Priestley’s Progress

This first ever biography of Antarctic explorer Sir Raymond Priestley (1886–1974) covers his full (at times life-threatening) involvement with Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1907–1909 Nimrod Expedition and Robert Scott’s 1910–1913 Terra Nova Expedition. Priestley’s service with the British 46th Division during World War I won him the Military Cross for gallantry.
After the war, he played a leading role in establishing the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. He was later appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne and then of the University of Birmingham and also helped establish the University of the West Indies. He received a knighthood for his services to education.
During retirement—a misnomer in his case—he went with the Duke of Edinburgh on the Royal Yacht Britannia as an Antarctic expert and joined the American Deep Freeze IV Expedition during his tenure directing the British Antarctic Survey. Despite the demands of his career, Priestley remained an involved family man throughout.

A retired bank director, Mike Bullock lives in Warwickshire, England.

Mike Bullock
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 208
Bibliographic Info: 10 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7805-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2870-7
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments ix

Preface 1

Introduction 3

 1. The Priestley Family in Tewkesbury—Early Days 7

 2. University College, Bristol 11

 3. Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition 15

 4. Between Expeditions 38

 5. Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition—The Northern Party 46

 6. The First World War—The British Army Signal Service 58

 7. Cambridge University—Scott Polar Research Institute 75

 8. Vice-Chancellor—Melbourne University 82

 9. ­Vice-Chancellor—Birmingham University 92

10. The Commission for Higher Education in the Colonies 115

11. Acting Director—Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey 123

12. West Antarctica on the RY Britannia 127

13. American Deep Freeze IV Expedition 145

14. President, Royal Geographical Society 161

15. Along the Way 166

16. Later Life 170

Appendix I. 46th (North Midland) Division During the Hundred Days 177

Appendix II. The 1907–1909 British Antarctic Expedition 180

Appendix III. The McMurdo Sound Region 181

Appendix IV. The 1910–1913 British Antarctic Expedition 183

Chapter Notes 185

Bibliography 189

Index 193