William Parry: A British Naval Officer and Skilled Explorer

The artist was inspired by Parry's account from the 1819–1820 expedition. "Das Eismeer (“The Sea of Ice”)," 1823–1824, by Caspar David Friedrich. Public Domain

After joining the crew of a sailing ship as a teenager, Sir William Edward Parry (1790–1855) grew up to lead several expeditions north to the Arctic with hopes of finding the Northwest Passage (a northern route from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans passable by boat) and the North Pole. Although none of his explorations were technically successful, he became famous for mapping out much of the Arctic and increasing Europeans’ knowledge of winter survival, food storage, botany, and astronomy.

Parry was born in Bath, Somerset, England in 1790 to established physician Caleb Parry and his wife, Sarah Rigby. Parry received an education at King Edward’s School before Adm. Sir William Cornwallis, a friend of the family, recruited him to join the Royal Navy at the age of 13.

For the next several years, Parry worked on Navy ships and made his way up in rank. In 1818, Parry commanded the brig Alexander on a mission north under the command of Capt. John Ross to find a Northwest Passage through the Arctic.

"The Crews of H.M.S. Hecla & Griper Cutting into Winter Harbour, 26 Sept. 1819" An engraving from the journal published in 1821. The Mariner’s Museum. Public Domain

Northwest Passage

The two ships entered the Lancaster Sound at the north end of Baffin Island, when Ross claimed the sound was blocked by a mountain range the captain named the Croker Mountains. And then, because the ships were not prepared to sustain a winter season at sea, the two brigs returned to England.

However, after they returned home, Parry and many others, not believing the Lancaster Sound was actually blocked by a mountain range, ridiculed Ross for turning back. As a result, the British Admiralty put Parry in command of a second expedition north in 1819.

Parry was given two ships, the HMS Hecla and the HMS Griper, which were equipped with iron plates on their three-inch oak bows and internal cross-beams to help protect them from the ice. During Parry’s second expedition, his crew of 94 people planned on accomplishing something not yet done—spending the entire winter on their ship. The heating systems on the ships had been improved and the crew came up with ways to store food that are still used today, like canning meat and drying out vegetables.

Arctic Winter

Parry started his trip by running along the same route as he had with Ross. But, once Parry and his ships made it to the Lancaster Sound, they headed right through it, proving that Ross’s Croker Mountains, in fact, did not exist. The two ships pushed west and they were able to make it past the 110° W longitude line, which entitled them to an award of £5,000 pounds.

“Winter Island,” 1863, by Jean-Baptiste Henri Durand-Brager. Public Domain

But despite their progress, Parry’s two ships would eventually find themselves stuck in the ice. They had to survive the winter at Melville Island. The ships stayed frozen for 10 months, but the crew found creative ways to stay entertained.

Parry kept his ships in good spirits. The ships’ officers formed a theater company that put on live plays offering comic relief for the crew. The crew members also started a newspaper called The North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle, edited by Capt. Edward Sabine. The men exercised regularly, held hunting parties, and took classes on how to read and write.

For three months of their stay, the crew members experienced total darkness and temperatures that dropped to -54 degrees Fahrenheit. At one point, about 14 men fell sick from scurvy, prompting Parry to plant mustard and cress seeds in his cabin because they seemed to help. During the expedition, only one out of 94 men died.

Return North

After the ships thawed, Parry was forced to head back to England because supplies ran low. He would return to the Arctic on a few more journeys, where he learned about the lives of the Inuit people and mapped a good portion of Arctic lands. Even though the Northwest Passage wasn’t found until Roald Amundsen sailed through it in 1906, what Parry learned helped pave the way for future explorers.

Capt. William Edward Parry, circa 1830, by Charles Skottowe. Royal Museums Greenwich, London.  Public Domain

In 1827, Parry led his final expedition to find the North Pole. He set a record when he reached 83° 20' N, the furthest anyone had at that time. The North Pole was found decades later by Albert Markham in 1875.

Throughout his life, Parry was deeply involved with the Church of England. He often taught theology to his crew. In the book “Dressed to Kill: British Naval Uniform, Masculinity and Contemporary Fashions 1748–1857” by Amy Miller, the author said Parry was “an evangelical (Christian) and an ardent advocate of moral reform in the navy.”

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