Karen May
Biographic Data
| ID | 5591606 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Karen May |
| GIVEN NAMES | Karen |
| FAMILY NAME | May |
| SIGNATURE | MAY K |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3862-4305 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1977 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Strict injunctions that the dogs should not be risked”: A revised hypothesis for this anecdote and others in narratives of Scott’s last expedition
This article updates Karen May’s earlier 2012 hypothesis ( Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott’s last expedition ). In this revised hypothesis, Cecil Meares, not Surgeon E. L. Atkinson, originated the unsubstantiated statement that “Strict injunctions had been given by Scott that the dogs should not be risked in any way.” This hypothesis incorporates new information uncovered since 2012, specifically Meares’ misrepresentations d…
Could Captain Scott have been saved? Cecil Meares and the ‘second journey’ that failed: A response to Bill Alp
Alp makes some factual corrections regarding the ‘second obfuscation’ and ‘third obfuscation’ identified in the article. Regarding the ‘second obfuscation’, Alp is correct that the man-haulers (of the 3 X.S. supplies) had not yet returned from base on 17 January 1912, and would not return until 23 January. However, Alp's objection does not exonerate Meares. On 31 January 1912, expedition member Apsley Cherry-Garrard recorded that Meares supposedl…
Commentary on Chris Turney's Why didn't they ask Evans
I am writing in response to Professor Chris Turney's recent research article Why didn't they ask Evans? , published in Polar Record on 28 September 2017. The article took as its focus Scott's second-in-command, Lieutenant E.R.G.R ‘Teddy’ Evans, and alleged that Evans failed to deliver Captain Scott's ‘updated orders’ to base in February 1912. This is an error that needs to be corrected
Opera Review
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Terra firma’: A myth in secondary accounts of the meeting between the Fram and Terra Nova expeditions, 4 February 1911
In this article the author isolates an anecdote from Roland Huntford's account of the Scott and Amundsen expeditions’ meeting on 4 February 1911 at Framheim, the Norwegian base in the Bay of Whales. In this anecdote, Lieutenant Victor Campbell allegedly told Roald Amundsen that a British motor sledge was ‘already on terra firma’ , which consequently led Amundsen to worry that a British motor-sledge had already travelled across the Great Ice Barri…
They are not the ponies they ought to have been’: Revisiting Cecil Meares’ purchase of Siberian ponies for Captain Scott's British Antarctic ( Terra Nova ) Expedition (1910–1913)
Captain Robert Falcon Scott has been attacked in recent decades because his Terra Nova expedition (1910–1913) had to rely on substandard Siberian ponies. Certain commentators have argued that this was Scott's fault, but the available evidence indicates that blame should rest with the buyer Cecil Meares. Additionally, archive evidence indicates that Scott specifically requested Captain Lawrence Oates to travel to Siberia to assist Meares in 1910, …
Will make a good Admiral’: A reassessment of Captain Scott's naval career
In his book Scott and Amundsen (1979) Roland Huntford described Captain Robert Falcon Scott R.N. as ‘not well thought of in the Service’ and ‘an obscure, rather dull torpedo lieutenant with mediocre prospects’. A myth has subsequently arisen that Scott was forced into Antarctic exploration as his only route to naval promotion. In reality, Scott was an extremely able officer held in high regard by his naval contemporaries; he was on course for pro…
The deaths of Roald Amundsen and the crew of the Latham 47
On 18 June 1928, Roald Amundsen and a team of five men (René Guilbaud, Leif Dietrichson, Albert Cavelier de Cuverville, Gilbert Brazy and Emile Valette) flew in a French Latham 47 prototype aeroplane from Tromsø, Norway, to aid in the rescue of survivors of the crashed airship Italia . The party disappeared nearly without trace into the Barents Sea. We shall examine Amundsen's last years, the decision to employ for an Arctic relief mission a prot…
Could Captain Scott have been saved? Cecil Meares and the ‘second journey’ that failed
