42 Facts About Harry McNish

Harry McNish was responsible for much of the work that ensured the crew's survival after their ship, the Endurance, was destroyed when it became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea.

Harry McNish modified the small boat, James Caird, that allowed Shackleton and five men to make a voyage of 800 hundred miles across the perilous Southern Ocean to fetch help for the rest of the crew.

Harry McNish died destitute in the Ohiro Benevolent Home in Wellington.

Harry "Chippy" McNish was born in 1874 in the former Lyons Lane near the present site of the library in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland.

Harry McNish held strong socialist views, was a member of the United Free Church of Scotland and detested bad language.

Harry McNish married three times: in 1895 to Jessie Smith, who died in February 1898; in 1898 to Ellen Timothy, who died in December 1904; and finally to Lizzie Littlejohn in 1907.

Harry McNish is variously referred to as McNish, McNeish, and in Alexander Macklin's diary of the expedition, MacNish.

Harry McNish was apparently attracted by Shackleton's advertisement for the expedition :.

Harry McNish worked on the pram dinghy Nancy Endurance; made a small chest of drawers for Shackleton; specimen shelves for the biologist, Robert Clark; and instrument cases for Leonard Hussey, the meteorologist; and put up wind screens to protect the helmsman.

Harry McNish constructed a false deck, extending from the poop-deck to the chart-room to cover the extra coal that the ship had taken on board.

Harry McNish constructed a six-foot wooden semaphore on the bridge to enable the navigating officer to give the helmsman directions, and built a small stage over the stern to allow the propeller to be watched in order to keep it clear of the heavy ice.

Harry McNish built the quarters where the crew took their meals and cubicles where the men could sleep.

Once Endurance became trapped, and the crew were spending the days on the ice, Harry McNish erected goalposts and football became a daily fixture for the men.

Shackleton reported that Harry McNish calmly mentioned his narrow escape the next day after further cracks appeared in the ice.

Harry McNish proposed building a smaller craft from the wreckage of the ship, but was overruled, with Shackleton instead deciding to head across the ice to open water pulling the ship's three lifeboats.

Harry McNish had been suffering with piles and homesickness from almost before the voyage had begun, and once the ship was lost his frustration began to grow.

Harry McNish vented his feelings in his diary, targeting his tent-mates' language:.

In great pain while pulling sledges across the ice, Harry McNish briefly rebelled, refusing to take his turn in the harness and protesting to Frank Worsley that since the Endurance had been destroyed the crew was no longer under any obligation to follow orders.

Consequently, Harry McNish really had no choice but to comply: he could not survive alone and could not continue with the rest of the party unless he obeyed orders.

Harry McNish had prepared the boats as best he could for a long journey in the open ocean, building up their freeboard to improve their seakeeping ability.

Harry McNish was not in a much better state himself and, despite the terrible conditions, he fell asleep after half an hour.

Harry McNish was called upon by Shackleton to make the James Caird seaworthy for the long voyage and was selected as part of the crew, possibly because Shackleton was afraid of the effect he would have on morale if left behind with the other men.

Harry McNish caulked it using a mixture of seal blood and flour, and, using wood and nails taken from packing cases and the runners of the sledges, he built a makeshift frame which was then covered with canvas.

Harry McNish later admitted that the crew could not have lived through the voyage without it.

The mood on board was buoyant and Harry McNish recorded in his diary on 24 April 1916:.

Harry McNish impressed Shackleton with his ability to bear up under the strain.

All the men complained of pains in their legs and, on the fourth day out from Elephant Island, Harry McNish suddenly sat down and removed his boots, revealing his legs and feet were white and puffy with the early signs of trench foot.

Harry McNish took screws from the James Caird and attached them to the boots of the men making the journey to help them grip the ice.

When Shackleton's party set off on 18 May 1916, Harry McNish accompanied them for a few hundred yards but he was unable to go any further.

Harry McNish shook hands with each of the men, wishing them good luck, and then Shackleton sent him back.

Whatever the true story of the rebellion on the ice, neither Worsley nor Harry McNish ever mentioned the incident in writing.

Nevertheless, Harry McNish's name appeared on the list of the four men not recommended for the Polar Medal in the letter sent by Shackleton on his return.

Harry McNish divorced Lizzie Littlejohn on 2 March 1918, by which time he had already met his new partner, Agnes Martindale.

Harry McNish had a son named Tom and Martindale had a daughter named Nancy.

Harry McNish spent 23 years in the Navy in total during his life, but eventually secured a job with the New Zealand Shipping Company.

Harry McNish worked on the waterfront in Wellington until his career was ended by an injury.

Harry McNish was found a place in the Ohiro Benevolent Home, but his health continued to deteriorate and he died on 24 September 1930, aged 56, in Wellington Hospital.

Harry McNish was buried in Karori Cemetery, Wellington, on 26 September 1930, with full naval honours; HMS Dunedin provided twelve men for the firing party and eight bearers.

However, in 2004 the grave was tidied and a life size bronze sculpture of Harry McNish's beloved cat, Mrs Chippy, was placed on his grave by NZAC, having been paid for by public subscription.

Harry McNish's journals are held in the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand.

Harry McNish was portrayed by Leonard Maguire in the 1983 television series Shackleton, by Ken Drury in the 2002 television miniseries Shackleton, and by William Hemming in the 2012 documentary Shackleton's Captain.

Harry McNish was never seen to take measurements, producing perfect work by eye.