Almost 180 years after the tragic end of the Franklin expedition, researchers have succeeded in definitively identifying four previously unknown crew members using DNA analysis. The expedition, led by the British polar explorer John Franklin, set out in 1845 with the two ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to find the Northwest Passage through the Arctic. After both ships became frozen in the pack ice, the 129 crew members attempted to make their way south on foot across the ice. None of the men survived.
A research team from the University of Waterloo in Canada has now identified the remains of four sailors. Three of them were part of the crew of HMS Erebus and were found in what is known as Erebus Bay. The fourth man was Petty Officer Harry Peglar of HMS Terror. His remains were discovered around 200 kilometres from the coast, inland on an Arctic island. Peglar is thus the first crew member of the Terror whose identity has been confirmed through DNA analysis.
Peglar’s identification is particularly significant because it solves a mystery that has persisted since 1859. His body had been found at the time along with personal documents. However, as he was wearing clothing that did not correspond to his rank, there were long-standing doubts as to whether it was actually Harry Peglar. Modern genetic testing has now finally dispelled this uncertainty.
The so-called Peglar Papers were also discovered alongside Peglar’s body, some of the few written records of the Franklin Expedition. The documents contain poems as well as apparent accounts of events during the final months of the voyage.
The research team led by anthropologist Douglas Stenton had already identified other members of the expedition in previous years. In 2021, they succeeded in identifying the remains of engineer John Gregory. In 2024, the researchers were able to identify the captain of HMS Erebus, James Fitzjames. Evidence of cannibalism was found among his remains. In contrast, no such traces were found among the four men now identified.
The DNA analyses also made it possible to make contact with living descendants. It turned out that BBC journalist Rich Preston is a descendant of expedition member John Bridgens. Preston was both surprised and fascinated by this connection to one of the most famous chapters in polar exploration.
The discoveries provide new insights into the fate of the Franklin expedition and help to reconstruct the crew’s final days more accurately. For historians and descendants, they represent an important step towards further unravelling one of the greatest mysteries in Arctic history.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal