Walter William Herbert
Great Britain- Childhood and Early Life
- Military and Antarctic Service
- British Trans-Arctic Expedition
- Wintering on Drifting Ice
- Reaching the North Pole
- Legacy and Controversies
- Later Years and Honors
- Death
Childhood and Early Life
Walter Herbert was born into a military family. At the age of 3, he moved with his family to Egypt and then, at 9 years old, to South Africa. Upon the family's return to England, Herbert crossed the River Severn on ice at 12 years old.
Military and Antarctic Service
Herbert graduated from the Royal Military Engineering College and spent 18 months conducting topographic surveys in Egypt and Cyprus. He then traveled through Greece and Turkey, earning a living by painting portraits.
From 1955, Herbert conducted topographic surveys in Antarctica, where he acquired dog handling skills. He completed over 5,000 km on dog sleds across the Antarctic Peninsula. Later, he participated in the New Zealand Antarctic Program, where he was sent to Greenland to master Eskimo dog-handling techniques. By the age of 26, he had spent five winters in polar regions.
British Trans-Arctic Expedition
In 1968-1969, Herbert led the British Trans-Arctic Expedition, aiming to travel 5,600 km across the pack ice from Cape Barrow to Spitsbergen, via the North Pole. The expedition comprised four men and four dog teams, with aerial support for ice reconnaissance and supply delivery.
Setting off on February 21, 1968, the expedition faced adverse currents and extreme cold, with temperatures below -35°C throughout March. They often had to deviate from their course due to young ice that could not bear their weight. By the start of the ice melt, the group had reached 82°27'N 163°30'W, covering 1,900 km.
Wintering on Drifting Ice
After a delay caused by an injury to one of the expedition members, the group wintered in a tent on drifting ice from September 15, 1968. In November, the group drifted to 85°48'N but later moved 160 km southeast, circling around the pole.
Reaching the North Pole
In late February 1969, the expedition resumed its journey amid polar night, navigating with the help of Venus. Temperatures dropped to -48°C, and daily travel lasted up to 12-13 hours. They passed the Pole of Inaccessibility before finally reaching the North Pole on April 6, 1969.
Ice leads made their progress difficult, and they narrowly avoided losing one of their sled teams. After 476 days on drifting Arctic ice, the group reached Seven Islands on May 29, 1969. They were evacuated on June 10.
Legacy and Controversies
For his participation in the expedition, Herbert was awarded the Polar Medal, the Royal Geographical Society's medal, the American Explorers Club medal, and several foreign honors. However, the incident involving the injured member caused controversy, making the expedition less well-known in the United Kingdom.
Later Years and Honors
Herbert married Mary MacKechnie in 1969, and they had two daughters, one of whom passed away. In 1979, Herbert and Allan Gill attempted to circumnavigate Greenland by sled and traditional Eskimo boats, but adverse weather conditions forced them to abandon the expedition.
In the 1980s, Herbert turned his attention to the history of polar exploration. He was commissioned by the National Geographic Society of the United States to write a biography of Robert Peary. Published in 1989, "The Noose of Laurels" sparked some controversy, as Herbert's polar experience led him to conclude that Peary had not reached the North Pole and had falsified his measurements.
In 2000, Walter Herbert was knighted. He consulted on the BBC project "Blizzard: Race to the Pole" in 2005-2006, which simulated Scott and Amundsen's South Pole expeditions in Greenland.
