...We are pulling 220 lbs. per man, and, as the snow is very deep, we find it hard work.”

On the same day, the strongest man of the party, Lieutenant Alfred Parr, made a dash for help, 30 miles to the Alert – it was their only chance of everyone getting back alive. The following day Royal Marine Gunner George Porter died and was buried on an ice floe; hoping to save his life, his comrades had dragged him on a sledge for seven weeks. An advance dog sledge rescue party arrived from the ship on June 9. Out of the Northern Sledge Party’s original 15 men, only three were capable of dragging a sledge. In view of their condition, Nares sent out relief for the Ellesmere Sledge Party; as it turned out, it too was ravaged by scurvy, with only its officer fit to pull the ropes.'

Winstone was indeed lucky to come away with his life, his service rated as 'Exemplary' and despite the North Pole remaining elusive, their achievements were stellar:

'Three hundred miles of new coastline was discovered, as well as a large section of the Arctic region; attainment of the highest latitude known to have been reached by humans; discovery of a fossil forest at 82º north latitude; observations of mammals and birds, and a complete collection of flora of the most northern known region were but some of its achievements.'

Hat Trick - South America

Returned from the Arctic and duly awarded his Medal, Winstone joined Excellent, qualified as a Navy Diver on 1 July 1878 and would appear to have a spectacular career in front of him. It can be no surprise he was selected to re-join Nares and Alert on 13 September 1878 for the survey of South America:

'Their mission was a survey expedition to the Straits of Magellan - a navigable sea route in southern Chile, separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south - and then on to the South Pacific. The latter covered the coasts of northeastern Australia and Torres Straits, and among the groups of
Oceanic Islands in the Western Indian Ocean situated between Madagascar and the Seychelles.

Via Madeira, St. Vincent, Montevideo and the Falkland Islands, the Straits of Magellan were reached on New Year’s Day 1879. During 1879 and the first half of 1880, Alert surveyed the
coast of Patagonia, that vast southernmost tip of South America shared by Argentina and Chile and divided by the Andes Mountains, which yielded a variety of strange creatures.'

Nares was recalled after just one season and command devolved upon Captain Maclear. Their survey work was extremely detailed and the result was some 1,300 new specimens, of which nearly 500 were totally fresh discoveries for museums. Winstone deserted on 11 June 1880 at Coquimbo, Chile, at which point the curtain fell on his truly remarkable life.

His story is perhaps best told by Glenn Stein in his article Able Seaman George Winstone: Three Historic Journeys, which was expanded from the original article published in The Polar Times of July 2007.

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Sold for
£9,500

Starting price
£6000