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==Marriage and family life==
==Marriage and family life==
It is uncertain how Bruce was employed after his return from Spitsbergen in autumn 1899. In his whole life he rarely had settled salaried work, and usually relied on patronage or on influential acquaintances to find him temporary posts.<ref name = "Speak_59&ndash;63">Speak, pp. 59&ndash;63</ref> Early in 1901 he evidently felt sufficiently confident of his prospects to get married. His bride was Jessie Mackenzie, who had worked as a nurse in Samuel Bruce's London surgery. Bruce's secretive nature, even among his circle of close friends and colleagues, was such that precise information about the wedding&mdash;its exact date, its location&mdash;has not been recorded by his biographers.<ref name = "Speak_59&ndash;63">Speak, p. 60</ref>
It is uncertain how Bruce was employed after his return from Spitsbergen in autumn 1899. In his whole life he rarely had settled salaried work, and usually relied on patronage or on influential acquaintances to find him temporary posts.<ref name = "Speak_59&ndash;63">Speak, pp. 59&ndash;63</ref> Early in 1901 he evidently felt sufficiently confident of his prospects to get married. His bride was Jessie Mackenzie, who had worked as a nurse in Samuel Bruce's London surgery. Bruce's secretive nature, even among his circle of close friends and colleagues, was such that precise inhomoformation about the wedding&mdash;its exact date, its location&mdash;has not been recorded by his biographers.<ref name = "Speak_59&ndash;63">Speak, p. 60</ref>


The Bruces settled in the coastal Edinburgh suburb of [[Portobello, Edinburgh|Portobello]], in the first of a series of addresses in that area. A son, Eillium Alastair, was born in April 1902, and a daughter, Sheila Mackenzie, was born seven years later. During these years Bruce founded the Scottish Ski Club and became its first president. He was also a co-founder of [[Edinburgh Zoo]].<ref>{{cite web| title = William Speirs Bruce 1867–1921|url = http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/people/famousfirst109.html|publisher = Gazetteer for Scotland|accessdate = 2008-06-03}}</ref>
The Bruces settled in the coastal Edinburgh suburb of [[Portobello, Edinburgh|Portobello]], in the first of a series of addresses in that area. A son, Eillium Alastair, was born in April 1902, and a daughter, Sheila Mackenzie, was born seven years later. During these years Bruce founded the Scottish Ski Club and became its first president. He was also a co-founder of [[Edinburgh Zoo]].<ref>{{cite web| title = William Speirs Bruce 1867–1921|url = http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/people/famousfirst109.html|publisher = Gazetteer for Scotland|accessdate = 2008-06-03}}</ref>

Revision as of 18:59, 3 December 2009

William Speirs Bruce
Heavily bearded man with dark receding hair, wearing a dark coloured jacket, white collar and pale tie. He is looking slightly to the left, with a solemn expression
Born(1867-08-01)1 August 1867
London, England
Died28 October 1921(1921-10-28) (aged 54)
Edinburgh, Scotland
NationalityBritish
EducationNorfolk County School, University of Edinburgh
Occupation(s)Naturalist, polar scientist and explorer
Spouse(s)Jessie Bruce, née Mackenzie
ChildrenEillium Alastair Bruce and Sheila Mackenzie Bruce
Parent(s)Samuel Noble Bruce and Mary Bruce, née Lloyd

William Speirs Bruce (1 August 1867 – 28 October 1921) was a London-born Scottish naturalist, polar scientist and oceanographer who organized and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902–04) to the South Orkney Islands and the Weddell Sea. Among other achievements, the expedition established the first permanent weather station below the Antarctic Circle. Bruce later founded the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory, but his plans for a transcontinental Antarctic march via the South Pole were abandoned because of lack of public and financial support.

