- Patrick Keohane
Petty Officer Patrick Keohane (1879-1950) was an Irish member ofRobert Falcon Scott 's Antarctic expedition of 1910-1913, theTerra Nova Expedition .Biography
Patrick Keohane was born in
Courtmacsherry ,County Cork ,Ireland in 1879. He joined theRoyal Navy and rose to the rank of petty officer.Served with Edward "Teddy" Evans on HMS "Talbot" [cite book |title= Robert Falcon Scott Journal's: Captain Scott's Last Expedition |last= Scott |first= Robert Falcon |authorlink= Robert Falcon Scott |year= 2006 |publisher= Oxford World's Classics, Oxford University Press |location= Oxford England |isbn= 0-19-929752-5] .At age 30, he was selected by Teddy Evans to join the Terra Nova Expedition to
Antarctica . He joined the Terra Nova from HMS Repulse. A member or the second supporting group, composed ofEdward L. Atkinson ,Charles S. Wright ,Apsley Cherry-Garrard and Keohane himself [cite book |title= Let Heroes Speak |last= Rosove |first= Michael H. |authorlink= Michael H. Rosove |year= 2000 |publisher= Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis , MD |isbn= 1-55750-967-0] . They were the first to turn back from the struggle toward the pole, at 85° 15’ South on December 22, 1911. On their journey back toCape Evans , Keohane fell down crevasses to the full length of his harness eight times in twenty five minutes. According to Cherry-Garrard, Keohane “looked a bit dazed” after that ordeal [cite book |last= Cherry-Garrard |first= Apsley |authorlink= Apsley Cherry-Garrard |title= The Worst Journey in the World |year= 2006 |publisher= Penguin Classics |location= New York, NY |isbn= 0143039385] . They successfully reachedHut Point on January 26, 1912.On March 27, 1912, Keohane, along with Atkinson, attempted to find Scott and his polar party and bring them back to Cape Evans from the One Ton supply depot. Starting at Hut Point, the party only made it to a point eight miles south of Corner Camp [cite book |title= Scott of the Antarctic |last= Huxley |first= Elspeth |authorlink= Elspeth Huxley |year= 1978 |publisher= Halliday Lithograph Corporation |location= West Hanover and Plympton, Massachusetts |isbn= 0-689-10861-3] . There they left a weeks provisions and returned to Cape Evans on April 1.
On October 29, 1912, after spending the winter on the continent, Keohane was among a party that went to search for Scott’s group. On November 12, they found the frozen bodies of Scott,
Edward Adrian Wilson , andHenry Robertson Bowers eleven miles south of the One Ton supply depot.The party sailed on the "Terra Nova" from Cape Evans for the last time on January 22, 1913. The ship arrived in
Wales on June 14, 1913.After his return, Keohane joined the
Coast Guard service. He served as the district officer of coastguards for theIsle of Man .He later rejoined the Royal Navy and served in
World War II .He died in
Plymouth ,England in 1950 at the age of 71.Notes
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