Coleman, Ernie – Central boy followed in the footsteps of Franklin

 

Ernest C Coleman (B1943)

Born in Lincoln, Ernie Coleman moved to Grantham when he was three. He became a pupil at the Boys Central School.

On leaving school, he got a job at the town’s Co-op before joining the Royal Navy just before his 17^th birthday, as a Junior Electrical Mechanic 2^nd Class.

His initial training was at HMS Collingwood, before serving on seven sea-going ships and 11 land-based postings.

He married in 1968 and has two sons, both of whom joined the Royal Navy.

Ernie served in the Royal Navy for 36 years which included service in an aircraft carrier, a submarine, and Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory. He was commissioned in 1986, becoming a recruiting officer for the Royal Navy.

During his time, he mounted four Arctic expeditions in search of evidence from the 1845 Sir John Franklin Expedition hoping to find his grave. He returned two years later on a solo venture, spending 26 days alone on an Artic island and located two mounds which may be the final resting place of Franklin and his companions who died with him.

He twice visited South Georgia, calling at several points on the Shackleton route.

In January 2000 he was selected to join an admiral in representing the Royal Navy at the Arctic Millennium celebrations in north Alaska. This resulted in a walk- through temperatures (including wind factor) of -114 degrees F.

A life-long student of the Royal Navy’s history, he has published several books on the subject including a two-volume history of the Royal Navy in polar exploration. Ernest has always had a fascination with the Royal Navy’s insignia

Ernie has written ten books on naval, polar, medieval and Victorian subjects, and has contributed the foreword to two re-published volumes of Captain Scott’s diaries.

One of his more recent books, The Pig War, takes a close look at Great Britain’s relationship with the USA with particular reference to a little known incident that almost brought about a full-bloodied war between the two nations in the mid-19th century.

He also wrote, ‘The Grail Chronicles’, an account of the chalice which became known as the Holy Grail.

He was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical society in 1991.