EARLY LIFE
On August 29th 1875,Forde was born in the rural parish of Moviddy near Bandon .He was a son of George Forde and his wife Charity (née Payne). At the age of sixteen,Forde joined the Royal Navy.Forde was protestant, He lived near Kilmurry. He was related to the legendary car maker ‘Henry Forde’, who lived near them.He joined the navy in 1891. (Irish Post, 2015) From hard work he eventually rose to the rank of Petty Officer First Class. In 1910, he took part in the Terra extensive survey of the Antarctic with Tom Crean and others under the command of Captain Robert Falcon Scott. Terra Nova was the name of their ship.
CAREER
Forde took part in two depot laying journeys. During the Western Party journey, he was sledge master which was led by Griffith Taylor in 1911.(Nzaht.org, 2015) The Terra Nova expedition undertook an extensive survey of the Antarctic in 1911. Forde and his companions had the responsibility of examining the area around Ross Island and the Polar Plateu. This is the reason behind the glacier being called Mount Forde in the Victoria Land. Later on, Forde had to return home due to severe frostbite and was ordered home for treatment by Captain Scot. He was treated by a skilful doctor who saved his hands due to frost bite. He was then send invalided to New Zealand in April in 1912. (The Labour Party, 2009) As a result, he did not participate on the final and fatal attempt on the South Pole. He was missed deeply by his team.(The Labour Party, 2009) Scot stated that said no one could replace him. When he returned home he was able to serve in the Royal Navy at the height of the First World War. He served on number of ships. He received a promotion to chief petty officer. He was assigned to his former ship ‘HMS’ vivid in October 1913. His job in World War one was to serve on several vessels He survived the war and he returned to Cobh after the demobilisation in February 17th 1920 (The Labour Party, 2009) . Cobh in county Cork was the place where he decided to spend the rest of his life.(Theoldblogcabin.blogspot.ie, 2009) He still wore a glove to protect his hand from the effects of the severe frostbite half a century before. (Irish Post, 2015)
TERRA NOVA EXPEDITION
On the 15th of June 1910, The Terra Nova left Cardiff. It was traveling via the uninhabited Ilha de Trinidade and Cape Town to New Zealand. On the 19th of November 1910, it collected supplies and members of the expedition and left Port Chalmers. It reached Ross Island on the 4th January 1911 after coming in contact with severe storms and heavy pack ice. They were unable to reach the old Discovery hut at Hut Point. Scott had to settle for base on Cape Evans and started to unload the same day. One of the expedition’s three experimental motor sledges was lost in the process, plunging through the sea ice.
The Terra Nova left on the 26th January carrying a four-man team headed for the Victoria Land mountains opposite Ross island, and six-man Eastern Party under Lt Victor Campbell. The Victoria Land Party included the geologists Thomas Griffith Taylor ad Frank Debenhams, the physicist Charles Wright, and PO Edgar Evans. It investigated the geology and glaciology of the McMurdo dry valleys and the Taylor and Koettlitz Glaciers, returning to Hut Point on 14th March. A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that have shaped it.(Wikipedia, 2015)
The Terra Nova left Cape Evans with the remains of the expedition on 19th January 1903; it stopped and picked up Taylor’s and Debenhams'.
The Terra Nova left Cape Evans with the remains of the expedition on 19 January 1903; pausing to pick up Taylor's and Debenhams’s and the Eastern Party’s specimens from Victoria Land, they sailed for New Zealand. They arrived to telegraph the news of Scott’s death on 10th February 1913. (Gardens, 2015)
DEATH
Unfortunately, he died in 1959 at Cobh, County Cork, Ireland. He is commemorated in Victoria Land with Mount Forde at the head of the Hunt Glacier.(Nzaht.org, 2015) He was the last survivor of Scott’s three men from Munster which were Crean, Keohane and himself (Forde.Irish Post, 2015)
Due to Forde’s hard work there was an unveiling of the monument in the Promenade on his 50th death anniversity.(Theoldblogcabin.blogspot.ie, 2009)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nzaht.org,. (2015). Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913 Crew. Retrieved 14 November 2015, from http://www.nzaht.org/AHT/MeettheCrewEvans/ Theoldblogcabin.blogspot.ie,. (2009). The Old Blog Cabin: Antarctic explorer Forde to be honoured in his adopted home. Retrieved 14 November 2015, from http://theoldblogcabin.blogspot.ie/2009/03/antarctic-explorer-forde-to-be-honoured.html
The Labour Party,. (2009). The Labour Party. Retrieved 14 November 2015, from http://www.labour.ie/johnmulvihilljnr/news/123709511851623.html
Irish Post,. (2015). From Crean to Crozier: Eight great unsung Irish explorers. Retrieved 14 November 2015, from http://irishpost.co.uk/from-crean-to-crozier-eight-great-unsung-irish-antarctic-explorers/
Wikipedia,. (2015). Geologist. Retrieved 23 November 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologist
Gardens, T. (2015). Browse our collections - Collections - Horniman Museum and Gardens. Horniman.ac.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2015, from http://www.horniman.ac.uk/collections/browse-our-collections/authority/event/identifier/event-67