theterroramc:

A relic of Sir John Franklin’s last expedition 1845-48. A bone-handled table knife inscribed with initials of Cornelius Hickley, Caulker’s Mate, HMS ‘Terror’. Hickey was 24 at the time of the expedition and came from Limerick. The item was obtained from the Inuit at Repulse Bay in 1854 by the Rae Expedition. The Inuit said they had found the material at a camp to the north west of the mouth of the Back River where a party of Europeans had died of starvation. The handle and blade have become separated. The maker’s name on the blade is ‘Millikin 301 Strand London’. The handle has a suspension hole at the end and is carved with the initials ‘C.H.’ on one side and ‘HICKEY on the other side. It was presented to Greenwich Hospital by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, 2 December 1854. [X]