Record

MS - Manuscripts General
- 591 - Papers of the British National Antarctic Expedition 'Discovery'
  - 4 - Correspondence on meteorology between Robert Falcon Scott, Archibald Geikie, William Napier Shaw, and others

RefNo	MS/591/4/13
Level	Item
Title	Letter from William Napier Shaw, Meteorological Office, 63 Victoria Street, London, to Sir Archibald [Geikie, Secretary Royal Society]
Date	10 November 1908
Description	First portion of letter is a typescript copy of MS/591/14/8. The rest answers Scott's protests point by point. Here he calls Scott's letter 'painful reading' and contends that his duty was not to consult members of the Discovery Expedition, but rather the Royal Society. He argues that members of the Expedition were indeed consulted. Shaw also contends that there were special instructions for the operation of the instruments on the Expedition that were not followed properly. He states that if there are indeed inaccurate calculations, then the lack of an official diary on behalf of Scott is to blame, not his office. With regard to the preface, Shaw suggests that it was a reviewer from the Times, and not the preface itself, which created the impression that the Expedition members were incompetent, and that this attitude is not a wide-spread one. In a number or points following this, though, Shaw does elaborate on mistakes made that an experienced Meteorologist would not have made. He argues that if he had not made the remarks he did in his preface, then the observations could have reflected poorly on the Royal Society. Shaw ends by saying that he feels treated unfairly by Scott, and that Scott's attitude towards his office's work is counter-productive. Contains five appended letters as evidence of the ample instructions available for use of the instruments prior to the Discovery Expedition embarking: 1. 'From Commander Scott acknowledging the receipt of instructions for self-recording instruments.' 2. 'From Commander Scott to the Hydrographer notifying arrangment with Mr. Shackleton about Sunshine Recorder and Dines' Anemometer.' 3. 'From the Hydrographer directing that the Antarctic instruments be sent to Kew for practice.' 4. 'From Kew Observatory acknowledging the receipt of the instrumentts, sent by the Hydrographer's instructions.' 5. 'From Mr. W. Shackleton inquiring about details of equipment of certain meteorological instruments.' Some handwritten notes in margins.
Extent	25p
Format	Typescript
AccessStatus	Open

Fellows associated with this archive

Code	PersonName	Dates
NA6174	Geikie; Sir; Archibald (1835 - 1924)	1835 - 1924
NA7142	Shaw; Sir; William Napier (1854 - 1945)	1854 - 1945

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