British North Greenland Expedition
Cortland James Simpson RN
The British North Greenland expedition was a British scientific mission, led
by Commander James Simpson RN (of Stoke by Nayland), which lasted from July 1952 to August 1954. A total of 30 men took part, though not all stayed for both years.
The purpose of BNGE was primarily to carry out scientific studies in glaciology,
meteorology and geology were made, and physiology. Gravimetric and seismological surveys were carried out. Radio wave propagation was also studied from their station codenamed "North Ice". It also provided information useful to the Armed Forces about operating in Arctic environments, and the majority of the team were serving members. Travel over the icecap was either on foot, by dog sled, or by M29 Weasel tracked vehicles. Expedition members also made pioneering ascents in the Barth Mountains and Queen Louise Land.
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Simpson made a preparatory exploration in 1951. A Short Sunderland landed in Seal Lake Queen Louise Land and from there Simpson walked across
Storstrommen in Queen Louise Land. There he found an ice-free Seal Lake and from there Simpson walked across glacial lake that would be a suitable place for landing and he named it Britannia Lake (Britannia Sø) after the future expedition. The exploration team stayed three weeks in the area, following which the Sunderland returned to bring the party back to Britain. In July 1952 the expedition sailed from Deptford aboard the former Norwegian sealer Tottan, while another cargo ship, loaded with four Weasel tracked vehicles, sailed from Hull. The expedition team consisted of 25 men; fifteen from the armed services and the merchant navy, nine civilian scientists, and a Danish army officer. After collecting sledge dogs in south-west Greenland, the two ships sailed to Young Sund in the north-east coast. From there RAF Sunderland flying-boats airlifted the expedition to Britannia Lake in Queen Louise Land and set up a base camp. Commander Simpson then led a party on dog sleds to establish the North Ice station about 230 miles (370 km) to the west. The Weasels were landed on the coast and drove the 100 miles inland as far as the base camp. Once the party arrived at the site of North Ice, their stores and equipment, more than 86 tons of it, were RAF Handley Page Hastings transport aircraft, flying from air-dropped from two Thule. During the supply operation, on 16 September 1952, Hastings No. WD492 of 47 Squadron, having already made a series of parachute drops, was making the second in series of free fall drops at an altitude of only 50 feet (15 m), when it was caught in a white-out, and made a forced belly landing. Three members of the crew were injured, and sheltered in the intact fuselage of the aircraft until air-lifted out by a Grumman HU-16 Albatross of the United States Air Force. The rest of the crew were recovered two days later by a rocket assisted USAF Douglas C-47. In early 1953 glaciological studies began, while seismic and gravimetric teams worked between North Ice and Britannia Sø. Observations were continued throughout the second winter, and in 1954 a party traversed the ice cap from North Ice to Thule. Attempts to measure the thickness of the ice sheet by seismic soundings failed, but markers placed on the ice, enabled information about the movement of the ice sheet and the accumulation of snow to be gathered. At North Ice of 14 metres (46 ft) were recovered. The expedition suffered its only fatality in 1953, when Captain H. A. Jensen of the ice cores to a depth Danish Army, a qualified surveyor, fell to his death on a steep snow slope. In August 1953, the expedition was re-supplied by sea and air, and eight team members, who had signed on for only one year, left to be replaced by five more.
The expedition returned to England by ship in August 1954. The entire expedition team were awarded the Polar Medal in November 1954, while Commander Simpson was also presented with the Patron's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 1955, and was made a Empire (CBE) on 2 January 1956.
Team Members
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Captain Michael Edward Borg Banks, Royal Marines, Officer-in-Charge of a vehicle team.
Instructor Lieutenant-Commander Richard Brett-Knowles, BA, Royal Navy, Assistant Scientist and Radio Officer, Second Year.
Lieutenant Francis Richard Brooke, Royal Navy, Surveyor.
Colin Bruce Bradley Bull, PhD, BSc, Geophysicist and Senior Scientist, Second Year.
