George Mulock
Captain George Francis Arthur Mulock, DSO, FRGS was an Anglo-Irish Royal Navy officer, cartographer and polar explorer who participated in an expedition to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04. After compiling the reports, logs and maps of the expedition, Mulock returned to full-time service, seeing action on the beaches of Gallipoli and later as the most senior naval officer to be captured at Singapore in 1942.
Early life
George Francis Arthur Mulock was born in Fleetwood, Lancashire on 7 February 1882, the youngest child and only son of Railway Engineer George Phillips Mulock and Clara Frances Lugsdin. A fortnight after George's birth his mother died of complications from childbirth. His father never fully recovered from this personal tragedy and threw himself into his work as resident engineer on the construction of Fleetwood docks.The young child was taken in by his paternal aunt, Hester Jane, the wife of barrister-turned-journalist and future poet laureate Alfred Austin. At a young age George had determined that he should enter the Royal Navy and the Austins threw themselves into ensuring that this was achieved. In preparation George was despatched to Stanmore Park preparatory school. Austin was approached to assume the post of Poet Laureate, vacant since the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson; he accepted and ensured that his nephew's naval career would begin in earnest.
Early naval career
With a personal letter of recommendation from Prime Minister Lord Salisbury and with a subtle hint from the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Frederick Richards, a place was secured on board the old three-decker HMS Britannia, moored on the River Dart. On 15 January 1896, fourteen-year-old Midshipman George Mulock entered the Royal Navy, probably one of the last midshipman to have secured entry by the age-old practice of patronage.On 15 October 1897 Mulock was rated midshipman without examination and joined the newly completed battleship, on her way to join the China Station. This first introduction to eastern culture had a lasting effect upon the young midshipman. The ship made regular visits to Singapore, Shanghai, Wei Hai Wei, Nagasaki and Yokohama 'showing the flag' as one of the newest ships in the fleet.
Returning to England, his postings reflected an aptitude for navigation and pilotage. Mulock had displayed a talent for positioning. In August 1900 he was appointed to the sailing brig HMS Pilot, tender to HMS Impregnable, 'Training ship for boys' at Devonport. Two months later he joined the battleship, flagship of Rear-Admiral Albert B. Jenkins, Second-in-Command of the Channel Squadron. Promoted to acting sub-lieutenant on 15 April 1901, he joined the naval college at Greenwich, named. His next appointment, in April 1902, was to, a paddle-driven surveying vessel attached to the Admiralty Hydrographic Service, where he was able to put to good use his recently acquired knowledge and natural aptitude for pilotage and surveying. At this point he was confirmed as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy, back-dated to April 1901.
Polar Explorer
Mulock replaces Shackleton
During his time on HMS Triton, newspapers were awash with news that a joint expedition by the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society under the command of Commander Robert F. Scott, RN would travel to the Southern Continent and attempt to reach the Pole as well as conduct scientific research to ascertain the exact position of the south magnetic pole, allowing the Admiralty to produce conclusive magnetic charts of the region. Mulock's uncle and stepfather Alfred Austin, now Poet Laureate, wrote to Sir Clements Markham at the Royal Geographical Society remarking that his nephew had recently completed a course in HMS Triton and was now highly proficient in underwater survey, cartography, geometry and oceanography. For good measure a copy of the letter found its way to the office of Rear-Admiral Sir William Wharton, the Royal Navy Hydrographer.Markham, having returned from Norway where he had purchased for £3,380 the ex-whaler Morgenen, now renamed Morning, was eager to despatch a relief ship to support Scott's expedition, which had sailed in August 1901. Markham had managed to raise £22,000, enough capital to fit out the ship. The Admiralty's sole contribution was the loan of two officers, Lt. Edward Evans and a young sub-lieutenant, the nephew of the Poet Laureate, posted to the ship in late June 1902. Under the command of Captain William Colbeck, a veteran of the "Southern Cross" expedition and a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve, Morning would rendezvous with Discovery in Antarctica, replenish her supplies, and return with despatches. In January 1903 Morning made fast in ice at Hut Point in Antarctica, and on 3 February Mulock met Scott for the first time.
