Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1934-1935 (Creation)
- Creator
- Humphreys, Noel
Physical description area
Physical description
0.2 cm of textual records
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Gordon Noel Humphreys (1883–1966) was a British born surveyor, pilot, botanist, explorer and doctor. Originally trained as a surveyor, Humphreys worked in both Mexico and Uganda. During World War I he served as a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps, was shot down and spent his internment training himself in botany.
After the war it was his survey work and exploration of the Ruwenzori Range in Uganda that brought him to the attention of Edward Shackleton. Humphreys was chosen as the leader and head surveyor of the "Oxford University Ellesmere Land Expedition" (OUELE) by Shackleton, who was the organiser of the expedition. Consisting of Shackleton, photographer and biologist A. W. Moore (sometimes listed as Morris), H. W. Stallworthy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, geologist R. Bentham and ornithologist David Haig-Thomas, along with their Greenland Inuit guides, Inutuk and Nukapinguaq, they set up camp at Etah, Greenland in 1934. The expedition was sponsored by the Oxford University Exploration Club, the Royal Geographical Society and the Government of Canada.
From the camp the camp Inutuk, Nukapinguaq, Stallworthy and Moore proceeded to Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island, Canada where they set up camp. From there Moore and Nukapinguaq continued up the Gilman Glacier and then made the first known ascent of Mount Oxford. Naming the mountain after the University of Oxford, Moore estimated the height to be 9,000 ft (2,700 m), it rises to about 7,250 ft (2,210 m).
From the summit they could see a mountain range that the "great imperialist" (as Humphreys was called by Shackleton in 1937) named the British Empire Range. Again Moore was to overestimate the height of the range at 10,000 ft (3,000 m), in fact the highest point, Barbeau Peak, is 8,583 ft (2,616 m).
By the end of May 1935 the group had returned to Etah and to England in late September the same year.
Humphreys retired to Devon and died there in 1966.
Scope and content
File consists of eight newspaper clippings, seven of which are a series of articles on the findings of the Oxford University Ellesmere Land Expedition, with the eighth being a photograph of the Expedition’s winter quarters in Etah, Greenland. Five of the articles were written by the expedition leader, Mr. Noel Humphreys and the other two were written by members of the Expedition, Mr. Moore and Mr. Haig-Thomas. The articles were originally published in the “Times” of London but the clippings appear to be from the “New Zealand Herald”.
Notes area
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
No restrictions.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Personal or academic use of materials is welcomed under the standard fair dealing and educational use clauses of Canadian Copyright Law. Commercial use is, however, forbidden without the express permission of the copyright holder. For information on obtaining written permission from the copyright holder, please contact the Northern B.C. Archives and Special Collections.
Finding aids
File list available.
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
General note
Accession # 2000.18
General note
Photocopies of these articles were made onto acid free paper in 2000. A previous retrieval number of 2000.18/2 was assigned to this preservation copy file.