Chief Petty Officer Herbert Randle Dean, Senior Radio Operator.
Lieutenant Angus Bruce Erskine, Royal Navy, Officer-in-Charge of sledge dogs.
Edward Owen Jones, Chief Officer, Merchant Navy, Officer-in-Charge central ice-cap station, and vehicle team.
Harold Lister, Senior Glaciologist.
Surgeon Lieutenant John Potter Masterton, MB, ChB, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, Medical Officer.
Ronald William Moreton, Chief Officer, Merchant Navy, Stores and Equipment Officer.
Staff Sergeant John William Oakley, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Vehicle Mechanic.
Instructor Lieutenant Graham Rollitt, BA, Royal Navy, Meteorologist and Second-in Command.
Commander Cortlandt James Woore Simpson, DSC, BSc, Royal Navy, Expedition Leader.
Petty Officer Telegraphist Kenneth Earl Taylor, Radio Operator.
Peter Francis Taylor, Assistant Glaciologist.
Peter John Wyllie, Geologist.
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Obituary Cortland James Simpson RN 1911-2002
​Commander Cortlandt James Woore (known as Jim) Simpson was born in 1911. His grandfather had previously served in the Royal Navy, and Simpson initially followed career path. In 1936 Simpson left the Navy to study electrical engineering at the University of London. In 1939 he re-joined the navy and served as an Electrical Officer during World War Two, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1945.
In 1951 Simpson, still a naval officer, led a preparatory expedition to North Greenland ahead of the British North Greenland Expedition, he established a location for the landing of the full expedition which was to follow, and a location for the expedition's main base. In 1952 he returned as the leader of the British North Greenland Expedition. The expedition consisted of members of all three branches of the British military and several academic researchers. The expedition, led by Simpson, lasted 2 years, and acted as a test bed and exemplar for British polar research capabilities. The expedition undertook research in a broad range of areas including glaciology, seismology, human physiology, polar logistics and radio communications. The expedition was largely successful, though did suffer one fatality, Captain Hans A. Jenson who died following an accident, and several near misses including small fires and breakdowns in equipment, particularly the tracked Weasel vehicles which were employed for travelling across the ice. Following the expedition the whole team was awarded the Polar Medal, and in 1956 Simpson was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), before retiring from the Navy in 1961.
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Stoke by Nayland
The Old Vicarage, Stoke by Nayland, was acquired in the late nineteenth century by Vice Admiral Cortland Herbert Simpson (retired). Vice Admiral Simpson (c.1826-1908) entered naval service in 1842 and retired in 1880 under the rank of Captain. He was advanced to Rear Admiral (retired) in 1883 and Vice Admiral (retired) in 1889. Vice Admiral Simpson had married Anna Watson (c.1824-90) in 1852 and their children included Emily Simpson (c.1853- ), Rear Admiral Cortland Herbert Simpson (c.1856- 1943), and Ellen Simpson (c.1857-1945). Vice Admiral Simpson previously resided in the parish at a property known as Rhydian in Thorington Street. This early nineteenth century white brick residence had been renamed Thorington House by 1902 (NHLE 1033489). Vice Admiral Simpson acquired The Old Vicarage in 1897 and resided there with his daughters, Emily and Ellen. Vice Admiral Simpson of The Old Vicarage died in 1908 and was buried at Stoke-by-Nayland. Commander Cortland James Woore Simpson (c.1911-2002), son of Cortland Herbert Simpson, lived at The Old Vicarage and was leader of the British North Greenland Expedition (his account of the expedition entitled North Ice was published in 1957). Commander Simpson retired from the navy in 1961 and The Old Vicarage was sold in 1969.
Commander Simpson lived at The Old Vicarage Stoke by Nayland. He was a major contributor to the community, serving on many village committees.
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He donated two of the church bells seen here, in memory of his mother and father, and also paid for the renovation of the bell carriage.
