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Timothy F. McCarthy
"[He] is
the most irrepressible optimist I've ever met," "When I
relieve him at the helm, boat iced and seas down yr neck, he informs
me with a happy grin, `It's a grand day, sir`"
Frank Worsley
An Irishman who had joined the expedition from the
merchant service, McCarthy is one of the six men who made the
journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia on boards the James
Caird, though he did not cross South Georgia, instead staying with
Vincent and McNish who were not well enough to move.
He was one of the youngest members of the
expedition.

Timothy McCarthy was born in the in Lower Cove
district of Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland in 1888, the son of John
and Mary McCarthy. He had a brother, Mortimer (Morty) who was six
years older and had also been on an Antarctic expedition, with
Scott on the "Terra Nova". The district where they came from was
well known for producing skilled seamen and fishermen.
On returning to England after the expedition,
McCarthy joined the Royal Navy Reserve as a Leading Seaman as his
service in the First World War. On Friday 16th March 1917, only
three weeks after returning from South Georgia, and at the age of
28, he was killed in action at his gun post on board the S.S.
Narragansett, on his first day under enemy fire. The ship had been
torpedoed between the South West of Ireland and The Scilly Isles.
He went down with his ship along with all other 45
hands, he was the first of the Endurance expedition members to die.
In 2000, both the McCarthy brothers, Timothy and
Mortimer, were honoured with commissioned busts by their hometown of
Kinsale, which stand in the town's park close to the shore.
References to
Timothy McCarthy
in Shackleton's book "South!"
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 | The camp I wished to find was one
where the party could live for weeks or even months in
safety, without danger from sea or wind in the heaviest
winter gale. Wild was to proceed westwards along the
coast and was to take with him four of the fittest men,
Marston, Crean, Vincent, and
McCarthy. If he did not return before dark we
were to light a flare, which would serve him as a guide
to the entrance of the channel. |
|
 | I finally selected McNeish,
McCarthy, and Vincent in
addition to Worsley and Crean. The crew seemed a strong
one, and as I looked at the men I felt confidence
increasing. |
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 | McCarthy
said that he could contrive some sort of covering for
the James Caird if he might use the lids of the cases
and the four sledge-runners that we had lashed inside
the boat for use in the event of a landing on Graham
Land at Wilhelmina Bay. This bay, at one time the goal
of our desire, had been left behind in the course of our
drift, but we had retained the runners. The carpenter
proposed to complete the covering with some of our
canvas; and he set about making his plans at once.
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|
 | The weather was fine on April 23, and
we hurried forward our preparations. It was on this day
I decided finally that the crew for the James Caird
should consist of Worsley, Crean, McNeish,
McCarthy, Vincent, and
myself. |
|
 | These birds are as sure an indication
of the proximity of land as a lighthouse is, for they
never venture far to sea. We gazed ahead with increasing
eagerness, and at 12.30 p.m., through a rift in the
clouds, McCarthy caught a
glimpse of the black cliffs of South Georgia, just
fourteen days after our departure from Elephant Island.
It was a glad moment. Thirst-ridden, chilled, and weak
as we were, happiness irradiated us. The job was nearly
done. |
|
 | Crean and
McCarthy had brought down six more of the young
albatrosses in the afternoon, so we were well supplied
with fresh food |
|
 | One side of the James Caird rested on
stones so as to afford a low entrance, and when we had
finished she looked as though she had grown there.
McCarthy entered into this
work with great spirit. A sea-elephant provided us with
fuel and meat, and that evening found a well-fed and
fairly contented party at rest in Peggotty Camp. |
|
 | The two men were not capable of
managing for themselves and
McCarthy must stay to look after them. He might
have a difficult task if we failed to reach the whaling
station. The distance to Husvik, according to the chart,
was no more than seventeen geographical miles in a
direct line, but we had very scanty knowledge of the
conditions of the interior. |
|
 | McCarthy,
McNeish, and Vincent had been landed on the Monday
afternoon. They were already showing some signs of
increasing strength under a regime of warm quarters and
abundant food. |
|
 | McCarthy,
the best and most efficient of the sailors, always
cheerful under the most trying circumstances, and who
for these very reasons I chose to accompany me on the
boat journey to South Georgia, was killed at his gun in
the Channel. |
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Landmarks named after Timothy McCarthy
Feature Name:
McCarthy Island
Feature Type: island
Latitude: 5410S
Longitude: 03726W
Description: Island, 1 mi long, lying in the entrance to King
Haakon Bay on the S side of South Georgia. Surveyed by the SGS in
the period 1951-57, and named by the UK-APC. |
Endurance
Personnel
Summary
Bakewell, William
Able Seaman
Blackborow, Percy
Steward (stowaway)
Cheetham, Alfred
Third Officer
Clark, Robert S.
Biologist
Crean, Thomas
Second
Officer
Green, Charles J.
Cook
Greenstreet, Lionel
First Officer
Holness, Ernest
Fireman
How, Walter E.
Able
Seaman
Hudson, Hubert T.
Navigator
Hurley, James F.
(Frank)
Official Photographer
Hussey, Leonard D. A.
Meteorologist
James, Reginald W.
Physicist
Kerr, A. J.
Second
Engineer
Macklin, Dr. Alexander
H.
Surgeon
Marston, George E.
Official Artist
McCarthy, Timothy
Able Seaman
McIlroy, Dr. James A.
Surgeon
McLeod, Thomas
Able
Seaman
McNish, Henry
Carpenter
Orde-Lees, Thomas
Motor Expert and Storekeeper
Rickinson, Lewis
First Engineer
Shackleton, Ernest
H.
Expedition Leader
Stephenson, William
Fireman
Vincent, John
Able
Seaman
Wild, Frank
Second in
Command
Wordie, James M.
Geologist
Worsley, Frank
Captain |