The Ohio State University/
Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program's
Register of
The Sir George Hubert Wilkins Papers
Record Group 56.6,
Processed by: Kenneth M. Grossi
on November 15, 1991
Revised, January 1994
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Biographical Information:
About the Collection
Boxes by Series
Sir George Hubert Wilkins, polar explorer, aviator,
photographer, cinematographer, naturalist, newspaper correspondent,
soldier, consultant to the United States Military, lecturer and
author, achieved distinction for his work in the Arctic and
Antarctic Regions. Among Wilkins most notable achievements are the
following: a pioneer in aeronautical photography and motion picture
coverage of war; the navigator of his Lockheed Vega on its historic
flight over the Arctic Circle in April 1928; the navigator of his
Lockheed Vega on its historic flight over Antarctica in December
1928; passenger aboard the Graf Zeppelin on its around the world
flight in 1929; the commander of the submarine Nautilus on its trip
to the Arctic Circle in 1931; second-in-command of four Lincoln
Ellsworth Antarctic Expeditions in the 1930s; passenger aboard the
airship Hindenburg on its maiden voyage to the United States in
1936; the commander of the Alaskan-Canadian section of the
contingent searching for lost Soviet aviators in 1937-1938; and
consultant to the United States Military on matters of hot and cold
weather clothing and survival techniques, submarine travel in the
polar regions, Arctic defense systems, and issues related to
geography and geology.
Sir George Hubert Wilkins was born at Mt. Bryan East, South
Australia, on October 31, 1888. Wilkins studied engineering at the
Adelaide School of Mines in Australia. Wilkins became interested
in photography and cinemagraphics and devoted much time to learning
the skills, including working for a year in Sydney, Australia in a
tent cinema operation. In 1908, Wilkins was hired by the Gaumont
Company of London as a cinematographer and by the London Daily
Chronicle as a reporter. In 1910, he learned to fly with the help
of Claude Grahame-White, an English flyer and a contemporary of the
Wright brothers. In 1912, the Gaumont Company sent Wilkins to
Constantinople to photograph and shoot movies of the Balkan War.
From early on, Sir Hubert Wilkins was interested in polar
exploration, both by airplane and submarine, and the establishment
of weather stations in the polar regions. In 1913, he got his
first assignment to a polar expedition when Vilhjalmur Stefansson
hired him as a photographer for an expedition to the Arctic. From
1913-1916, Wilkins travelled with Stefansson and eventually became
second-in-command of the expedition.
In 1917, during World War I, Wilkins enlisted in the
Australian Flying Corps and was appointed commander of the
photograph section of the Australian Forces in France. In 1919,
after the war, he was the navigator on the Blackburn Kangarooduring the England to Australia Air Race.
Wilkins returned to polar exploration in 1919 by making his
first trip to the Antarctic. From 1919-1920, he was second-in-
command of the British Imperial Antarctic Expedition. From 1921-
1922, Wilkins was chief of the scientific staff and naturalist for
the Sir Ernest Shackleton Quest Antarctic Expedition.
In 1922, Wilkins was hired by the Quakers to travel to Russia
and Eastern Europe to report on the works of the Society of
Friends' Emergency and War Victims' Relief Committee. This 1922-
1923 trip was also a secret fact finding mission for the United
States Government.
The British Museum decided to sponsor an expedition to
Australia. Wilkins agreed to be the commander of the Wilkins-
Australia and Islands Expedition. From 1923-1925, Wilkins examined
vegetation and animal life, collected specimens for the museum, and
lived for a time with Australian aborigines.
From 1926-1928, Wilkins was commander of the Wilkins-Detroit
Arctic Expeditions sponsored by the Detroit Aviation Society and
the Detroit News. It was during these expeditions that Wilkins and
Ben Eielson made their historic first trans-Arctic airplane flight
from Point Barrow, Alaska to Spitzbergen. This event occurred in
April of 1928. For his accomplishment, Wilkins was knighted by
King George V of England.
Wilkins returned to Antarctica during the period 1928-1930
with financial support from William Randolph Hearst. Wilkins and
Eielson made their historic first airplane flight over the
Antarctic in 1928. During a break in 1929, Wilkins was a passenger
aboard the Graf Zeppelin during its around the world trip.
Wilkins, under the sponsorship of William Randolph Hearst, was to
report on technical aspects of the zeppelin's flight.
On August 30, 1929, after completing the zeppelin flight,
Wilkins married Suzanne Bennett, an Australian actress. They had
met in New York during a reception honoring Wilkins and Eielson
after their flight over the Arctic Sea. The couple had no children
during their twenty nine years of marriage.
In 1931, Sir Hubert Wilkins commanded the Nautilus submarine
expedition to the Arctic. This was the first submarine to travel
under the Arctic pack ice. During the 1930s, Wilkins travelled to
the Antarctic four times as second-in-command of the Lincoln
Ellsworth Antarctic Flight Expeditions. In 1937, Wilkins was in
charge of the Alaskan-Canadian search section which was looking for
the lost Soviet Polar Expedition which was commanded by Sigimund
Levanevsky.
In 1940-1941, Wilkins was sent to Europe and the Far East on
special missions for the United States government. Wilkins flew to
Europe to discuss U.S. contracts for supplying plane parts. In the
Far East, he visited Japan, China, Burma, and Thailand on an
economic fact-finding mission. In 1942, the United States Army
hired Wilkins as a consultant. Wilkins worked primarily for the
Army's Quartermaster Corps in the areas of hot and cold weather
clothing and survival techniques. He also assisted other military
departments in geographic and geological research, aviation
research, and submersible craft research. Wilkins was a consultant
to the United States Military until his death in 1958.