This is a follow-up to the article ‘Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott's last expedition’, published in this journal in January 2012. Additional research in the expedition's primary documents reveals that there was a clear opportunity for One Ton depot to have been re-stocked with dog food in January 1912, preparatory to the final relief journey to meet the polar party that February, and that the dog driver Cecil Meares failed …
Scott and Shackleton in the media: A response to Ben Macintyre
An opinion piece by Ben Macintyre entitled ‘Sorry, Scott fans: noble death is so last century’ appeared in The Times (London) on 20 September 2013. In this, Macintyre argued not only that Ernest Shackleton should be explicitly contrasted against his contemporary and rival Robert Falcon Scott, but that Shackleton should be found superior to Scott in virtually every way. It was a dispiriting piece, strongly suggesting that that the media's understa…
A kind of suicide’? Errors and misconceptions in Roland Huntford's account of the last days of Scott's polar party
In writing and interviews Roland Huntford has stated that at the end of his life Captain Robert Falcon Scott ‘probably’ had no reason to wish to survive, and that he ‘persuaded’ Dr Edward A. Wilson and Lieutenant Henry Bowers to remain in the tent with him when they could have gone forward. This commentary demonstrates that Huntford's interpretation of events shows a serious misunderstanding of the primary sources and historical context; that Wil…
Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott's last expedition
Captain Scott has been criticised for indecisiveness and for not making use of the dog teams for his own relief in his Terra Nova Expedition (1910–1913). This essay will demonstrate how a mistake made in Roland Huntford's double biography of Scott and Amundsen in 1979, repeated in polar writing by various authors until the present day, has maligned Scott's reputation. In fact, Scott left appropriate written orders in October 1911 for the polar pa…
An Interactive Computer-Aided Method for Designing Nail-and-Thread Pictorial Reliefs
The authors have developed a computer-aided method for designing nail-and-thread pictorial reliefs. With its use designs can be specified and displayed on the screen of a computer terminal; these can be modified and redisplayed until results deemed satisfactory are obtained. A template can be made for producing the actual nail-and-thread pictorial relief. The authors describe the method in general terms for those with no computer experience and d…
Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott's last expedition
Captain Scott has been criticised for indecisiveness and for not making use of the dog teams for his own relief in his Terra Nova Expedition (1910–1913). This essay will demonstrate how a mistake made in Roland Huntford's double biography of Scott and Amundsen in 1979, repeated in polar writing by various authors until the present day, has maligned Scott's reputation. In fact, Scott left appropriate written orders in October 1911 for the polar pa…
They are not the ponies they ought to have been’: Revisiting Cecil Meares’ purchase of Siberian ponies for Captain Scott's British Antarctic ( Terra Nova ) Expedition (1910–1913)
Captain Robert Falcon Scott has been attacked in recent decades because his Terra Nova expedition (1910–1913) had to rely on substandard Siberian ponies. Certain commentators have argued that this was Scott's fault, but the available evidence indicates that blame should rest with the buyer Cecil Meares. Additionally, archive evidence indicates that Scott specifically requested Captain Lawrence Oates to travel to Siberia to assist Meares in 1910, …
Could Captain Scott have been saved? Cecil Meares and the ‘second journey’ that failed
This is a follow-up to the article ‘Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott's last expedition’, published in this journal in January 2012. Additional research in the expedition's primary documents reveals that there was a clear opportunity for One Ton depot to have been re-stocked with dog food in January 1912, preparatory to the final relief journey to meet the polar party that February, and that the dog driver Cecil Meares failed …
Terra firma’: A myth in secondary accounts of the meeting between the Fram and Terra Nova expeditions, 4 February 1911
