“ONE OF THE MOST PIVOTAL POLAR EXPLORATION GROUPS EVER OFFERED FOR SALE.”
(A TOTALLY UNIQUE MEDAL WITH A SILVER & BRONZE CLASP)

AN INTERNATIONALLY & HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT
“RRS TERRA NOVA” POLAR MEDAL (George V) 2nd Type.
To
271668. W.A. HORTON, E.R.A. 3CL.
(Later Lt Commander, Engineer)
For His Service As 2nd Engineer in
The World Famous
ROYAL RESEARCH SHIP
“TERRA NOVA”

DURING
THE SADLY FATAL
CAPTAIN ROBERT FALCON SCOTT
ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION OF 1912.


—NOW COMPLETE WITH ITS
“BATTLE OF JUTLAND”
GREAT WAR, 1914-1915 ROYAL NAVY TRIO—

**[ Special Note]
WE ARE NOW DELIGHTED TO RECORD THAT AFTER BEING APART SINCE ABOUT 1923, MR HORTON’S PREVIOUSLY “LOST” 1914-1915, ROYAL NAVY, WW1 TRIO, HAS NOW FINALLY BEEN REUNITED WITH HIS “UNIQUE” TWO CLASP POLAR MEDAL.

On 21st July 2021 we successfully bid for and won the missing trio (Lot 202) in the DNW auction in London, and hence Mr Horton’s group of four is now all back together and fully complete. We are proud to have been able to finally ensure that this brave & exceptional Antarctic Mariner’s medals are now all reunited. We feel this is a suitable tribute to William Horton’s outstanding service at the very pinnacle of early polar exploration and for his bravery in the Royal Navy at The Battle of Jutland during the Great War.

So, if you’ve previously viewed his Polar Medal and wished that his trio was also here .....well, now it is!


During WW1 William Horton continued his historic and exemplary career with continued war service in the Battle Cruiser
HMS ROYALIST.


His WW1 service papers see him in late August 1914 taking part in some clearly urgent retraining on turbine engines & the associated oil power systems. Upon joining this brand new ship as an Acting Artificer Engineer on 19th March 1915, he later gained a confirmation by the Commanding Officer of HMS ROYALIST as “Acting Mate (E)” on 19th February 1916 after being passed and found suitable for service by the selection committee of 4th Battle Squadron (his papers confirm).
William Ault Horton then yet again sailed into history when he fought and survived in HMS Royalist at
THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND .

[H.M.S. DRAKE. TORPEDOED BY U-79 on 2nd OCTOBER 1917]
After William Horton left HMS ROYALIST, he then entered another slightly older cruiser, HMS DRAKE.

HMS DRAKE was a heavy armoured cruiser built between 1899 and 1902 for the Royal Navy.

On the morning of October 2nd 1917 HMS DRAKE has just finished escorting convoy HH24 from America and was about 5 miles off the Irish Coast near Rathlin Island. The German U-boat U-79 was patrolling the area having just laid mines between Rathlin Island and the mainland three days before.

Only an hour after the convoy dispersed HMS DRAKE was struck by a torpedo from the U-boat. It hit the ship at the number two boiler room, flooding it instantly and killing a number of the crew. Mr Horton thus had a very lucky escape as he was almost certainly only a very short distance away in the engine room. The ship listed and the captain headed for the nearest anchorage at Church Bay on Rathlin Island.

On the way HMS DRAKE accidentally collided with the merchant vessel SS MENDIP RANGE. The collision didn’t do much damage to HMS DRAKE but the MENDIP RANGE was forced to beach at Ballycastle Bay.

The two vessels made into Church Bay and anchored. By midday help arrived and the remaining crew including Mr Horton were taken off. HMS DRAKE then capsized in the bay and 19 men were lost with the ship.


The Polar Medal has a UNIQUE Two Clasp Combination Of:
[ANTARCTICA 1910-1913]
&
[ANTARCTICA 1925-1937]-(BRONZE)

To:
271668. W.A. HORTON, E.R.A. 3CL, RRS TERRA NOVA.
(Later Lt Commander, Engineer)
For His Service As 2nd Engineer In The World Famous
ROYAL RESEARCH SHIP “TERRA NOVA”

(Who ran the engines which took Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his famous fellows on his 2nd & Fatal South Pole Expedition of 1912)

“For The British Antarctic Expedition 1910-13 & Antarctic Research Work 1925-37”

And for his service in RRS DISCOVERY, RRS DISCOVERY II & RRS WILLIAM SCORESBY, AS CHIEF ENGINEER IN ALL THREE SHIPS.

