Mortimer McCarthy
Mortimer McCarthy | |
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| Born | 15 April 1882 |
| Died | 11 August 1967 (aged 85) New Zealand |
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| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation | Sailor |
| Known for | Polar exploration |
| Spouse | Ellen Coughlan |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Polar Medal (silver) |
Mortimer McCarthy (15 April 1882 – 11 August 1967) was an Irish sailor and polar explorer.
Early life[edit]
McCarthy was born in Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland on 15 April 1882.[1] He was brought up in Lower Cove, a small settlement on the east side of the mouth of the River Bandon, about 4 km (2.5 miles) south-east of Kinsale.[2] He started his career as a mariner at the age of 12, when he joined the Royal Navy[a] as a boy seaman.[2][1] He received the South Africa war medal for serving during the Second Boer War.[1] McCarthy left the navy and moved to New Zealand in 1907, where he became a merchant seaman.[1]
Polar exploration[edit]
In 1910, McCarthy volunteered to join the British Antarctic Expedition under Captain Robert Falcon Scott.[1] With Scott, he made three Antarctic voyages.[2] He served on the crew on Scott's failed 1912-13 Terra Nova Expedition which attempted to reach the South Pole.[1] For his service with this expedition he received the Silver Polar Medal from King George V at a Buckingham Palace investiture.[3][1] After failing in his attempt to get a place on another Antarctic expedition, on Endurance with Sir Ernest Shackleton for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, he joined the Northern Exploration Company in Tromsø in Northern Norway which gave him the opportunity to work in the Arctic.[1]
First World War[edit]
McCarthy rejoined the Royal Navy to serve on destroyers during the First World War.[1] He settled again in Lyttelton, New Zealand in 1920.[4]
Later life[edit]
In 1963, at 84 years old, as one of the last three living survivors of Scott's Antarctic expedition, he accepted an invitation from the American Antarctic Survey to visit the Antarctic once more.[2] On the trip he became the oldest person to ever visit the South Pole.[4][1] He died in New Zealand in 1967 aged 85.[2]
Family[edit]
He had three sons with his wife Ellen Coughlan who he married in 1923 and who was also from Kinsale.[1]
Memorials[edit]
Mount McCarthy in Antarctica is named after him.[5] McCarthy's brother, Tim, was also a sailor and polar explorer, and in September 2000 joint statues of the two of them were unveiled in their home town of Kinsale.[1]
Notes[edit]
- ^ All of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom at this time.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Murphy, David. "McCarthy, Timothy ('Tim')". Royal Irish Academy Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Other Cork Antarctic Explorers". Remembering Edward Bransfield. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ "No. 28740". The London Gazette. 25 July 1913. pp. 5322–5333.
- ^ a b "Back to Polar Zone at Age of 84". Herald Express. 19 November 1962. p. 7.
- ^ "Antarctica Detail". USGS. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
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