Operation Tabarin was the code name for a secret British expedition to the Antarctic during World War Two, operational 1943–46. Conducted by the Admiralty on behalf of the Colonial Office, its primary objective was to strengthen British claims to sovereignty of the British territory of the Falkland Islands Dependencies (FID), to which Argentina and Chile had made counter claims since the outbreak of war. This was done by establishing permanently occupied bases, carrying out administrative activities such as postal services and undertaking scientific research. The meteorological observations made aided Allied shipping in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The British Graham Land expedition (BGLE) was a geophysical and exploration expedition to Graham Land in Antarctica between 1934 and 1937. Under the leadership of John Rymill, the expedition spent two years in the Antarctic. The expedition determined that Graham Land was a peninsula. The expedition used a combination of traditional and modern practices in Antarctic exploration, using both dog teams and motor sledges as well as a single-engine de Havilland Fox Moth aircraft for exploration. Transportation to the Antarctic was in an elderly three-masted sailing ship christened the Penola, which had an unreliable auxiliary engine. Additional supplies were brought on the ship Discovery II.
Neny Island or is an island 2.8 km (1.5 nmi) long which rises to 675 m (2,215 ft), lying 1.9 km (1 nmi) northwest of Roman Four Promontory and directly north of the mouth of Neny Fjord, off the west coast of Graham Land in Antarctica. Neny Island was discovered by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) (1934–1937) under John Riddoch Rymill and named after nearby Neny Fjord.
Northeast Glacier is a steep, heavily crevassed glacier, 13 nautical miles long and 5 nautical miles wide at its mouth, which flows from McLeod Hill westward and then south-westwards into Marguerite Bay between the Debenham Islands and Roman Four Promontory, on the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica.
Neny Fjord is a bay, 10 nautical miles long in an east–west direction and 5 nautical miles wide, between Red Rock Ridge and Roman Four Promontory on the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica.
The Eternity Range is a range of mountains 28 nautical miles long, rising to 3,239 metres (10,627 ft), and trending north–south approximately in the middle of the Antarctic Peninsula. The range is divided into three main mountain blocks, the major summits in each from north to south being Mounts Faith, Hope and Charity.
The Douglas Range is a sharp-crested range, with peaks rising to 3,000 metres, extending 120 km (75 mi) in a northwest–southeast direction from Mount Nicholas to Mount Edred and forming a steep east escarpment of Alexander Island within the British Antarctic Territory, overlooking the north part of George VI Sound.
Mount Huckle is a mainly ice-covered mountain, 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) high, near the northern end of the Douglas Range in eastern Alexander Island, Antarctica. It rises 7 miles (11 km) south-southeast of Mount Spivey on the west side of Toynbee Glacier and is 9 miles (14 km) inland from George VI Sound. Mount Huckle is the fourth highest mountain of Alexander Island, proceeded by Mount Cupola and succeeded by Mount Paris in the nearby Rouen Mountains.
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on behalf of the UK. It is part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). With over 400 staff, BAS takes an active role in Antarctic affairs, operating five research stations, one ship and five aircraft in both polar regions, as well as addressing key global and regional issues. This involves joint research projects with over 40 UK universities and more than 120 national and international collaborations.
Arrowsmith Peninsula is a cape about 40 miles (64 km) long on the west coast of Graham Land, west of Forel Glacier, Sharp Glacier and Lallemand Fjord, and northwest of Bourgeois Fjord, with Hanusse Bay lying to the northwest. It was surveyed by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1955-58 and named for Edwin Porter Arrowsmith, Governor of the Falkland Islands.
John Riddoch Rymill was an Australian polar explorer, who had the rare second clasp added to his Polar Medal.
The Batterbee Mountains are a group of prominent mountains rising to 2,200 metres (7,200 ft), which forms part of the dissected edge of Dyer Plateau overlooking George VI Sound, on the west coast of Palmer Land. First seen and photographed from the air by Lincoln Ellsworth on 23 November 1935, they were charted from the ground in October 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under John Rymill, and named after Sir Harry Batterbee (1880–1976), Assistant Under-Secretary of State, Dominions Office, 1930–38, and Chairman of the Polar Committee in 1934, who gave help to the expedition.
Otlet Glacier is a glacier 9 nautical miles (17 km) long, flowing along the south side of Fontaine Heights to the west coast of Graham Land. Roughly charted by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under Rymill, 1934–37. More accurately mapped by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) from photos taken by Hunting Aerosurveys Ltd. in 1956–57. Named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for Paul Otlet (1868–1944), Belgian documentalist, co-founder of the Institut International de Bibliographie at Brussels, 1895, and of the Universal Decimal Classification. He was a pioneer of the rational organization of polar information by an international classification scheme.
Clifford Glacier is a broad glacier, about 40 nautical miles (70 km) long, flowing in an east-northeast direction to the gap between Mount Tenniel and the Eland Mountains, and then east to Smith Inlet on the east coast of Palmer Land. The upper part of this glacier was charted in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition under John Rymill; the seaward side by the United States Antarctic Service survey party which explored along this coast in 1940. During 1947 it was photographed from the air by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition under Finn Ronne, who in conjunction with the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) charted it from the ground. It was named in 1952 by the FIDS for Sir G. Miles Clifford, at that time Governor of the Falkland Islands. A geologist and a surveyor reached the middle section, north side, of the glacier on December 2, 1966, having travelled by dog sledge from the British Antarctic Survey's Base E on Stonington Island.
Dalgliesh Bay is a bay, 1 nautical mile (2 km) wide and indenting 3 nautical miles (6 km), lying between Lainez Point and Bongrain Point on the west side of Pourquoi Pas Island, off the west coast of Graham Land. It was first roughly surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition under John Rymill. It was resurveyed in 1948 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and named for David G. Dalgliesh, FIDS medical officer at Stonington Island in 1948–49, who accompanied the 1948 sledge survey party to this area. Stride Peak rises to 675 m at the head of Dalgliesh Bay.
Sanctuary Islands is a group of small islands lying just off the west side of Chavez Island, 0.5 nautical miles (0.9 km) southwest of Link Stack, off the west coast of Graham Land. Charted by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under Rymill, 1934–37. So named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) in 1959 because these islands provided sheltered camping sites for Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) sledging parties from the Prospect Point station in 1957, and there are several small boat anchorages which were used by the British Naval Hydrographic Survey Unit's motor-launch in 1957–58.
Thomson Head is a headland rising to 915 m at the cola side of Bourgeois Fjord, between Perutz and Bader Glaciers, forming the north extremity of German Peninsula on Fallières Coast on the west side of Graham Land, Antarctica. First surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under Rymill. Resurveyed in 1948-49 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and named for William H. Thomson, FIDS air pilot at Stonington Island in 1947.
Brian Birley Roberts was a British polar expert, ornithologist and diplomat who played a key role in the development of the Antarctic Treaty System. A biography of Roberts has been published.
Quintin Theodore Petroc Molesworth Riley was a British Arctic explorer who was awarded the Polar Medal.
The Penola, originally laid down in Finisterre, Brittany, was a fishing schooner named Alcyon, and was later acquired by John Rymill for the British Graham Land Expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula in 1934.
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