Robert McClure and the Secret of the Northwest Passage

Early Life

Robert McClure was born in Wexford, Ireland. Robert went to school at Eton and the Royal Naval Academy at Sandhurst, England. In 1824, he joined the Navy.

He had his first glimpse of the Arctic in 1836, when he served as a mate aboard the vessel HMS Terror under the command of George Back.

Held Together by Chains
During McClure's voyage with George Back in 1836, the Terror was caught in ice and crushed. By the time the ship was finally freed, it was in no shape to make its way back across the Atlantic Ocean. The ship's hull was wrapped in chains to keep it together and with fingers crossed, they returned to England.

Hoare, J. Douglas. Arctic Exploration. London: Methuen, 1906, p. 100-101.