Philip Brocklehurst collection

The collection comprises of material relating to the British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909 (leader Ernest Henry Shackleton).

Philip Lee Brocklehurst was born in Swythamley Park, Staffordshire on 7 March 1887, becoming the second baronet in 1903. In 1906, while an undergraduate at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, he met Ernest Henry Shackleton and the following year joined the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-1909 (led by Shackleton), as a scientific assistant. Badly frostbitten feet prevented him from making the first ascent of Mount Erebus, but the subsequent amputation of his toe did not prevent him from participating in several other journeys exploring the Taylor Valley and Ferrar Glacier.

Enlisting in the Derbyshire Imperial Yeomanry, he served with the First Life Guards during the First World War, and between 1918 and 1920, with the Egyptian Army. In 1924, he was made a brevet lieutenant colonel. During the Second World War, he commanded the Second Regiment Arab Legion Merchandised Brigade and from 1943 to 1944, served with the British Council in Palestine-Trans-Jordan. After the war, he tended his estate.

He died on 28 January 1975, the last survivor of Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-1909.

The collection is arranged chronologically.

By appointment.

Some materials deposited at the Institute are NOT owned by the Institute. In such cases the archivist will advise about any requirements imposed by the owner. These may include seeking permission to read, extended closure, or other specific conditions.

Anyone wishing to consult material should ensure they note the entire MS reference and the name of the originator.

The term holograph is used when the item is wholly in the handwriting of the author. The term autograph is used when the author has signed the item.

Descriptions compiled by N. Boneham, Assistant Archivist with assistance from R. Stancombe and reference to Robert Keith Headland Antarctic Chronology, unpublished corrected revision of Chronological list of Antarctic expeditions and related historical events, (1 December 2001) Cambridge University Press (1989) ISBN 0521309034 and Encyclopaedia of Antarctica and the Southern Oceans ed. Bernard Stonehouse, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester (2002) ISBN 0471986658 SPRI Library (7) and British polar exploration and research, a historical and medallic record with biographies 1818-1999 by Lieutenant Colonel Neville W. Poulsom and Rear Admiral John A.L. Myres, Savannah Publications, London (2000) SPRI Library Shelf 737.2 and The Polar Record (May 1976) volume 18 number 113 p190-191

Clive Holland Manuscripts in the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, England - a catalogue, Garland Publishing New York and London (1982) ISBN 0824093941.

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