Harry McNish

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Harry "Chippy" McNish
Photo of McNish cropped from the 1914–1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition crew photo.
Born	1874 Port Glasgow, Scotland
Died	24 September 1930 Wellington, New Zealand
Occupation	Carpenter
Spouse	yes

Harry McNish (real name Henry McNish, often referred to as Harry McNeish or by the nickname Chippy) (1874 – 24 September 1930) was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. He was responsible for much of the work that ensured the crew's survival after their ship, the Endurance, was destroyed when it became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea. He modified the small boat that allowed Shackleton and five men (including McNish) to make a journey of hundreds of miles to fetch help. Despite his efforts during the journey, he had briefly refused to follow orders on the crew's long trek across the pack ice and was one of only four of the crew not to receive the Polar Medal.^[1]

[edit] Early life

Harry "Chippy" McNish was born in 1874 in the former Lyons Lane near the present Port Glasgow Library in Port Glasgow, Scotland.^[2][3] He was part of a large family, being the third of eleven children to Mary and John McNish. His father was a shoemaker and journeyman. Harry married three times: in 1895 to Jessie Smith, who died in February 1898; in 1898 to Ellen Timothy, who died in December 1904; and finally to Lizzie Littlejohn in 1907. He divorced Littlejohn on 2 March 1918, by which time he had already met Agnes Martindale.^[4] McNish had a son named Tom and Martindale had daughter named Nancy. Although she is mentioned frequently in his diary, it appears McNish was not her father.^[5] He held strong socialist views, was a member of the United Free Church of Scotland and detested bad language.^[4]

There is some confusion as to the correct spelling of his name. He is variously referred to as McNish,^[6] McNeish,^[1] and in Alexander Macklin's diary of the expedition he is listed as MacNish.^[7] The MacNeish spelling is common, notably in Shackleton's account of the expedition and on McNish's headstone, but McNish is also seen widely,^[8][9] and appears to be the correct version.^[10] There also is a question regarding McNish's nickname. "Chippy" was a traditional nickname for a shipwright;^[11] both this and the shorter "Chips" seem to have been used.^[12]

[edit] The expedition

[edit] Endurance

McNish was apparently attracted by Shackleton's advertisment for the expedition,^[13] (although there are doubts as to whether the advertisment ever appeared):^[14]

MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON

McNish, a pipe-smoking Scot from Cathcart, near Glasgow was one of the oldest members of the crew of the Endurance (Shackleton was seven months older). He suffered from rheumatism in his legs and was regarded as somewhat odd and unrefined, but also respected as a carpenter. He was the only man of the crew that Shackleton was "not dead certain of".^[15]

Endurance trapped in pack ice. McNish's work prevented it flooding, but he could do nothing to stop it being crushed.

During the initial stage of the voyage he was kept busy with a number of routine tasks. He worked on the the pram dinghy Nancy Endurance; made a small chest of drawers for Shackleton; specimen shelves for the biologist, Robert Clarke; instrument cases for Leonard Hussey the meteorologist; and put up wind screens to protect the helmsman.^[16] He constructed a false deck, extending from the poop-deck to the chart-room to cover the extra coal that the ship had taken on board. As the ship pushed into the pack ice in the Weddell Sea it became increasingly difficult to navigate. McNish constructed a six-foot wooden semaphore on the bridge to enable the navigating officer to give the helmsman directions, and built a small stage over the stern to allow the propellor to watched in order to keep it clear of the heavy ice.^[1]

When the ship became trapped in pack ice his duties expanded to constructing makeshift housing, and, once it became clear that the ship was doomed, to altering the sledges for the journey over the ice to open water. He built the quarters where the crew took their meals (nicknamed The Ritz) and cubicles where the men could sleep. These were all christened as well; McNish shared The Sailors’ Rest with Alfred Cheetham, the 3rd Officer. Assisted by the crew, he constructed kennels for the dogs on the upper deck.^[1]

When the pressure from the ice caused the Endurance to start to take on water, he built the cofferdam to prevent it flooding, caulking it with strips of blankets and nailing strips over the seams.^[1] During his watch one night a small part of the ice floe broke away and he was only rescued due to the quick intervention of the next watch who threw him a line allowing him to jump back.^[17] Shackleton reported that McNish calmly mentioned his narrow escape the next day after further cracks appeared in the ice. Mrs. Chippy, the cat McNish had brought on board, had to be shot after the loss of the Endurance, as it was obvious he (sic)^[18] would not survive the in harsh conditions. McNish apparently never forgave Shackleton for giving the order.^[19] He proposed building a smaller craft from the wreckage of the ship, but was overruled, with Shackleton instead deciding to head across the ice to open water with the ship's three lifeboats. In great pain while pulling sledges across the ice, McNish briefly rebelled, protesting to Frank Worsley that since the Endurance had been destroyed the crew was no longer under any obligation to follow orders. Accounts vary as to how Shackleton handled this; some report that he threatened to shoot McNish, others that he read him the ship's articles making it clear that the crew were still under obligation until they reached port.^[20]

[edit] Elephant Island and the James Caird

After the crew had made it to Elephant Island, Shackleton decided to take a small crew and make for South Georgia where there was a possibility that they would find crews from the whaling ships to help effect a rescue for the rest of the men. McNish was called upon by Shackleton to make one of the boats, the James Caird, seaworthy for the long voyage and was selected as part of the crew,^[1] possibly because Shackleton was afraid of the effect he would have on morale if left behind with the other men.^[20] For his part, McNish seemed happy to go;^[1] he was unimpressed by the island and the chances of survival for the men overwintering there:^[21]

I don't think there are ever many fine days on this forlorn island... I dont think there will be many survivers if they have to put in a winter here.

