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The following obituary for George Strong Nares appeared in the Times newspaper.
| Obituary in the Times newspaper | |
| Date | Obituary |
| 16 January 1915 | DEATH OF SIR GEORGE NARES. Sir George Strong Nares, K.C.B., F.R.S., Vice-Admiral on the retired list, son of Commander William Henry Nares, R.N., great-grandson of Sir George Nares (d. 1786, Justice of the Common Pleas), and grand-nephew of the Rev. Edward Nares, author of that ponderous Life of Burghley described and reviewed by Macaulay, was born at Aberdeen in 1831. He entered the Navy in 1845, was for a couple of years in the Canopus, one of the Channel Squadron, and afterwards in the Havannah, in her long commission in the Pacific, under Captain Erskine. He passed his examination in July, 1851. He was a mate of the Resolute, with Captain Kellett, in the Arctic voyage of 1852-4, and in the celebrated sledge journeys of Richards, Osborn, and McClintock. On the return of the party he was made lieutenant, October 21, 1854. It was a noteworthy day in the history of Arctic navigation, for the next day, October 22, the Admiralty had distinct news from Dr. Rae of the discovery of the remains of the Franklin expedition. They held this to be decisive, awarded Rae the £10,000 that had been offered for the intelligence, and closed the book of Arctic exploration. During the next 20 years whatever was done in the Arctic was by private enterprise and devotion. Nares meanwhile served as a lieutenant in the Mediterranean, and in the Illustrious in charge of cadets, for whose use, primarily, he wrote "The Naval Cadet’s Guide and Seaman’s Companion," first published in 1860, afterwards enlarged under the title of "Seamanship" (8vo, 1862; 4th Edition, 1868) and translated into French and Italian. He was promoted to the rank of commander on November 24, 1862, and commanded the Boscawen training ship. In 1866-7, in the Salamander, he surveyed the eastern and north-eastern coasts of Australia and Torres Straits; in 1869, in the Shearwater, he surveyed the Gulf of Suez, in reference to the opening of the Canal and the sudden extension and development of the navigation of the Red Sea. In 1872 he commissioned the Challenger, and commanded her for the first two years of her now historical voyage, in which dredging and sea sounding were first reduced within methods of certainty and accuracy. Extensive soundings were taken, in the Atlantic, and in the East and South Pacific, enabling the contour of the bottom of the ocean to be mapped in a way tending to modify considerably the views of oceanic circulation. His several reports on this — "Ocean Soundings and Temperatures" — were officially published in six parts (folio, 1874-5). Towards the end of 1874 he was suddenly recalled from the Challenger, having been specially selected by the Admiralty to command the Arctic expedition which, after 20 years, it was proposed to set forth. THE ALERT AND THE DISCOVERY. The men of Arctic experience were now, for the most part, too old to endure the rigour of the climate; and of the younger men Nares was the only one who combined with it some practice of surveying and scientific observation. The expedition, consisting of the Alert, commanded by Nares himself, and the Discovery, under the present Admiral Sir Henry Stephenson, left England in 1875, and pushed to the north through Smith’s Sound. On August 27 the Discovery was left for the winter near Lady Franklin Bay, and the Alert, continuing northwards, finally wintered in the latitude of 82° 27'. In this latitude the sun disappeared on October 12, and was not seen again for 142 days. Sledging parties were then organized, in one of which Commander, now Admiral Sir Albert Markham, with whom was Lieutenant, now Admiral A.C. Parr, reached the latitude of 83° 10' 30", the highest attained then or till several years later. This was on May 12, 1876. The excessively rough nature of the ice, and the failing health of the men, many of whom showed symptoms of scurvy, rendered any advance impossible, and it was with great difficulty that they even succeeded in regaining the ship. In the circumstances, with the imminent fear of scurvy before him, Nares resolved that it would be most imprudent to risk a second winter in the ice, turned south as the summer drew near an end, and arrived at Valentia in the latter days of October.Much annoyance was felt at this result, which fell far short of what, in their ignorance, many had expected; and an angry controversy arose as to whether the scurvy might not and ought not to have been prevented. There were many who thought that the night of 142 times 24 hours' duration was certain to affect the weaker members of a ship's company, and the Admiralty considered that Nares had done all that was possible. He was nominated a K.C.B. on December 1; was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1877, and in 1879 the Gold Medal of the French Geographical Society. He published his "Narrative of a Voyage to the Polar Sea during 1875-1876, in H.M. Ships Alert and Discovery," in two vols. 8vo, in 1878. In July, 1878, he again commissioned the Alert for a surveying voyage in the South Pacific, but was relieved in March, 1879, by Captain, afterwards Admiral, Maclear. On April 24, 1886, he retired. In March, 1879, he accepted the post of Professional Officer of the Harbour Department of the Board of Trade, which he held till 1896. He also held the office of Conservator of the Mersey from December, 1896, to October, 1910, when he was succeeded by Vice-Admiral A.M. Field. He became a Rear-Admiral on the retired list on January 1, 1887, and Vice-Admiral on March 26, 1892. He married, in 1858, Mary, daughter of Mr. W.G. Grant, of Portsmouth, who died on November 2, 1905, leaving three sons and four daughters. The funeral will take place at Long Ditton Churchyard on Tuesday afternoon. |
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