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George Mulock
Captain George Francis Arthur Mulock, DSO, FRGS (7 February 1882 – 26 December 1963) was an Anglo-Irish Royal Navy officer, cartographer and polar explorer who participated in an expedition to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04. After compiling the reports, logs and maps of the expedition, Mulock returned to full-time service, seeing action on the beaches of Gallipoli and later as the most senior naval officer to be captured at Singapore in 1942.
George Francis Arthur Mulock was born in Fleetwood, Lancashire on 7 February 1882, the youngest child and only son of Railway Engineer George Phillips Mulock and Clara Frances Lugsdin. A fortnight after George's birth his mother died of complications from childbirth. His father never fully recovered from this personal tragedy and threw himself into his work as resident engineer on the construction of Fleetwood docks.
The young child was taken in by his paternal aunt, Hester Jane, the wife of barrister-turned-journalist and future poet laureate Alfred Austin. At a young age George had determined that he should enter the Royal Navy and the Austins threw themselves into ensuring that this was achieved. In preparation George was despatched to Stanmore Park preparatory school. Austin was approached to assume the post of Poet Laureate, vacant since the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson; he accepted and ensured that his nephew's naval career would begin in earnest.
With a personal letter of recommendation from Prime Minister Lord Salisbury and with a subtle hint from the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Frederick Richards, a place was secured on board the old three-decker HMS Britannia, moored on the River Dart. On 15 January 1896, fourteen-year-old Midshipman George Mulock entered the Royal Navy, probably one of the last midshipman to have secured entry by the age-old practice of patronage.
On 15 October 1897 Mulock was rated midshipman without examination and joined the newly completed battleship Victorious, on her way to join the China Station. This first introduction to eastern culture had a lasting effect upon the young midshipman. The ship made regular visits to Singapore, Shanghai, Wei Hai Wei, Nagasaki and Yokohama 'showing the flag' as one of the newest ships in the fleet.
Returning to England, his postings reflected an aptitude for navigation and pilotage. Mulock had displayed a talent for positioning. In August 1900 he was appointed to the sailing brig HMS Pilot, tender to HMS Impregnable, 'Training ship for boys' at Devonport. Two months later he joined the battleship HMS Magnificent, flagship of Rear-Admiral Albert B. Jenkins, Second-in-Command of the Channel Squadron. Promoted to acting sub-lieutenant on 15 April 1901, he joined the naval college at Greenwich, named HMS Excellent. His next appointment, in April 1902, was to HMS Triton, a paddle-driven surveying vessel attached to the Admiralty Hydrographic Service, where he was able to put to good use his recently acquired knowledge and natural aptitude for pilotage and surveying. At this point he was confirmed as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy, back-dated to April 1901.
During his time on HMS Triton, newspapers were awash with news that a joint expedition by the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) under the command of Commander Robert F. Scott, RN would travel to the Southern Continent and attempt to reach the Pole as well as conduct scientific research to ascertain the exact position of the south magnetic pole, allowing the Admiralty to produce conclusive magnetic charts of the region. Mulock's uncle and stepfather Alfred Austin, now Poet Laureate, wrote to Sir Clements Markham at the Royal Geographical Society remarking that his nephew had recently completed a course in HMS Triton and was now highly proficient in underwater survey, cartography, geometry and oceanography. For good measure a copy of the letter found its way to the office of Rear-Admiral Sir William Wharton, the Royal Navy Hydrographer.
Markham, having returned from Norway where he had purchased for £3,380 the ex-whaler Morgenen, now renamed Morning, was eager to despatch a relief ship to support Scott's expedition, which had sailed in August 1901. Markham had managed to raise £22,000, enough capital to fit out the ship. The Admiralty's sole contribution was the loan of two officers, Lt. Edward Evans (who later became well known as Evans of the Broke) and a young sub-lieutenant, the nephew of the Poet Laureate, posted to the ship in late June 1902. Under the command of Captain William Colbeck, a veteran of the "Southern Cross" expedition and a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve, Morning would rendezvous with Discovery in Antarctica, replenish her supplies, and return with despatches. In January 1903 Morning made fast in ice at Hut Point in Antarctica, and on 3 February Mulock met Scott for the first time.