In 1892 Bruce abandoned his medical studies at the University of Edinburgh and joined the Dundee Whaling Expedition to Antarctica as a scientific assistant. This was followed by Arctic voyages to Novaya Zemlya, Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land. In 1899 Bruce, by then Britain's most experienced polar scientist, applied for a post on Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Expedition, but delays over this appointment and clashes with Royal Geographical Society (RGS) president Sir Clements Markham led him instead to organize his own expedition, and earned him the permanent enmity of the British geographical establishment. Although Bruce received various awards for his polar work, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Aberdeen, neither he nor any of his SNAE colleagues were recommended by the RGS for the prestigious Polar Medal.

Between 1907 and 1920 Bruce made many journeys to the Arctic regions, both for scientific and for commercial purposes. His failure to mount any major exploration ventures after the SNAE is usually attributed to his lack of public relations skills, powerful enemies, and his fervent Scottish nationalism. By 1919 his health was failing, and he experienced several spells in hospital before his death in 1921, after which he was almost totally forgotten. In recent years, following the centenary of the Scottish Expedition, efforts have been made to give fuller recognition to his role in the history of scientific polar exploration.

Marriage and family life

It is uncertain how Bruce was employed after his return from Spitsbergen in autumn 1899. In his whole life he rarely had settled salaried work, and usually relied on patronage or on influential acquaintances to find him temporary posts.[1] Early in 1901 he evidently felt sufficiently confident of his prospects to get married. His bride was Jessie Mackenzie, who had worked as a nurse in Samuel Bruce's London surgery. Bruce's secretive nature, even among his circle of close friends and colleagues, was such that precise inhomoformation about the wedding—its exact date, its location—has not been recorded by his biographers.[1]

The Bruces settled in the coastal Edinburgh suburb of Portobello, in the first of a series of addresses in that area. A son, Eillium Alastair, was born in April 1902, and a daughter, Sheila Mackenzie, was born seven years later. During these years Bruce founded the Scottish Ski Club and became its first president. He was also a co-founder of Edinburgh Zoo.[2]

Bruce's chosen life as an explorer, his unreliable sources of income and his frequent extended absences, all placed severe strains on the marriage, and the couple became estranged around 1916. However, they continued to live in the same house until Bruce’s death. Eillium became a Merchant Navy officer, eventually captaining a Fisheries Research Ship which, by chance, bore the name Scotia.[1]

== he's good in bed, :)

Post-expedition years

Head and upper body of elderly bearded man, facing left, wearing a dark suit with exposed white handkerchief in the breast pocket
Sir John Murray, an early mentor to Bruce

Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory

Bruce's collection of specimens, gathered from more than a decade of Arctic and Antarctic travel, required a permanent home. Bruce himself needed a base from which the detailed scientific reports of the Scotia voyage could be prepared for publication. He obtained premises in Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, in which he established a laboratory and museum, naming it the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory, with the ultimate ambition that it should become the Scottish National Oceanographic Institute. It was officially opened by Prince Albert in 1906.[3]

Within these premises Bruce housed his meteorological and oceanographic equipment, in preparation for future expeditions. He also met there with fellow-explorers, including Nansen, Shackleton, and Roald Amundsen. His main task, however, was masterminding the preparation of the SNAE scientific reports. These, at considerable cost and much delay, were published between 1907 and 1920, except one volume—Bruce’s own log—that remained unpublished until 1992, after its rediscovery.[3] Bruce maintained a wide correspondence with experts, including Sir Joseph Hooker, who had travelled to the Antarctic with James Clark Ross in 1839–43, and to whom Bruce dedicated his short book Polar Exploration.[3][4]

In 1914 discussions began toward finding more permanent homes, both for Bruce’s collection and, following the death that year of oceanographer Sir John Murray, for the specimens and library of the Challenger expedition. Bruce proposed that a new centre should be created as a memorial to Murray.[5] There was unanimous agreement to proceed, but the project was curtailed by the outbreak of war, and not revived.[3][6] The Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory continued until 1919, when Bruce, in poor health, was forced to close it, dispersing its contents to the Royal Scottish Museum, the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS), and the University of Edinburgh.[3]