In this article the author isolates an anecdote from Roland Huntford's account of the Scott and Amundsen expeditions’ meeting on 4 February 1911 at Framheim, the Norwegian base in the Bay of Whales. In this anecdote, Lieutenant Victor Campbell allegedly told Roald Amundsen that a British motor sledge was ‘already on terra firma’ , which consequently led Amundsen to worry that a British motor-sledge had already travelled across the Great Ice Barri…
Strict injunctions that the dogs should not be risked”: A revised hypothesis for this anecdote and others in narratives of Scott’s last expedition
This article updates Karen May’s earlier 2012 hypothesis ( Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott’s last expedition ). In this revised hypothesis, Cecil Meares, not Surgeon E. L. Atkinson, originated the unsubstantiated statement that “Strict injunctions had been given by Scott that the dogs should not be risked in any way.” This hypothesis incorporates new information uncovered since 2012, specifically Meares’ misrepresentations d…
Will make a good Admiral’: A reassessment of Captain Scott's naval career
In his book Scott and Amundsen (1979) Roland Huntford described Captain Robert Falcon Scott R.N. as ‘not well thought of in the Service’ and ‘an obscure, rather dull torpedo lieutenant with mediocre prospects’. A myth has subsequently arisen that Scott was forced into Antarctic exploration as his only route to naval promotion. In reality, Scott was an extremely able officer held in high regard by his naval contemporaries; he was on course for pro…
A kind of suicide’? Errors and misconceptions in Roland Huntford's account of the last days of Scott's polar party
In writing and interviews Roland Huntford has stated that at the end of his life Captain Robert Falcon Scott ‘probably’ had no reason to wish to survive, and that he ‘persuaded’ Dr Edward A. Wilson and Lieutenant Henry Bowers to remain in the tent with him when they could have gone forward. This commentary demonstrates that Huntford's interpretation of events shows a serious misunderstanding of the primary sources and historical context; that Wil…
An Interactive Computer-Aided Method for Designing Nail-and-Thread Pictorial Reliefs
The authors have developed a computer-aided method for designing nail-and-thread pictorial reliefs. With its use designs can be specified and displayed on the screen of a computer terminal; these can be modified and redisplayed until results deemed satisfactory are obtained. A template can be made for producing the actual nail-and-thread pictorial relief. The authors describe the method in general terms for those with no computer experience and d…
Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott's last expedition
Captain Scott has been criticised for indecisiveness and for not making use of the dog teams for his own relief in his Terra Nova Expedition (1910–1913). This essay will demonstrate how a mistake made in Roland Huntford's double biography of Scott and Amundsen in 1979, repeated in polar writing by various authors until the present day, has maligned Scott's reputation. In fact, Scott left appropriate written orders in October 1911 for the polar pa…
Scott and Shackleton in the media: A response to Ben Macintyre
An opinion piece by Ben Macintyre entitled ‘Sorry, Scott fans: noble death is so last century’ appeared in The Times (London) on 20 September 2013. In this, Macintyre argued not only that Ernest Shackleton should be explicitly contrasted against his contemporary and rival Robert Falcon Scott, but that Shackleton should be found superior to Scott in virtually every way. It was a dispiriting piece, strongly suggesting that that the media's understa…
A kind of suicide’? Errors and misconceptions in Roland Huntford's account of the last days of Scott's polar party
In writing and interviews Roland Huntford has stated that at the end of his life Captain Robert Falcon Scott ‘probably’ had no reason to wish to survive, and that he ‘persuaded’ Dr Edward A. Wilson and Lieutenant Henry Bowers to remain in the tent with him when they could have gone forward. This commentary demonstrates that Huntford's interpretation of events shows a serious misunderstanding of the primary sources and historical context; that Wil…
They are not the ponies they ought to have been’: Revisiting Cecil Meares’ purchase of Siberian ponies for Captain Scott's British Antarctic ( Terra Nova ) Expedition (1910–1913)
