Antarctic Sledge Dog Memorial Fund

Update November 2007

It's just about a year now since a few FIDS got together and decided to do something to record the contribution of British Sledge Dogs to the British Antarctic Survey.

With a minimum of fuss a small team got together. Graham Wright would act as Treasurer; Hwfa Jones would do the secretarial work. Richard Harbour kindly offered to liaise with the BAS Club.

Publicity was freely given by Andy Smith of Z FIDS, Paul Ward of 'Cool Antarctica' and Sue Hamilton of 'The Fan Hitch'. Brigid Wainwright & Keith Holmes provided information & research, plus many others too numerous to name who contacted us with information and help.

We had in fact an ad hoc committee of hundreds of FIDS and friends. The Treasurer Graham Wright has informed me that:

The Fund now stands at over £3000

The growth of the fund to the target of £6,000 and the casting of a full size dog is now certain. We expect to commission the bronze sculpture of a typical British Antarctic Husky early in the New Year 2008 together with a plaque naming all the British Antarctic Dog Teams.

As I write this two sculptors are making final adjustments to their drawings and models to take account of the comments from all the FIDS who have made suggestions to improve the early sketches. The sculptors have in addition looked at hundreds of photographs of dogs to make the bronze as typical as we can remember. It is likely that one of the sculptors will cast the dog and the other the memorial plaque

' The Doggy Men' book ; written to 'kick-start' the Fund continues to sell albeit slowly now, so we have commissioned Mike Skidmore to paint a very detailed and historically accurate scene of a typical BAS dog team pulling a loaded sledge in Antarctica. (Called: - 'British Antarctic Survey Dog Team Sledging on Sea Ice')  The Painting is meticulously accurate and a unique record of dog sledging in British Antarctic Territory. A limited number of beautiful Art Prints have been made of this scene at £15 including postage, proceeds to the Fund.

Donations continue to come in from people all over the world and many FIDS have suggested ways to boost the Fund. One small example of this is another recent offer by Michael Skidmore. Mike has generously offered The Fund a Portrait of Changi – the lead dog with the Hobbits in the late 60's and early 70's. The painting is now open to bids Please send your bid to the Treasurer of the Fund, Graham Wright (top bid at the moment is £250). Bidding we hope will be facilitated for international bidders by putting the picture on eBay on 1 ^st December and the auction will end on the 10^th The winner will also get a record of Changi's sledging journeys assembled from his dog card and submissions from those who sledged with him all over the Antarctic plateau, sea ice, shelf ice and the Shackleton Mountains.

Hwfa Jones, 47 Penkett Road, Wallasey, Merseyside CH45 7QG
Tel: 0151 201 0249  Email: Hwfa@merseymail.com

Donate

Cheques ( UK Bank only please) should be to "The Sledge Dog Memorial Fund". Please include your postal address and name so donors to the fund can be recorded, send to:

Graham Wright, Treasurer, Antarctic Sledge Dog Memorial Fund
39 Bryn Meadows. Newtown. Powys SY16 2DS. Tel: 01686 624077
(wk.1686611206) Email: gwright@mid-wales.net

PAYPAL can be used with any credit card to: - Hwfa@googlemail.com

Auction - Portrait of Changi by Mike Skidmore

Bid for this original painting, contact - top bid at the moment is £250 (17th Nov '07)

Graham Wright, Treasurer, Antarctic Sledge Dog Memorial Fund
39 Bryn Meadows. Newtown. Powys SY16 2DS. Tel: 01686 624077
(wk.1686611206) Email: gwright@mid-wales.net

This picture will be put on eBay on 1 ^st December 2007 and the auction will end on the 10^th The winner will also get a record of Changi's sledging journeys assembled from his dog card and submissions from those who sledged with him all over the Antarctic plateau, sea ice, shelf ice and the Shackleton Mountains.

For Sale - "Sledging on Sea Ice" -  fine art print

£15 postage free - From Hwfa Jones:

Hwfa Jones, 47 Penkett Road . Wallasey, Merseyside CH45 7QG
Tel: 0151 201 0249 Email: Hwfa.jones@googlemail.com

 - or Mike Skidmore's web pages www.antarctic-paintings.com

For Sale - "The Doggy Men" - book

Written to help contribute some initial funding for the memorial and can be bought for £5 (minimum) +£1 postage (£1 per book UK, £2.50 outside of the UK, or the actual postage cost if you require more than 1 copy - email Graham or estimate this and send enough to cover postage) Cheques should be to "The Sledge Dog Memorial Fund":

Graham Wright, Treasurer, Antarctic Sledge Dog Memorial Fund
39 Bryn Meadows. Newtown. Powys SY16 2DS. Tel: 01686 624077
(wk.1686611206) Email: gwright@mid-wales.net

The book is also on eBay

Provisional List of Dog Teams, BAT, 1944 onwards
 - KDHolmes 2 January 2007

Antarctic Sledge Dog Memorial Fund, launch - Hwfa Jones - October 2006

From a recent article in the Telegraph saluting Wally Herbert as the first to the North Pole it is evident that the public has almost completely forgotten that the true 'first to the Poles' were not those now listed in the history books but the sledge dogs that dragged the loads and our heroes to glory. To the South, neither Amundsen nor Scott (who used dogs to lay so many of his depots) would have reached the South Pole without them.

In the early days these magnificent animals were often treated abominably. They were beaten, starved, slaughtered and even eaten. As late as 1973 hundreds of dogs were ordered to be shot in Antarctica for 'environmental reasons' by tearful dog drivers. Coincidentally the new world of exploration by aircraft and snowmobiles was being embraced at that time.

British sledge drivers treated their dogs well and had a great affection for them tinged with some guilt.

At the recent 'Z Fids' Reunion I was touched by the stories so many Fids told me of their experiences with their dogs and many had felt guilty of being harsh with them, perhaps not relating this to the great stress they were under in sometimes 'life threatening' situations. Certainly there was to my knowledge never a case of any Fid refusing to travel and yet the danger of crevasses / sea ice/ blizzards / exposure was very real and in many cases initially an absolute shock to many young men who had never seen even a glacier before. Others were adamant that the mass shootings in 1973 (over 100 dogs and pups) at Stonington (and sometimes even to dogs in the field by their drivers at the end of long field trips) was a disgrace that had long been 'kept quiet'

Virtually all of British Antarctic Territory was surveyed and mapped by scientists working as teams with dogs which are now banned from the continent forever.

The Antarctic Sledge Dog Memorial Fund has been set up by men of the British Antarctic Survey (The Fids) to mark the outstanding contribution of our polar dogs to exploration. More than 100 people have contributed so far. From comments at the recent reunion the most popular option is likely to be a Bronze statue, of a typical strong shouldered 'British Husky'. The cost from one sculptor at Lakeland Creations is estimated at £3,500 to £5,000. We should perhaps have a target of £6000 and there could even be a competition for the design.

This memorial is important to so many individual 'Fids'. As a country it's about time we joined so many other nations in Antarctica in remembering the contribution of our sledge dogs.