Further Antarctic plans

On 17 March 1910 Bruce presented proposals to the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) for a new Scottish Antarctic expedition. His plan envisaged a party wintering in or near Coats Land, while the ship took another group to the Ross Sea, on the opposite side of the continent. During the second season the Coats Land party would cross the continent on foot, via the South Pole, while the Ross Sea party pushed south to meet them and assist them home. The expedition would also carry out extensive oceanographical and other scientific work. Bruce estimated that the total cost would be about £50,000 (2024 value about £6,450,000).[7][8]

The RSGS supported these proposals, as did the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the University of Edinburgh, and other Scottish organisations.[7] However, the timing was wrong; the Royal Geographical Society in London was fully occupied with Captain Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition, and showed no interest in Bruce’s plans. No rich private benefactors came forward, and persistent and intensive lobbying of the government for financial backing failed.[7] Bruce, as usual, suspected that his efforts were being undermined by the aged but still influential Markham.[7] Finally accepting that his venture would not take place, he gave generous support and advice to Ernest Shackleton, who in 1913 announced plans, similar to Bruce’s, for his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.[9] Shackleton not only received £10,000 from the government, but raised large sums from private sources, including £24,000 from Scottish industrialist Sir James Caird of Dundee.[10][11]

Shackleton’s expedition was an epic adventure, but failed completely in its main endeavour of a transcontinental crossing. Bruce was not consulted by the Shackleton relief committee about that expedition’s rescue, when the need arose in 1916. "Myself, I suppose," he wrote, "because of being north of the Tweed, they think dead".[12]

Scottish Spitsbergen syndicate

Major islands in the Spitsbergen group identified by name
Map of Spitsbergen archipelago (now named Svalbard), showing the islands Prince Charles Foreland, Barentsøya and Edgeøya

During his Spitsbergen visits with Prince Albert in 1898 and 1899, Bruce had detected the presence of coal, gypsum and possibly oil. In the summers of 1906 and 1907 he again accompanied the Prince to the archipelago, with the primary purpose of surveying and mapping Prince Charles Foreland, an island unvisited during the earlier voyages. Here Bruce found further deposits of coal, and indications of iron.[13] On the basis of these finds, Bruce set up a mineral prospecting company, the Scottish Spitsbergen Syndicate, in July 1909.[14]

At that time, in international law Spitsbergen was regarded as terra nullius—rights to mine and extract could be established simply by registering a claim.[14] Bruce's syndicate registered claims on Prince Charles Foreland and on the islands of Barentsøya and Edgeøya, among other areas.[15] A sum of £4,000 (out of a target of £6,000) was subscribed to finance the costs of a detailed prospecting expedition during the summer of 1909, in a chartered vessel with a full scientific team. The results, however were "disappointing",[14] and the voyage absorbed almost all of the syndicate’s funds.

Bruce paid two further visits to Spitsbergen, in 1912 and 1914, but the outbreak of war prevented further immediate developments.[14] However, early in 1919 the old syndicate was replaced by a larger and better-financed company. Bruce had now fixed his main hopes on the discovery of oil, but scientific expeditions in 1919 and 1920 failed to provide evidence of its presence, although substantial new deposits of coal and iron ore were discovered.[13] Thereafter Bruce was too ill to continue with his involvement. The new company had expended most of its capital on these prospecting ventures, and although it continued to exist, under various ownerships, until 1952, there is no record of profitable extraction. Its assets and claims were finally acquired by a rival concern.[16]

Later life

Polar Medals withheld

During his lifetime Bruce received many awards: the Gold Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in 1904; the Patron's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1910; the Neill prize and Medal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1913, and the Livingstone Medal of the American Geographical Society in 1920. He also received an honorary LLD degree from the University of Aberdeen.[17][18] The honour that eluded him, however, was the Polar Medal, awarded by the Sovereign on the recommendation of the Royal Geographical Society. Although the Medal was awarded to the members of every other British or Commonwealth Antarctic expedition during the early 20th century, the SNAE was the exception; the medal was withheld.[19]

