Sir Michael Palin unveils plaque to Franklin’s lost expedition at Sir John Franklin pub in Greenhithe
He famously travelled around the world in 80 days but today Sir Michael Palin has alighted at a pub in Kent on an “emotional” mission.
The globetrotting broadcaster paid a visit to the county to unveil a plaque in honour of a group of arctic explorers at the site of their last farewell.
See -
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/n ... ub-300559/
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Sir Michael Palin has spoken of “feeling emotional” as he unveiled a plaque to commemorate an ill-fated expedition in which two Royal Navy ships became trapped in Arctic ice.
The Monty Python star, writer and broadcaster travelled to the banks of the River Thames in Kent, where Sir John Franklin’s voyage set sail in 1845.
HMS Erebus and HMS Terror left Greenhithe in a bid to traverse the Northwest Passage. All 129 men on board died, with the shipwrecks only discovered by Canadian authorities a decade ago.
Sir Michael, who has written a book about the voyage, told ITV News: “This is a story about the achievement of the Navy and the extraordinary skills of our sailors. But I suppose, most of all, it is just that slightly emotional feeling that this would have been the last place where people would have seen these ships departing from.
“I’ve become so attached to the story of Erebus and the crew of Erebus and all the people on board, I’ve read their letters, I feel all the sort of emotions they must have felt - great hope and some doubt. The spirit of this place is quite important.”
See -
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2024- ... expedition - Which contains 2 short videos.