Frank Wild

John Robert Francis Wild (born in 1873 in Skelton, North Yorkshire to † 19 August 1939 in Klerksdorp, South Africa), known as Frank Wild, was an explorer on several expeditions to Antarctica including:

• In 1901 he was a member of Robert Falcon Scott’s crew as a seaman on the ”Discovery”, along with Ernest Shackleton who was then a sub-Lieutenant.
• Was with Shackleton on the Nimrod Expedition 1908-1909 and was a member of the team that crossed the Ross Barrier and Beardmore Glacier at a record latitude of 88º23’S.
• In 1911 he joined Douglas Mawson’s Aurora expedition and was in charge of the western base on the Shackleton Ice Shelf.
• He served as Shackleton's second-in-command On Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914-1916).

As second-in-command, Wild was left in charge of 21 men on desolate Elephant Island as Shackleton and a crew of 5 made their epic rescue mission to South Georgia aboard a lifeboat. From April 24 to August 30, 1916 Wild and his crew waited on Elephant Island, surviving on a diet of seal, penguin and seaweed. They were finally rescued by Shackleton aboard the Chilean ship Yelcho. Point Wild on Elephant Island is named after Frank Wild, with a monument dedicated to the Chilean captain Luis Pardo who rescued him and his men.

Sources

• Leif Mills, Frank Wild, Caedmon of Whitby, 1999, 350 pages
• Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
• F.A. Worsley, Shackleton's Boat Journey