Duncan Carse was born in 1913 and attended Sherborne School[1]. A British actor and explorer, he died on 2 May 2004, aged 90. He had lived in Fittleworth, West Sussex, for over 40 years. His father was the artist A. Duncan Carse.
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Carse's role in the Grahamland Peninsular Expedition was recognised by the award of the Silver Polar Medal and Clasp in 1939.
He was part of the South Georgia Survey during the fifties, surveying much of the interior of the island - Mount Carse and Carse Point are named after him. He was an explorer with a special place in South Georgia’s history. His comprehensive 1951-57 survey of the island resulted in the classical 1:200000 topographic map of South Georgia, occasionally updated but never superseded since its first publication by the British Directorate of Overseas Surveys in 1958.
A full account of the survey expeditions[2] to South Georgia led by Duncan Carse was written by the geologist on 1951-52 and 1953-54 Surveys, Alec Trendall.
In 1961, he decided to become a modern day Robinson Crusoe, and became a hermit at Ducloz Head on the south coast of South Georgia. After three months of living in the house he had built there, surge waves destroyed his camp. He managed to salvage enough gear to survive the winter until making contact with a ship 116 days later[3].
A second Polar Medal clasp was awarded in 1982 for his leadership of the later Survey work - this mapping being of particular value in the period of conflict in the Falklands.
From 1949-50, he was the voice of Special Agent Dick Barton on BBC Radio, for 265 of the 711 episodes.
Proud Canvas (BBC, 1947) Narrator: Duncan Carse [4]
The Goshawk (David Cobham/BBC, 1968) Lead role (Falconer): Duncan Carse [5][6]
Survival in Limbo (David Cobham/BBC, 1976)[7]
The BFI Filmography record for Carse lists over 140 roles from Presenter/Commentator/Narrator to scriptwriting, music and acting through his near-50 year career.[8]. The listing suggests an alternative name J.York Scarlett or Yorke Scarlett was used for Sound Recording work[9].
Between 1981 and 1983 Carse presented three series of the programme "Travellers in Time" on BBC2. These presented archive films from the early 20th Century, including those from Antarctic expeditions and early attempts to climb Mount Everest.
A number of expedition images of Carse from 1934-1937 are now in the Scott Polar Research Institute on line archive, Freeze Frame[10].
The Falkland Islands Philatelic Bureau issued postage stamps to commemorate Carse's life.[11]
One photographic portrait exists in the National Portrait Gallery[12] by Howard Coster.
Duncan Carse died shortly after finally agreeing to a portrait sitting but in discussion with his wife Venetia, it was agreed that it would be fitting to work on the sculpture with reference to visual memories, a photographic archive of 60 years of images and with her help. Bronze portrait busts of Carse by sculptor Jon Edgar are now held in public collections at South Georgia Museum[13], South Atlantic and the Scott Polar Research Institute[14], Cambridge University, UK. The terracotta original[15] is held in the collection of the artist.