Colston, correspondence

• MS 248/361;D Letter to Jane, Lady Franklin, 24 October 1849 [Regarding Eskimo drawing supposedly of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in Prince Regent Inlet] holograph

In 1845 Sir John Franklin sailed north in command of the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition. Sent by the Admiralty the two ships HMS Erebus (Franklin) and HMS Terror (Francis Crozier) were to search for a passage via Lancaster Sound. With provisions designed to last three years the expedition sailed north in May 1845. Whalers in Baffin Bay were the last Europeans to see the two ships in July of 1845.

Many searches were conducted for the missing expedition during the course of which the main facts regarding the route taken and the final fate of the expedition were established.

Chronological

The Institute holds several archival collections containing material relating to the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition, 1845-1848 see SPRI collections GB 15 Sir John Franklin, GB 15 Geoffrey Callender, GB 15 Edward Couch, GB 15 Sophia Cracroft, GB 15 Francis Crozier, GB 15 Richard Cyriax, GB 15 Earl of Auckland, GB 15 John Fitzjames, GB 15 Jane Franklin, GB 15 Graham Gore, GB 15 John Gregory, GB 15 Edward Griffiths, GB 15 Alexander McDonald, GB 15 Charles Osmer and GB 15 Steven Stanley.

The Institute holds numerous archival collections containing material relating to the many search expeditions sent to the Arctic from 1848 onwards.