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George Mulock
Captain George Francis Arthur Mulock, DSO, FRGS (7 February 1882 – 26 December 1963) was an Anglo-Irish Royal Navy officer, cartographer and polar explorer who participated in an expedition to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04. After compiling the reports, logs and maps of the expedition, Mulock returned to full-time service, seeing action on the beaches of Gallipoli and later as the most senior naval officer to be captured at Singapore in 1942.
George Francis Arthur Mulock was born in Fleetwood, Lancashire on 7 February 1882, the youngest child and only son of Railway Engineer George Phillips Mulock and Clara Frances Lugsdin. A fortnight after George's birth his mother died of complications from childbirth. His father never fully recovered from this personal tragedy and threw himself into his work as resident engineer on the construction of Fleetwood docks.
The young child was taken in by his paternal aunt, Hester Jane, the wife of barrister-turned-journalist and future poet laureate Alfred Austin. At a young age George had determined that he should enter the Royal Navy and the Austins threw themselves into ensuring that this was achieved. In preparation George was despatched to Stanmore Park preparatory school. Austin was approached to assume the post of Poet Laureate, vacant since the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson; he accepted and ensured that his nephew's naval career would begin in earnest.
With a personal letter of recommendation from Prime Minister Lord Salisbury and with a subtle hint from the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Frederick Richards, a place was secured on board the old three-decker HMS Britannia, moored on the River Dart. On 15 January 1896, fourteen-year-old Midshipman George Mulock entered the Royal Navy, probably one of the last midshipman to have secured entry by the age-old practice of patronage.
On 15 October 1897 Mulock was rated midshipman without examination and joined the newly completed battleship Victorious, on her way to join the China Station. This first introduction to eastern culture had a lasting effect upon the young midshipman. The ship made regular visits to Singapore, Shanghai, Wei Hai Wei, Nagasaki and Yokohama 'showing the flag' as one of the newest ships in the fleet.
Returning to England, his postings reflected an aptitude for navigation and pilotage. Mulock had displayed a talent for positioning. In August 1900 he was appointed to the sailing brig HMS Pilot, tender to HMS Impregnable, 'Training ship for boys' at Devonport. Two months later he joined the battleship HMS Magnificent, flagship of Rear-Admiral Albert B. Jenkins, Second-in-Command of the Channel Squadron. Promoted to acting sub-lieutenant on 15 April 1901, he joined the naval college at Greenwich, named HMS Excellent. His next appointment, in April 1902, was to HMS Triton, a paddle-driven surveying vessel attached to the Admiralty Hydrographic Service, where he was able to put to good use his recently acquired knowledge and natural aptitude for pilotage and surveying. At this point he was confirmed as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy, back-dated to April 1901.
During his time on HMS Triton, newspapers were awash with news that a joint expedition by the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) under the command of Commander Robert F. Scott, RN would travel to the Southern Continent and attempt to reach the Pole as well as conduct scientific research to ascertain the exact position of the south magnetic pole, allowing the Admiralty to produce conclusive magnetic charts of the region. Mulock's uncle and stepfather Alfred Austin, now Poet Laureate, wrote to Sir Clements Markham at the Royal Geographical Society remarking that his nephew had recently completed a course in HMS Triton and was now highly proficient in underwater survey, cartography, geometry and oceanography. For good measure a copy of the letter found its way to the office of Rear-Admiral Sir William Wharton, the Royal Navy Hydrographer.
Markham, having returned from Norway where he had purchased for £3,380 the ex-whaler Morgenen, now renamed Morning, was eager to despatch a relief ship to support Scott's expedition, which had sailed in August 1901. Markham had managed to raise £22,000, enough capital to fit out the ship. The Admiralty's sole contribution was the loan of two officers, Lt. Edward Evans (who later became well known as Evans of the Broke) and a young sub-lieutenant, the nephew of the Poet Laureate, posted to the ship in late June 1902. Under the command of Captain William Colbeck, a veteran of the "Southern Cross" expedition and a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve, Morning would rendezvous with Discovery in Antarctica, replenish her supplies, and return with despatches. In January 1903 Morning made fast in ice at Hut Point in Antarctica, and on 3 February Mulock met Scott for the first time.