Franklin+Expedition

The Franklin Expedition by Gemma York & Fenella Lancaster //O then // //Pause on the footprints of heroic men // //Making a garden of the desert wide // //Where Parry conquer'd death and Franklin died // **//- Charles Dickens //**

On the 19th May 1845, two ships with between 129 and 134 sailors and officers on board set sail from England on an expedtion to search for the fabled North West Passage. They were under the command of Sir John Franklin, a renowned arctic explorer. They had enough supplies to last them five years and were setting out on a planned three year long adventure. After 18 months at sea, both ships disappeared, never to be seen again. The mystery of the missing ships, and the fate of the men on board, can only be guessed at, as the remains and artefacts discovered years later give varied and startling clues.

There are many conflicting arguments for what became of the sailors. Most agree that the men died of lead or food poisoning, while others maintain that the men starved to death. There is also gruesome evidence to suggest that the desperate men resorted to cannibalism to stay alive in the freezing cold. Whatever the case, wherever they died, not one of those men ever made it home.

__ Contents __ //Discovery of the Bodies // //Preservation of the Bodies (A dramatisation) // //Appearance Drawn From Archaeological and Other Evidence // //Lifestyle & Times // //Cause & Manner of Death - Theories // //Newspaper Article // //Activities //