Bruce, and those close to him, blamed Markham for this omission.[20] The matter was raised, repeatedly, with anyone thought to have influence. Robert Rudmose Brown, chronicler of the Scotia voyage and later Bruce's first biographer, wrote in a 1913 letter to the President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society that this neglect was "a slight to Scotland and to Scottish endeavour".[21] Bruce wrote in March 1915 to the President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, who agreed in his reply that "Markham had much to answer for".[21] After Markham’s death in 1916 Bruce sent a long letter to his Member of Parliament, Charles Price, detailing Sir Clements's malice towards him and the Scottish expedition, ending with a heartfelt cry on behalf of his old comrades: "Robertson[22] is dying without his well won white ribbon! The Mate is dead!! The Chief Engineer is dead!!! Everyone as good men as have ever served on any Polar Expedition, yet they did not receive the white ribbon."[21] No action followed this plea.

Nearly a century later the matter was raised in the Scottish Parliament. On 4 November 2002 MSP Michael Russell tabled a motion relating to the SNAE centenary, which concluded: "The Polar Medal Advisory Committee should recommend the posthumous award of the Polar Medal to Dr William Speirs Bruce, in recognition of his status as one of the key figures in early 20th century polar scientific exploration".[23] Despite this effort, no award, as of June 2008, had been made.

Last years

After the outbreak of war in 1914, Bruce's prospecting ventures were on hold. He offered his services to the Admiralty, but failed to obtain an appointment. In 1915 he accepted a post as director and manager of a whaling company based in the Seychelles, and spent four months there, but the venture failed.[24] On his return to Britain he finally secured a minor post at the Admiralty.[24]

Bruce continued to lobby for recognition, highlighting the distinctions between the treatment of SNAE and that of English expeditions.[25] When the war finished he attempted to revive his various interests, but his health was failing, forcing him to close his laboratory. On the 1920 voyage to Spitsbergen he travelled in an advisory role, unable to participate in the detailed work. On return, he was confined in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and later in the Liberton Hospital, Edinburgh, where he died on 28 October 1921.[24] In accordance with his wishes he was cremated, and the ashes taken to South Georgia to be scattered on the southern sea.[24] Despite his irregular income and general lack of funds, his estate realised £7,000 (2024 value about £390,000).[1][8]

Assessment

After Bruce's death his long-time friend and colleague Robert Rudmose Brown wrote, in a letter to Bruce's father: "His name is imperishably enrolled among the world's great explorers, and the martyrs to unselfish scientific devotion".[26] Rudmose Brown's biography was published in 1923, and in the same year a joint committee of Edinburgh's learned societies instituted the Bruce Memorial Prize, an award for young polar scientists.[17] Thereafter, although his name continued to be respected in scientific circles, Bruce and his achievements were forgotten by the general public. Occasional mentions of him, in polar histories and biographies of major figures such as Scott and Shackleton, tended to be dismissive and inaccurate.[27]

Man on right in Scots highland costume, playing bagpipes, while on the left a lone penguin stands. The ground is covered in ice, with a high ice ridge in the background.
An enduring image of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Piper Gilbert Kerr, with penguin, photographed by Bruce

The early years of the 21st century, however, have seen a reassessment of Bruce's work. Contributory factors have been the SNAE centenary, and Scotland's renewed sense of national identity. A 2003 expedition, in a modern research ship "Scotia", used information collected by Bruce as a basis for examining climate change in South Georgia. This expedition predicted "dramatic conclusions" relating to global warming from its research, and saw this contribution as a "fitting tribute to Britain's forgotten polar hero, William Speirs Bruce".[28] A new biographer, Peter Speak (2003), claims that the SNAE was "by far the most cost-effective and carefully planned scientific expedition of the Heroic Age".[29]

The same author considers reasons why Bruce's efforts to capitalize on this success met with failure, and suggests a combination of his shy, solitary, uncharismatic nature[29] and his "fervent" Scottish nationalism.[30] Bruce seemingly lacked public relations skills and the ability promote his work, after the fashion of Scott and Shackleton;[29] a life-long friend described him as being "as prickly as the Scottish thistle itself".[29] On occasion he behaved tactlessly, as with Jackson over the question of the specimens brought back from Franz Josef Land, and on another occasion with the Royal Geographical Society, over the question of a minor expense claim.[21] He made a powerful and enduring enemy of Sir Clements Markham, whose influence affected London attitudes towards Bruce for years after their original dispute.