Antarctica. Elephant Island, from where the James Caird set out for South Georgia is off the tip of Graham Land

McNish used the mast of another of the boats, the Stancomb Wills, to strengthen the keel and build up the small 22-foot (6.7-m) long boat, so it would withstand the seas during the 800-mile (1288-km) trip. He caulked it using a mixture of seal blood and flour. Using wood and nails taken from packing cases and the runners of the sledges, he built a makeshift frame which was then covered with canvas. Shackleton was worried it "bore a strong likeness to stage scenery", only giving the appearance of sturdiness. He later admitted that the crew could not have lived through the voyage without it.^[1] When launching the boat McNish and John Vincent were thrown from the deck into the sea. Although soaked, both were unharmed, and managed to exchange clothes with the Elephant Island party before the James Caird set off.^[1]

Conditions aboard the small craft during the trip were terrible with the crew constantly soaked and cold. McNish impressed Shackleton with his ability to bear up under the strain (more so than the younger Vincent, who collapsed from exhaustion and cold). They reached South Georgia on 10 May 1916, 17 days after setting out from Elephant Island.^[22] They landed in King Haakon Bay — on the wrong side of the island. It was clear that McNish and Vincent could not continue, so Shackleton left them in the care of McCarthy camped in the upturned James Caird, and with Worsley and Crean made the hazardous trip over the mountains. McNish took screws from the James Caird and attached them to the boots of the men making the journey to help them grip the ice. He accompanied them for a few hundred yards as they set out but was unable to go any further and turned back. After Shackleton's party arrived in Husvik he sent Worsley with one of the whaler's ship to pick up McNish and the other men. After seeing the emaciated and drawn McNish on his arrival at the whaling station, Shackleton felt that the rescue had come just in time for him.^[1]

[edit] Polar medal

The Polar Medal was instituted in 1904 for members of Captain Scott's first expedition to the Antarctic.

Whatever the true story of the rebellion on the ice, neither Worsley nor McNish ever mentioned the incident in writing. Shackleton omitted it entirely from South, his account of the expedition, and referred to it only tangentially in his diary: "Everyone working well except the carpenter. I shall never forget him in this time of strain and stress".^[16][20] The event was recorded in the ship's log, but the log entry was struck during the sea voyage in the James Caird,^[16] Shackleton being impressed by the carpenter's show of "grit and spirit".^[1] Nevertheless, McNish's name appeared on the list of the four men not recommended for the Polar Medal in the letter sent by Shackleton on his return. Macklin thought the denial of the medal unjustified:^[16]

I was disheartened to learn that McNish, Vincent, Holness and Stephenson had been denied the Polar Medal...of all the men in the party no-one more deserved recognition than the old carpenter.

Members of the Scott Polar Research Institute, New Zealand Antarctic Society and Caroline Alexander, the author of Endurance, have criticised Shackleton's denial of the award to McNish, and there is an ongoing campaign to have him awarded the medal posthumously.^[19][23]

[edit] Later life and memorials

McNish's headstone on his grave in Karori Cemetery. His last name is here spelled "McNeish"

After the expedition McNish returned to the Merchant Navy, working on various ships. He often complained that his bones permanently ached due to the conditions during the journey in the James Caird; sometimes he would reportedly refuse to shake hands because of the pain.^[4] He spent 23 years in the Navy in total during his life, but eventually secured a job with the New Zealand Shipping Company.^[4] After making five trips to New Zealand he moved there in 1925, leaving behind his wife^[24] and all of his carpentry tools.^[5] He worked on the waterfront in Wellington until his career was ended by an injury. Destitute, he would sleep in the wharf sheds under a tarpaulin and relied on monthly collections from the dockworkers.^[19] He was found a place in the Ohiro Benevolent Home, but his health continued to deteriorate and he died on 24 September 1930 in Wellington Hospital.^[4] He was buried in Karori Cemetery, Wellington, with full naval honours; the HMS Dunedin (which happened to be in port at the time) provided twelve men for the firing party and eight bearers.^[25] However, his grave remained unmarked for almost thirty years;^[19] the New Zealand Antarctic Society erected a headstone on 10 May 1959.^[6] In 2001, it was reported that the grave was in a sad state surrounded by weeds,^[26] but in 2004, a life size bronze sculpture of McNish’s beloved cat, Mrs. Chippy, was placed on his grave. His grandson, Tom, believes this tribute would have meant more to him than receiving the Polar Medal.^[19]

In 1958 the British Antarctic Survey named a small island in his honour, "McNeish Island", which lies in the approaches to King Haakon Bay, South Georgia.^[4][27] The island was renamed "McNish Island" in 1998 after his birth certificate was presented to the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee.^[10] On 18 October 2006, a small, oval wall plaque commemorating his achievements was unveiled at the Port Glasgow Library in his home town,^[2] and earlier in the same year he was the subject of an exhibition at the McLean Museum and Art Gallery, Greenock.^[23]

[edit] Notes