Inglefield, Edward Augustus, 1820-1882

Edward Augustus Inglefield was born in 1820 at Cheltenham into a family of distinguished naval stock. At the age of twelve, he entered the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth, joining the Royal Navy two years later and serving in South America, North Africa and the West Indies. Promoted commander, he was appointed to lead the British Franklin Search Expedition in 1852, sponsored by Lady Franklin and by public subscription to search for Sir John Franklin's missing Northwest Passage expedition in Jones Sound and along the west coast of Baffin Bay and Davis Strait. Sailing from Peterhead in the steam-yacht Isabel, Inglefield stopped at west Greenland to obtain dogs before proceeding north and entering Smith Sound, which he penetrated to 78° 28 minutes North. During his surveys around the entrance to Smith Sound, Inglefield charted about 1,000km of new coast and he later made a brief examination of Jones Sound, reaching 84° 10 minutes West before turning back. On the return voyage, he continued the search for Franklin along the east coast of Baffin Island as far as Cumberland Sound before the approach of winter forced him to sail home. On his return, Inglefield was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and his narrative of the expedition was published in 1853.

In 1853, Inglefield was placed in command of HMS Phoenix on the British Naval Supply Voyage, sent by the Admiralty to deliver supplies and dispatches to the five vessels under Sir Edward Belcher's command. Sailing in company with the transport vessel HMS Breadalbane, Inglefield reached Beechey Island, Barrow Strait where North Star, one of Belcher's vessels, was anchored. In August 1853, Joseph-Ren Bellot, a French lieutenant and volunteer in Phoenix, was drowned in Wellington Channel on his way from Beechey Island to deliver messages to Belcher. Later in the same month, Breadalbane was nipped in the ice and sank off Beechey Island. After relieving Belcher's expedition, Inglefield returned home in October 1853 and was promoted captain. Returning with Phoenix and HMS Talbot to Beechey Island in 1854 to re-supply Belcher's ships, Inglefield succeeded in bringing home most of the personnel of HMS Investigator and the four abandoned vessels of Belcher's expedition.

After the voyage, Inglefield participated in naval operations during the Crimean War, later serving as British naval attach in Washington in 1871. In 1872, he was appointed rear admiral of the dockyard at Malta and second in command of the Mediterranean fleet, later serving as vice-admiral commander-in-chief of the North America and West Indies Station between 1878 and 1879. He was knighted in 1877 and retired as admiral in 1885, after which he devoted much of his time to painting. His watercolours of Arctic landscapes were exhibited at several art galleries in London. He died on 4 September 1894 at London.

Published work A summer search for Sir John Franklin; with a peep into the polar basin by Edward Augustus Inglefield, Thomas-Harrison London (1853) SPRI Library Special Collection (41)91(08)[1852 Inglefield]

From the guide to the Sir Edward Inglefield collection, 1852-1856, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)