Today we are publishing an article by Ash Mowat, a volunteer in the Civic Engagement team, on Benjamin Leigh Smith’s voyage to the Artic in 1871.

In this blog we shall join the exploration of the voyage by Benjamin Leigh Smith to Svalbard in the Artic in 1871, held at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Research Collections.

Biography of Benjamin Leigh Smith

Benjamin Leigh Smith (1828 to 1913) was an English yachtsman and explorer, becoming famed for his ventures to the Artic. [1] This blog will focus on his 1871 voyage to survey the area of Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago situated in the Artic Ocean.

(Image of Svalbard and portrait of Benjamin Leigh Smith courtesy footnote 2)

Unlike contemporaries such as Ernest Shackleton, Smith has sadly become less well known for his ambitious and high-risk explorations.[2] He was an early pioneer of travelling to view and survey the Artic region, a very hazardous pursuit given the severe weather conditions and sea ice, and given the frailties and limitations of wooden (albeit reinforced with steel) sailing ships as means of transport.

In a later mission of 1881 aboard the Eira, the vessel was crushed and Leigh Smith and his crew were trapped in ice on land for ten months, having to live in crudely fashioned structures off the ship and hunting local animals for food. Astonishingly all the crew survived, despite having to endure a long return home on small boats with sails fabricated from makeshift materials. A modest man, he never sought the fame and publicity that others in his field sometimes utilised. He was, however, recognised with the award of the Patron Gold Medal, amongst the most esteemed honours granted by the Royal Geographical Society. His family background was interesting and progressive for the time, with his parents not being married which was hugely unconventional for the period. His sister was the celebrated feminist, women’s rights activist and artist Barbara Bodichon,[3] and his cousin was Florence Nightingale.

I viewed Leigh Smith’s handwritten journal on his 1871 mission sailing from Grimsby to Svalbard at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Research Collections.[4] In an opening introduction it is recounted that:

“Tropical Schooner Samson, 85 tons register built by Messrs John White, Cowes of Isle of White, was purchased by BL Smith esquire…has made two voyages to Artic regions whilst owned by Mr Pallister. BL Smith esq belongs to the Thames Yacht Club, on a voyage from England to Norway and thence to the Artic regions on a cruise.”

Wednesday 17^th May 1871 Leigh Smith records: “Crew employed stowing stores and making ship ready for sea. The crew are all Norwegian and only the captain and mate speak any English”. Later noting “departed Friday 19^th May in fair weather with other vessels.”

Recounting some of the restrictions of progress on a heavy ship powered solely by sails he remarks on Monday 22^nd May “distance from noon to noon today only 51 miles, a very poor day’s work.” Several days later he reports “passing coast of Norway and much finer calmer weather than anticipated, made progress of 137 miles noon to noon.”

In the following entry Leigh Smith reveals some contrary concerns about the fine weather and some intriguing details of his crew: “Weather remarkably calm and the stillness seems quite oppressive. We have on board in the person of one of the crew, Hans by name, a Norsk Fin…he seems to have some special grudge against the cook, a very inoffensive character, and seizes every opportunity to persecute him more.”

Later Leigh Smith describes a hazardous encounter with a large fish passing when he was aboard a small dinghy. “Fortunately for us, it did not touch the boat or our Artic voyage would have ended in a very brief manner, as there were no boats that could be sent from the ship without some considerable delay getting them off deck”. Somewhat suggestive of some undue risks being taken in this episode that could have proved very costly to lives and the expedition.

On 29^th May there is an interesting comparison comment when encountering what would have been an early version of a steamer ship. “We saw a steamer ship during the morning, during the morning, steaming up from leeward who since the wind has freshened has been compelled to resort to tacking, in which method we contrived to beat her. So concluded, as we know we are not a Clipper, that she is a very bad specimen of steam power.” With later advancements if steam technology, such vessels would later become much safer and more efficient means to venture into such hostile seas.

On 3^rd June there is a record of a period on land and observations of residents. “Anchored and went ashore at Tromso (Northern Norway). The houses are all built of wood, being varnished in the rooms giving them a light and cheerful appearance. The people dress well and look to be enjoying good health…people do not seem to care about going to bed here. I think they are acting in the old maxim make hay while the sun shines, as they have a long dreary winter, they intend to make up for lost time.” They spent several weeks at Tromso and recruited “an additional crew of five men as foremast men and one harpooner, making 14 in number all told and two dogs”

The following reports contains some descriptions of hunting that may appear jarring and unpalatable to current times but are representative of practices of the period. “We sighted bear island…this afternoon being very calm and clear weather, went out in the dinghy and landed the dogs on the iceberg; they seemed to enjoy the fun immensely… plenty of shooting auks or puffins which are numerous”. “Saw several whales round the ship, got harpoon on the bow loaded with a shell, one came close, an excellent opportunity but unfortunately the shell exploded before reaching the fish.”

Whaling, of course, was a globally widely practiced industry at the time and for many years afterwards, the whales utilised not only as a food source but also the use of whale oil in streetlighting and manufacturing such as in the jute trade.

On 26^th August at Spitzbergen, Svalbard he understatedly describes a close encounter: “An immense iceberg came alongside of the ship, towering over the ship like a precipice. We supposed the iceberg not less than 50 feet above the water. We speedily unmoored and got out of the way of such an unwelcome visitor”.

On 2^nd September still at Spitzbergen he records a meeting with other vessels: “Two of the other yachts came in for shelter…one of them on the passage from Nova Zemla (Novaya Zemlya) to Spitzbergen met a herd of seals on the fast ice and were fortunate enough to get 200 of them, what with 14 walrus they had previous and five polar bears made them a good catch compared to other vessels.”

Benjamin Leigh Smith, second from left, aboard later expedition on the Eira. Photography courtesy of footnote 2).

It was intriguing to read these notes which give an insight into the extremely challenging and hazardous endeavours to explore such hostile seas in such primitive and vulnerable vessels. The hardiness required and hardships experienced to undertake such journeys must have been considerable.

I should like to thank my supervisor Laura Beattie (Community Engagement Officer) for support and guidance, and to all staff at the Centre for Research Collections  for enabling access to view these materials.

[1] Benjamin Leigh Smith – Wikipedia

[2] Benjamin Leigh Smith: The forgotten explorer of the frozen north – BBC News

[3] Barbara Bodichon – Wikipedia

[4] Collection: Papers of Benjamin Leigh Smith | University of Edinburgh Archive and Manuscript Collections