A MUSEUM has launched a bid to buy the sledge flag of a Tipperary-born arctic explorer to ensure it remains in Britain rather than fall into the hands of a private collector.
Henry Kellett was born in Clonacody in 1806 and after joining the Royal Navy in 1822, eventually rose to the rank of vice-admiral.
He used the sledge flag during expeditions to chart the Northwest Passage and to find the lost ships of Captain John Franklin — HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.
A case hearing by the Reviewing Committee of the Arts Council of England to decide if the flag was of national importance heard that Kellett was 'a proud Irishman at a time when there was prejudice'.
'Emblem of survival and heroism'
The British Government introduced a temporary export bar on the flag in September 2022 to allow time for a British gallery or institution to acquire the flag.
With the bar expiring this month, the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) has launched an appeal to raise £120,000 to buy the flag, supported by actor Michael Palin.
Following a £40,000 grant from the Art Fund, private donations and its own Purchase of Exhibits fund, the museum aims to raise a further £30,000 to acquire the flag.
"Sledge flags were a peculiarly British phenomenon, grounded in a mediaeval chivalry, where these officers were new knights in a new field of combat," said Professor Dominic Tweddle, Director General of the NMRN.
"Sledge flags contain a lot of iconography, telling the viewer what was felt to be important in the imagery used about that person's life."
The Kellett flag, which was originally green, depicts an Irish harp, elements of the Kellett coat of arms and a Union flag.
Celebrity supporter Palin added: "The Kellett sledge flag is an emblem of survival and heroism in the most appalling circumstances.
"It is an inspirational piece of naval history and should be kept for all to see so that the story of the brave men who flew it is never forgotten."
Kellett's expeditions
In 1845, Kellett took charge of the ship HMS Herald to survey the coasts of Central America, the Gulf of California and Vancouver Island.
Three years later, he was reassigned to the search for Franklin's expedition and it was during this mission, in 1849, that he discovered Herald Island in the Chukchi Sea, naming it after his ship.
In 1852, he commanded HMS Resolute in another search for the Franklin expedition and while this was unsuccessful, a sledging party from his ship found a message from HMS Investigator.
The vessel had become trapped in pack ice, leading Kellett to send a team to the Investigator, ordering its crew to abandon ship and head for the Resolute.
Unfortunately, the Resolute itself became trapped in ice and its crew were ordered to abandon ship in May 1854.
This was despite protestations from Kellett, who argued that the Resolute would be gradually carried southwards through Baffin Bay to the open sea.
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As Kellett had predicted it would, the Resolute eventually passed out of the pack ice and was found by an American whaler in an ice floe off Baffin Island, 1,200 miles from where she had been abandoned.
It was sold to the US Government, who restored the ship and returned it England as a gesture of good will.
Queen Victoria later ordered its timbers to be crafted into desks, one of which — the Resolute Desk — was presented to US President Rutherford B. Hayes.
It has been used by most US Presidents since then, including as the official Oval Office desk by Joe Biden and his four immediate predecessors, as well as John F. Kennedy.
After positions in Jamaica, Malta and China, Kellett retired in 1871, spending his final years in Tipperary before passing away on March 1, 1875 at Clonacody.
