Watts, Harold

Harold Watts was a telegraphist when he joined the Shackleton-Rowett Antarctic Expedition, 1921-1922 (leader Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton) as wireless operator. Setting out from London on 17 September 1921 in the wooden sealer Quest, the expedition reached South Georgia where Shackleton suffered a heart attack and died on 5 January 1922. John Robert Francis [Frank] Wild took command and the expedition continued, briefly exploring the South Sandwich Islands and the Weddell Sea before returning to Britain.

From the guide to the Harold Watts collection, 1921-1922, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)