Bagshawe, Thomas Wyatt
People > Bagshawe, Thomas Wyatt
Thomas Wyatt Bagshawe was born in Dunstable on 18th April 1901, the son of the proprietor of one of the town's most important businesses.
Bagshawe's first started production in the late 1890's however they became Bradshawe and Co., Ltd. in 1906 in Church Street and were well known for the manufacture of steel linked chains. In 1961 they diversified into the making of mechanical handling devices such as are used in airports and docks. The business closed in 1972 and unfortunately the very unusual Tudor style factory that they had operated from was destroyed in a major fire in 1978.
Thomas attended Rugby School and then read geology at Cambridge University, however he abandoned his studies when offered the opportunity to join the British Imperial Expedition to Antarctica between 1920 and 1922. Originally this expedition was intended to be a major one planned to last a full year, however a shortage of finance meant that this was not to be possible and finally only four men left these shores.
On their arrival at Andvord Bay on Graham Land and due to a continued lack of funds, equipment and resources, two of the original party withdrew and returned to South America. Bagshawe and a Canadian, Maxime Charles Lester bravely decided to continue and to complete their mission of studying the breeding habits of penguins, whales and seals and the making of a scientific record of weather patterns and seasonal changes in sea conditions.
They set up camp at Waterboat Point in January 1921 and for a year lived in a discarded upturned boat 27ft long with an inside height of just 3 feet. Eventually, with the prudent use of old packing cases they managed to make this home slightly more comfortable by adding a 'lounge' and a 'kitchen'.
This group of two still remains the smallest ever expedition to over winter on Antarctica and their studies and observations were to become particularly important to naturalists and geologists in future years.
The two members of the Expedition who had retired had promised to get a boat and return in a year to pick up Bradshawe and Lester but as they had no funds they were unable to secure a ship and so the abandoned two had to depend totally upon a passing Norwegian whaling ship for their rescue.
Returning to Britain, Lester joined the Merchant Navy and Bradshawe the family business. He became passionate about local history and the disappearing cottage crafts of the villages of his native Bedfordshire. He established a small museum in Dunstable and became the Honorary Curator of Luton Museum. In 1940 he became the Curator of the Cambridge Folk Museum and was appointed High Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1949.
Bagshawe wrote a number of scientific papers covering his experiences and also a humorous children's book about Penguins, entitled Pompey was a Penguin. He died at Worthing on 28th January 1976.
Thomas Wyatt Bagshawe, by Trevor Stewart, 2015
Page last updated: 24th August 2015