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PETTY OFFICER PATRICK KEOHANE, RN 'There are at least six Irishmen amongst the crew of volunteers on the Terra Nova, one of whom is Mr Robert Forde, petty officer, brother of Miss Forde, of Harbour Row, Queenstown. The other is Mr Keohane, of West Cork, also a petty officer. Those two specimens of Irish manhood were attached to the Black Prince at Queenstown for some time, and were subsequently on the cruiser Talbot, where their splendid seamanship and vigorous health greatly impressed Lieutenant Evans, who is also with the expedition party, and who selected Mr Forde and Mr Keohane from amongst the many volunteers who offered to go the whole journey.' (Cork Examiner, 12 Feb. 1913) Keohane, a Cork man, originally from Courtmacsherry, was 30 years old when he was picked by Evans, Scott's second in command, to join the British Antarctic Expedition. Nicknamed 'Patsy' on the expedition, he proved to be one of the stalwart members of the shore party. He was dextrous, working with his fellow Irishman on sewing duties in the hut at Cape Evans over the winters, and made fine models of the Terra Nova (now at SPRI) and a loaded sledge (private collection). He distinguished himself on sledging journeys, manhauling with Cherry-Garrard, Bowers and Crean on the Depôt journey in January-March 1911 and was a member of the First Supporting Party (with Atkinson, Cherry-Garrard and C.S. Wright) on the southern journey, reaching Lat. 85o 15' on 22 December 1911, and making Hut Point safely on 26 January 1912. On 26 March 1912 he went out with Atkinson with supplies for the returning southern party, depôting them at Corner Camp, and returning from there on 30 March (just a day after Scott made his last journal entry 11 miles south of One Ton Depôt). He then was a member of the Northern Relief Party (with Atkinson, C.S. Wright and Williamson) in April 1912, and a member of the mule party of the Search journey which set out from Hut Point to search for the southern party on 29 October 1912.

[PATRICK KEOHANE]

British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1914: P.O Patrick Keohane's manhaul sledge harness

Details

[PATRICK KEOHANE]
British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1914: P.O Patrick Keohane's manhaul sledge harness
stencilled 'P.K.' in black ink on the belt
stitched canvas, leather and rope
53in. (134.7cm.) waist (approx.)

Provenance

P.O. Patrick Keohane, and thence by descent to the present owner.

Exhibited

Tralee, Kerry County Museum, Antarctica -- Beyond Endurance: Journeys to the Bottom of the Earth, April-Dec. 2002.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Keohane's manhaul sledging harness which saw heavy use on the expedition, and which saved his life on the descent of the crevassed Beardmore glacier as Keohane, Cherry-Garrard, Wright and Atkinson, Scott's first supporting party on the southern journey, made their return from the top of the glacier: 'No five hundred mile journey down the Beardmore and across the Barrier can be uneventful, even in midsummer. We had the same dreary drag, the same thick weather, fears and anxieties which other parties have had. A touch of the same dysentery and sickness: the same tumbles and crevasses: the same Christmas comforts, a layer of plum pudding at the bottom of our cocoa, and some rocks collected from a moraine under the Cloudmaker [for which see lot 366]: the same groping for tracks: the same cairns lost and found, the same snow-blindness and weariness, nightmares, food dreams. ...Why repeat? Comparatively speaking it was a very little journey: and yet the distance from Cape Evans to the top of the Beardmore Glacier and back is 1164 statute miles. Scott's Southern Journey of 1902-3 was 950 statute miles. One day is worth recalling. We got into some big pressure above the Cloudmaker which both other parties experienced. ...The day really lives in my memory because of the troubles of Keohane. He fell into crevasses to the full length of his harness eight times in twenty-five minutes. Little wonder he looked a bit dazed.' (A.G.B. Cherry-Garrard, The Worst Journey in the World, London, 1994, pp.395-6)

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