As to his nationalism, he wished to see Scotland on an equal footing with England, in a federal Britain at the heart of the Empire.[29] His national pride was intense; in a Preparatory Note to The Voyage of the Scotia he wrote: "While 'Science' was the talisman of the Expedition, 'Scotland' was emblazoned on its flag".[31] This insistence on emphasising the Scottish character of his enterprises could be irksome to those who did not share his passion.[32] However, he retained the respect and devotion of those whom he led, and of those who had known him longest. John Arthur Thomson, who had known Bruce since Granton, wrote of him when reviewing Rudmose Brown's 1923 biography: "We never heard him once grumble about himself, though he was neither to hold or bend when he thought some injustice was being done to, or slight cast on, his men, on his colleagues, on his laboratory, on his Scotland. Then one got glimpses of the volcano which his gentle spirit usually kept sleeping".[33]

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c d Speak, pp. 59–63 Cite error: The named reference "Speak_59–63" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ "William Speirs Bruce 1867–1921". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e Speak, pp. 97–101 Cite error: The named reference "Speak_97–101" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Polar Exploration, pub. Williams and Norgate, London 1911
  5. ^ "Scotland and the Antarctic, Section 7: The legacy of Bruce". Glasgow Digital Library. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  6. ^ Swinney, G. N. (2002-09-12). "William Speirs Bruce, Scotland, polar meteorology and oceanography". Museum of the World Ocean Congress. www.vitiaz.ru. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  7. ^ a b c d Speak, pp. 118–23 Cite error: The named reference "Speak_118–23" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b "Measuring Worth". Institute for the Measurement of Worth. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
  9. ^ Huntford, p. 367
  10. ^ Huntford, pp. 376–67
  11. ^ This contribution was worth at least £1.5 million in 2008 terms (Measuringworth on [1]). Caird, who had no known connection with Bruce, was rewarded for his generosity to Shackleton by the naming of Caird Coast (part of Coats Land previously named by Bruce), and by the naming of the whaler James Caird, in which Shackleton made his open-boat rescue journey to South Georgia.
  12. ^ Speak, pp. 124–25
  13. ^ a b "Scotland and the Antarctic, Section 6: After the Scotia expedition". Glasgow Digital Library. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  14. ^ a b c d Speak, pp. 104–07 Cite error: The named reference "Speak_104–07" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  15. ^ Map, Speak p. 110
  16. ^ Speak, p. 117
  17. ^ a b Speak, p. 138
  18. ^ On the basis of this honorary degree Bruce was usually described thereafter as "Dr Bruce", although this style is not generally used in Britain for doctorates honoris causa.
  19. ^ Speak, p. 108
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Speak was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ a b c d Speak, pp. 128–31 Cite error: The named reference "Speak_128–31" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  22. ^ Thomas Robertson, captain of Scotia
  23. ^ "Scottish Parliament Business Bulletin No. 156/2002". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  24. ^ a b c d Speak, pp. 131–34 Cite error: The named reference "Speak_131–34" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  25. ^ Speak, pp. 125–26
  26. ^ Speak, p. 135
  27. ^ An example of Bruce's treatment by English writers is in Elspeth Huxley's Scott of the Antarctic (Wiedenfeld & Nicolson, London 1977 ISBN 0 297 77433 6) She writes: "There was Bruce's venture shortly to sail in the Scotia to the Weddell Sea; this, too, got trapped in sea-ice and returned without ever reaching the land". (p. 52)
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference climatechange was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ a b c d e Speak, pp. 14–16 Cite error: The named reference "Speak_14–16" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  30. ^ Speak, p. 8
  31. ^ Rudmose Brown et al., p. xiii
  32. ^ Speak, p. 97 and p. 131
  33. ^ Speak, p. 59

Sources

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