Oceanographic Expeditions

In October 1922 Discovery was purchased by the Crown Agents for the Colonies from the Hudson Bay Company for £5000, for the purpose of conducting further research work in the Antarctic. She was transferred from London to Portsmouth, where a £114,000 refit was undertaken to turn her from a cargo ship into a research vessel.

The work was carried out at Messrs Vosper, under the direction of Sir Fortescue Flannery and Partners. Extensive alterations were made to the vessel. They took Scott’s criticisms of the Discovery seriously as her plans for reconditioning were drawn up. In the end, the ship was almost completely rebuilt. The changes included the masting, re-provisioning of a wardroom with cabins for officers, scientists and accommodation for the crew, building chemical and biological labs, and being fitted with scientific equipment.

Since she was owned by the government of the Falkland Isles, she was re-registered to Stanley in the Falklands and designated as a Royal Research Ship.

In October 1925, Discovery set sail for the Southern Seas once again. The expedition’s mission was to research whale stocks, the migration pattern of whales and provide a scientific basis for regulation of the whaling industry. As on the Royal Research Ship Discovery’s last trip south, important scientific breakthroughs were made. The expedition was crucial to our understanding of the whale and saw the beginnings of conservation thinking.

Her research role continued when the British Government lent her to the British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE). She served in this duty from 1929 until 1931.

This scientific investigation – the first of its kind in history – was financed by the British Government. Its purpose was to prevent overfishing in the British Antarctic territories and to gather scientific knowledge for whaling management.

The on-board scientists were tasked to observe the whales and document their breeding habits and their migration patterns. More generally, they conducted a study on the Southern Ocean ecosystem.

Among their rank was the zoologist Alister Hardy (1896-1985). He was interested in marine organisms and crustaceans, especially the plankton and krill that form the main diet of whales. On the voyage he invented the ‘Continuous Plankton Recorder’ to capture plankton samples over huge areas of ocean; an instrument which is still in use today. A gifted watercolourist and photographer, Hardy left a precious visual account of what he named the ‘kingdom of the krill’.

Following the expedition, the research results were published in the Discovery Reports, a series of studies that ultimately provided a strong scientific basis for the conservation of whales. Their significance was specially recognised in 1946 during the establishment of the International Whaling Commission, which watches over the regulation of whaling and promotes the recovery of depleted whale populations.

The scientists and crew focused on their scientific work whilst aboard the ship, so little is known about life aboard. It is known that the crew broke abstinence on a Saturday with a toast to wives and sweethearts: rum for the crew and port for the officers. This is noted to be a welcome break from the usual water or orange juice which was usually drunk.

On both the voyage from the UK to South Georgia and then from the Cape in South America back to the UK, a crossing the line ceremony was held for anyone aboard who had not passed over the equator. On the return journey the ship was in full sail, giving a magnificent backdrop.

During the Expedition, the ship travelled; giving the crew a range of experiences, such as trying tropical fruit as they sailed south to the smell of a whaling factory.

The scientific work begun on the Discovery Expeditions continues today. The National Oceonography Centre undertakes ground breaking research to discover the lifeblood that is the ocean.

To celebrate the legacy of the work done by the Discovery on this voyage, three subsequent Royal Research Ships have been named Discovery: RRS Discovery II (1929), the third-named RRS Discovery (1962), and the fourth – and current RRS Discovery – which was built in 2013.

In June 2023, we were lucky enough to welcome our friends from the National Oceanography Centre aboard our 1901 Royal Research Ship Discovery, whilst they visited the city of Discovery in the fourth iteration of the ship bearing the name.

During their visit, we recorded videos comparing the work of Discovery’s 1920s expeditions with the current science undertaken on pioneering expeditions all over the world.