Henry Trollope served as lieutenant in HMS Herald on the British Naval Franklin Search Expedition, 1848-1850 (leader Henry Kellett), assisting HMS Plover under Thomas Edward Laws Moore in the search for Sir John Franklin's missing expedition in Bering Strait. Promoted commander after the expedition, he was appointed to the command of HMS Rattlesnake on the British Naval Supply Voyage, 1853-1854, instructed by the Admiralty to deliver supplies to HMS Plover in Bering Strait and to serve as a depot for other vessels engaged in the search for Sir John Franklin's missing expedition. Sailing from England in February 1853, Rattlesnake entered the Pacific via the Strait of Magellan, reaching Port Clarence, Alaska, where the expedition wintered after transferring supplies to Plover. After the search for Franklin in Bering Strait was abandoned in August 1854, Trollope returned home. He later retired from the Royal Navy as captain.
From the guide to the Henry Trollope collection, 1856-1857, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