Captain Robert Falcon Scott has been attacked in recent decades because his Terra Nova expedition (1910–1913) had to rely on substandard Siberian ponies. Certain commentators have argued that this was Scott's fault, but the available evidence indicates that blame should rest with the buyer Cecil Meares. Additionally, archive evidence indicates that Scott specifically requested Captain Lawrence Oates to travel to Siberia to assist Meares in 1910, …
Will make a good Admiral’: A reassessment of Captain Scott's naval career
In his book Scott and Amundsen (1979) Roland Huntford described Captain Robert Falcon Scott R.N. as ‘not well thought of in the Service’ and ‘an obscure, rather dull torpedo lieutenant with mediocre prospects’. A myth has subsequently arisen that Scott was forced into Antarctic exploration as his only route to naval promotion. In reality, Scott was an extremely able officer held in high regard by his naval contemporaries; he was on course for pro…
The deaths of Roald Amundsen and the crew of the Latham 47
On 18 June 1928, Roald Amundsen and a team of five men (René Guilbaud, Leif Dietrichson, Albert Cavelier de Cuverville, Gilbert Brazy and Emile Valette) flew in a French Latham 47 prototype aeroplane from Tromsø, Norway, to aid in the rescue of survivors of the crashed airship Italia . The party disappeared nearly without trace into the Barents Sea. We shall examine Amundsen's last years, the decision to employ for an Arctic relief mission a prot…
Could Captain Scott have been saved? Cecil Meares and the ‘second journey’ that failed
This is a follow-up to the article ‘Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott's last expedition’, published in this journal in January 2012. Additional research in the expedition's primary documents reveals that there was a clear opportunity for One Ton depot to have been re-stocked with dog food in January 1912, preparatory to the final relief journey to meet the polar party that February, and that the dog driver Cecil Meares failed …
Opera Review
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Terra firma’: A myth in secondary accounts of the meeting between the Fram and Terra Nova expeditions, 4 February 1911
In this article the author isolates an anecdote from Roland Huntford's account of the Scott and Amundsen expeditions’ meeting on 4 February 1911 at Framheim, the Norwegian base in the Bay of Whales. In this anecdote, Lieutenant Victor Campbell allegedly told Roald Amundsen that a British motor sledge was ‘already on terra firma’ , which consequently led Amundsen to worry that a British motor-sledge had already travelled across the Great Ice Barri…
Could Captain Scott have been saved? Cecil Meares and the ‘second journey’ that failed: A response to Bill Alp
Alp makes some factual corrections regarding the ‘second obfuscation’ and ‘third obfuscation’ identified in the article. Regarding the ‘second obfuscation’, Alp is correct that the man-haulers (of the 3 X.S. supplies) had not yet returned from base on 17 January 1912, and would not return until 23 January. However, Alp's objection does not exonerate Meares. On 31 January 1912, expedition member Apsley Cherry-Garrard recorded that Meares supposedl…
Commentary on Chris Turney's Why didn't they ask Evans
I am writing in response to Professor Chris Turney's recent research article Why didn't they ask Evans? , published in Polar Record on 28 September 2017. The article took as its focus Scott's second-in-command, Lieutenant E.R.G.R ‘Teddy’ Evans, and alleged that Evans failed to deliver Captain Scott's ‘updated orders’ to base in February 1912. This is an error that needs to be corrected
Strict injunctions that the dogs should not be risked”: A revised hypothesis for this anecdote and others in narratives of Scott’s last expedition
This article updates Karen May’s earlier 2012 hypothesis ( Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott’s last expedition ). In this revised hypothesis, Cecil Meares, not Surgeon E. L. Atkinson, originated the unsubstantiated statement that “Strict injunctions had been given by Scott that the dogs should not be risked in any way.” This hypothesis incorporates new information uncovered since 2012, specifically Meares’ misrepresentations d…
History (9 works) · Polar Research and Ecology (8 works) · Art (6 works) · Law (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Art history (4 works) · History of Science and Natural History (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Archaeology (3 works) · Biography (3 works)