From the 1920's until his death in 1958, Wilkins travelled
throughout the United States and other nations lecturing about
polar exploration. During his lifetime he wrote several works,
including Undiscovered Australia, Flying the Arctic, Under the
North Pole, and Our Search for the Lost Soviet Aviators. Wilkins
was affiliated with organizations such as the Explorers' Club, The
Circumnavigators' Club, and the Arctic Institute of North America.
Wilkins died on December 1, 1958 at the age of seventy.
On March 17, 1959, the nuclear submarine USS Skate surfaced at
the North Pole and the crew conducted a ceremony in which Sir
George Hubert Wilkins's ashes were scattered on the Arctic Ice.
Collection Information
Scope and Content
The Sir George Hubert Wilkins Papers, ca. 1908-1987, include
correspondence, reports, photographs, newspaper clippings, and
artifacts documenting Wilkins's career as a photographer, polar
explorer, aviator, and consultant to the United States Military.
Included in the collection is a scrapbook concerning the Graf
Zeppelin historic flight around the world, motion picture film
documenting Wilkins expeditions, correspondence and biographical
material of Suzanne Wilkins, files concerning Wilkins interest in
telepathy and extra sensory perception, and files of the Wilkins
Memorial Foundation.
The collection is divided into the following series:
I. Biographical/Personal - Sir George Hubert Wilkins: 1912-1962.
II. Consultant Work - The United States Military: Includes
information about consultant work for the United States Weather
Bureau. 1936-1958.
III. Correspondence: This is primarily general correspondence and
is not specific to any of the expeditions/trips or consultant
work. 1908-1958.
IV. Expeditions/Trips: Included in the files of the following
expeditions/trips is the following type of information:
articles, correspondence, financial, legal, notes, and reports.
1912-1940.
Balkan War 1912
Sandow Chocolate Company Photographic Project 1912
Trinidad/West Indies 1912-1913
Canadian Arctic Expedition with Stefansson 1913-1916
England to Australia Air Race 1919
British Imperial Antarctic Expedition 1919-1920
Shackleton Antarctic Expedition 1921-1922
Russia for the Quakers 1922-1923
Wilkins Australian and Island Expedition 1923-1925
Wilkins-Detroit Arctic Expeditions 1926-1928
Wilkins- Hearst Antarctic Expeditions 1928-1930
Graf Zeppelin Around the World Trip 1929
Wilkins-Ellsworth Trans-Arctic Submarine Expedition 1931
Ellsworth Antarctic Flight Expeditions 1930s
Hindenbrug Trip 1936
Soviet Search Expedition 1937
Second Submarine Expedition Plans 1937-1940
V. Films/Sound Recordings: ca. 1928-1958.
VI. Financial Records - Personal: Personal finances of Sir Hubert
Wilkins and Suzanne Wilkins: 1930-1969.
VII. Navigational: Charts/Maps/Log Books: Most of this material is
found in the oversized series. ca. 1913-1958.
VIII. Newspaper Clippings: 1909-1987.
IX. Notable Individuals/Groups/Events/Topics: This series contains
correspondence and information concerning other polar
explorers, significant individuals who had a major impact on
Wilkins's career and life, significant groups and organizations
that Wilkins was affiliated with, and major events and topics
concerning Wilkins and his work. 1926-1971.
X. Notes and Reference Material -Non Military: This series contains
material which is related to Wilkins's work but is difficult to
classify into series. ca. 1913-1958.
XI. Photographs: Arranged according to expeditions/trips,
consultant work, Sir Hubert and Suzanne Wilkins, and other
individuals. 1908-1975.
XII. Speeches/Lectures - Wilkins: Non Military: ca. 1930-1958. See
also Consultant Work - U.S. Military
XIII. Suzanne Wilkins: Biographical/Personal: 1928-1971.
XIV. Wilkins Memorial Foundation: This series contains Foundation
materials and correspondence of Winston Ross, Foundation Vice
President. ca. 1960-1987.
XV. Writings - General: Writings of Sir Hubert Wilkins related to
polar exploration and other topics. Includes writings of
other authors ca. 1920's-1950's. See also Consultant Work-
U.S. Military for more Wilkins Writings.
XVI. Oversized: This is material from the Series I - XV that does
not fit in cubic foot storage boxes. 1912-1970. Boxes and
items for this series are marked "OV".
Provenance: The collection was received in two parts, the first in
1985 and the second in 1988. Both parts were received from Winston
Ross, Sir Hubert Wilkins' last secretary and the owner of the
Wilkins collection. The collection was not organized into any
logical arrangement scheme when it was received.
Number of Containers: 38 cubic foot boxes, 18 flat grey storage
boxes, one .5 cubic foot grey box, one large box of maps, one large
box of motion picture films, and three large rolls of materials.
A supplemental inventory appears at the end of the register.
These items were described after the initial processing project was
completed in November, 1991.
Because of the type of material, size, condition, and volume the
series arrangement in the boxes does not correspond to the
alphabetical listing on the previous pages. The following is a
list of the series in each box:
Boxes 1-2: Series I
Boxes 3-11: Series II
Box 12: Series III
Box 13: Series III and Series IV
Boxes 14-16: Series IV
Box 17: Series IV and Series IX
Box 18: Series IX
Box 19: Series X
Box 20: Series XII and Series XIII
Box 21: Series XIII and Series XIV
Box 22: Series XV
Box 23: Series V
Boxes 24-26: Series VI
Box 27: Series VII
Boxes 28-31: Series VIII
Box 32-38: Series XI
OV 1-24 Include oversized materials from the series I - XV.
A good portion of the oversized material is maps and photographs. See
inventories for oversized material.
Supplemental Inventory: created after initial processing project
was completed in November, 1991.