Busbridge, correspondence

Scope and Content

  • MS 692;BJ Journal, 21 December 1847 to 31 August 1853 [A full and lively account of the voyage] 1 volume, holograph

Administrative / Biographical History

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.

The British Naval Franklin Search Expedition, 1848-1852 (leader Thomas Moore) sent by the Admiralty to the Bering Strait region to serve as a depot ship the Northwest passage expedition and to assist the British Naval Franklin Search Expedition, 1848-1850 (leader Henry Kellett).

Busbridge served as quartermaster in HMS Plover

Arrangement

Chronological

Related Material

The Institute holds several archival collections containing material relating to this expedition, see SPRI collections GB 15 Sire George Back, GB 15 Rochfort Maguire, GB 15 William Pullen and GB 15 John Simpson