Although Mulock was intended to replace any injured officer, his replacement of Ernest Shackleton in March 1903 caused later historians to suggest a great rift between Scott and Shackleton. The latter's scurvy and exhaustion were key factors, as well as Mulock's obvious talent for survey work. The young officer quickly set to work amassing data for the RGS. Mulock expressed a desire to explore the vast continent rather than spending his time behind a desk aboard Discovery. On 13 September, under the command of Lt. Michael Barne, Mulock, Quartley, Smythe, Crean and Joyce spent a week on the ice travelling to the South West depot to leave supplies. Mulock's next foray to the region almost ended in disaster as a severe weather front moved in close to their position. Joyce's feet were badly frostbitten, and Mulock and Barne alternated rubbing the young man's feet against the pit of their stomachs, saving them from likely amputation.
After almost a year in the ice-bound and frozen wastes of Antarctica, Mulock informed Scott that he had observed the fracturing of ice around Discovery. As the crew assembled for the dedication of a cross to AB George Vince on 16 February 1904, cracking sounds were clearly heard echoing across the ice. With the senior officers dining, newly promoted Lieutenant Mulock was officer of the watch when violent surges indicated that Discovery was beginning to break free of the vice-like grip which had held her fast for over a year. As Discovery edged out from the ice and preparations were made for her voyage home, Mulock was permitted to conduct the first-ever running survey of the Drygalski Ice Tongue. He was awarded the Polar Medal for his work.
Return home
On Saturday 10 September 1904 Discovery docked at Portsmouth to much acclaim, and while the crew was feted by receptions and banquets celebrating the success of the British National Antarctic Expedition, Mulock was informed that the Admiralty had seconded him to the Royal Geographical Society to compile, record logs, evaluate surveys and produce charts of Antarctica for use in the future. In 1908 his monumental work was published by the RGS. In recognition of his diligence and professional attitude towards his work Lieutenant Mulock was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and in 1908 awarded him the Back Award.Scott, Markham and Mulock met to discuss the final names accorded to various Antarctic features. This was to cause some disruption to Mulock's work with the RGS, but necessary before the newly promoted Scott dined with King Edward VII at Balmoral Castle. Scott suggested that a mysterious inlet be named after the expedition surveyor. This seemed minor recognition for the work of the talented Mulock, but Scott suspected that something far more exciting might be there. Subsequent expeditions travelled to the Mulock Inlet and discovered a vast glacier beyond the shoreline. The New Zealand National Antarctic Expedition later named this the Mulock Glacier in recognition of his contribution to Polar exploration.
Return to the Royal Navy
On 27 February 1906, at an RGS council dinner, Sir Clement Markham presented the Patron's Medal to Scott, and silver medals to Discovery officers. The newly promoted Captain Scott CVO also informed Mulock that in recognition of his dedicated service and the interruption caused to his naval career, he had recommended him for the torpedo course at, a highly prized qualification in the pre-1914 navy. At Buckingham Palace on 18 December 1906 Lieutenant George Mulock R.N., F.R.G.S was presented to King Edward VII and invested with the Silver Polar Medal.On his return to the service in March 1907 Mulock joined the torpedo course at HMS Vernon. Shortly before Scott had invited Mulock to join him on a second polar expedition; the young lieutenant accepted without hesitation. Then Ernest Shackleton wrote to him inviting him to participate in the Nimrod Expedition. Due to the gentleman's agreement with Scott, Mulock declined but unintentionally sparked off a rivalry by revealing to Shackleton that Scott was planning to "go south again"; it came as no surprise that in April 1908 Mulock failed to qualify as a torpedo lieutenant. Commodore J. Briggs, RN, commanding Vernon, recorded on Mulock's official service record that "his failure to qualify in torpedo was due to his inattention", a clear rebuke for the efforts of Scott and Shackleton. In 1908 Mulock was appointed to in preparation for a command of his own.
The following year, aged 26, Lieutenant George Mulock was piped aboard the destroyer as captain. A member of the trio of s, Hunter had been launched over a decade before in December 1895, but her Fairfield-built engines still provided and gave her a top speed of. Following a year's service with the Home Fleet, Mulock took command of the 320-ton shallow-draft river gunboat, serving with the China Station on the Yangtse and West rivers.
The expansion of the Naval Intelligence Department at the Admiralty in 1909, created openings for promising officers; for the third time in his career Mulock was seconded out, this time to Naval Intelligence. In June 1911 he returned to command Woodlark. In quick succession in 1913, Mulock commanded the destroyers, and.