Lieutenant Parr setting off to bring help to the northern sledge party, published in 'The...

On April 2 1876, during the British Arctic Expedition of 1875-77, a party of men set out from their boats, the 'Alert' and the 'Discovery' in an attempt to be the first men to reach the north pole; The team of men, led by Commander Albert Markham (1841-1918), were hampered by poor conditions and eventually were forced to turn back, 400 miles short of the pole; As so few of the men in the party were fit to walk Lieutenant Alfred Parr (1849-1914), the fittest of the team, set off alone back to the ships to raise a rescue party; He walked for twenty four hours without a break but the rescue team that was sent did not reach the sledge party until shortly after one marine had died;