Born in 1875, Bartlett was the eldest of 10
children raised in the tiny outpost of Brigus, Newfoundland.
His mother wanted him to be a man of God, but from childhood
Bartlett dreamed of the sea. By the age of 17, he mastered
his first ship and began a life-long love affair with the
magnificent Arctic.
Bartlett kept detailed journals and filmed many of his voyages.
This footage, going back to the 1920s, includes incredible
shots of icebergs, polar bears and Arctic waters as well as
film (with sound) of Captain Bartlett himself talking to the
camera much like a travelogue host.
On Admiral Peary's expedition to the North Pole, it was Bartlett
who navigated through treacherous seas and who, with an advance
team of Eskimos and dog sleds, cut a path ahead of Parry across
hundreds of miles of ice. Within striking distance of
the North Pole, Bartlett waited for Peary and then returned
to his ship to make ready for the return trip. During
the war years, Bartlett criss-crossed the Arctic with his
schooner filled with radio equipment, mapping gear and supplies.
Defying U-boat fleets, his work was essential to the establishment
of an airline from the United States to England via Greenland.
Bartlett received many awards during his lifetime including
the Hubbard Medal from the National Geographic Society, an
extremely prestigious award given to very few. The programme
includes some dramatization of Bartlett's early life intercut
with archival photographs and observations made by people
who knew him including a cousin who sailed with him and a
great-niece.
Original Air Date - January 16, 1998
Links
Heroes
of Lore and Yore from the National Library of Canada
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