(London Gazettes 25th July 1913 & 7th October 1941)

Officially Impressed,
To:
271668. W.A. HORTON, E.R.A. 3CL,
TERRA NOVA.
(Later Lt Commander, Engineer)










“A TOTALLY UNIQUE MEDAL & TWO CLASP COMBINATION”

At the pinnacle of his career, William Ault Horton was a world famous figure as he held the undisputed world record for the number of Antarctic voyages completed....and at the time of his death in November 1939, being only 56 years of age, William Horton had spent no less than 10 seasons including winter voyages in the Antarctic, which was more often than any other man alive.












A totally astonishing and unique medal, now finally complete with its 1914-1915 Trio, and resting firmly within a tiny and exclusive genre of objects from the dawn of human Antarctic exploration.


Awards which truly confirm and demonstrate the maxim that we, the modern generation, are:
“Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”


CAPTAIN LAWRENCE OATES
(A “REAL” ENGLISH HERO & THE ROLE MODEL FOR GENERATIONS OF BRITISH SCHOOLBOYS)
Who, suffering from the most terrible frostbite in his feet and hands and being unable to continue in the homeward struggle from the South Pole, had unsuccessfully asked Captain Scott to leave him behind. Undaunted in his will not to be a burden to his fellows, on 17th March 1912, his 32nd Birthday, he gallantly gave his life by walking out of the Scott tent into a massive -40c degree blizzard in a sadly vain attempt to save the lives of his three comrades. His feet were so bad he could not get his boots on, so he walked to his death in his socks. His body was never found.

Before he left the tent, his final and immortal words to Scott were....

“I’M JUST GOING OUTSIDE....AND MAY BE SOME TIME”

THE FINAL DIARY ENTRY OF ROBERT FALCON SCOTT,
MARCH 29, 1912
“Every day we have been ready to start for our depot 11 miles away, but outside the door of the tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity but I do not think I can write more”. R. Scott.

Scott’s Last Diary Entry Reads........
“For God's sake look after our people”.

The Young WILLIAM HORTON, Shown Standing Third From Left with other members of the crew of Terra Nova in 1912.

This critically important and totally unique two clasp “Scott Expedition” Polar Medal was personally presented to William Horton by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 27th July 1913, for his service as 2nd Engineer in the Steam Engine room of Captain Scott’s ship RRS TERRA NOVA. He was jointly entrusted with the critical operation of the steam engine which assisted in the propulsion of the TERRA NOVA expedition of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his world famous research team on their final and tragically fatal journey to South Pole during the Antarctic Expedition of 1912.

There were only 65 medals and / or clasps awarded to the officers & crew of TERRA NOVA for this expedition and only a minuscule number have ever surfaced.

[BIOGRAPHY] 1883-1939
William Ault HORTON was born in Derby, England on 14th January 1883 the son of John Edward Thomas Horton. The family were once resident at 116, City Road, Derby and Commander Horton had an address in Leopold Street, Derby. He joined the Royal Navy on 7th June 1904 for a 12 year engagement at the age 21 having been in his previous civilian life an engine fitter and turner, and was almost certainly an ex-apprentice at Rolls Royce.

Served in Royal Research Ships:
TERRA NOVA, 2nd Engineer,
(Engine Room Artificer, 3rd Class, R.N.)

DISCOVERY, Chief Engineer, 1925-27
Sailed with Captain Stenhouse during two Antarctic voyages 1924-27
DISCOVERY II, Chief Engineer,1929-37
Sailed on Discovery II from London on 14th December 1929 with a return to Falmouth on 1st June 1931. The return voyage was via Port Stanley (16th March 1931), South Georgia (25th March 1931), St Vincent (7th May 1931),Tenerife (13th May 1931) , Falmouth (1st June 1931).
THE WILLIAM SCORESBY, Chief Engineer.

[THE OFFICERS OF RRS WILLIAM SCORESBY]
(Mr Horton is seen Second from the left in the middle row)







The RRS William Scoresby is shown here on a 9d Stamp issued for use in the Falkland Islands during the reign of King George VI.

[FURTHER BIOGRAPHY]
William Ault Horton was the son of Edwin Horton & Harriet Anne Midgley (formally Horton, nee Ault)

He died on 9th November 1939 in Durban, South Africa. He had suffered a six month illness of Cirrhosis of the Liver with Subacute Nephritis (Bright’s Disease). He is buried in the military section of the Stellawood Cemetery in Durban.

His final address was:
329 Currie Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.

William was married in Spondon, Derby, England and was survived by his wife Georgina Lucy Horton (nee Wooton) and a daughter Phyllis Victoria Horton.

William’s widow, Mrs G.L. Horton was sent the single bronze clasp for “ANTARCTIC 1925-1937” not long after her husband’s death.
Gazette Confirms.










One of THE FINEST Polar Medal Groups Ever To Come To Market.

FROM OUR OWN COLLECTION, WITH SERIOUS ENQUIRIES INVITED.
We are always keenly interested in purchasing similarly fabulous, historically pivotal & emotive medals with great stories.
Contact us today on 01342-870960
or
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