Alexander Macklin

{{Short description|British doctor and explorer (1889–1967)}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox person |name = Alexander Macklin |honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE|MC|TD}} |image = Alexander Macklin ca 1914.jpg |birth_name = Alexander Hepburne Macklin |birth_date = 1 September 1889 |birth_place = India, New Delhi |death_date = {{death date and age|1967|03|21|1889|09|01|df=y}} |death_place = [[Aberdeen]], Scotland |occupation = Physician, explorer and Surgeon }}

'''Alexander Hepburne Macklin''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|OBE|MC|TD}} (1 September 1889 – 21 March 1967) was a Scottish physician who served as one of the two surgeons on Sir [[Ernest Shackleton]]'s [[Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition]] of 1914–1917. In 1921–1922, he joined the [[Shackleton–Rowett Expedition]] aboard the {{ship||Quest|ship|2}}. He was also a dog trainer and quartermaster on Shackleton’s expeditions.

==Early life== Alexander Macklin was born on 1 September 1889 in [[British Raj|India, New Delhi]]. When the family returned to Britain Dr Macklin set up practice in the [[Scilly Isles]] Alexander travelled to Scilly Isles at the start of boyhood [[13 years old]], where young Macklin became an enthusiastic and proficient boat handler. He went to [[Plymouth College]] and then to the [[University of London]]. After working for a short amount of time as a deckhand, he continued his education at the [[Victoria University of Manchester]], where he qualified as a surgeon/doctor.

==Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition== {{main|Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition}} Soon after qualifying he applied to join Shackleton's expedition and was accepted. As well as his surgeon's duties he was put in charge of the ship's dogs and was also assigned a team of [[sled dog|sledge dogs]] to drive. The ''[[Endurance (1912 ship)|Endurance]]'' became trapped in the ice and was later crushed, forcing Shackleton to lead his men across the ice to open water where they travelled by boat to [[Elephant Island]]. After the ship became trapped in the ice, Macklin's dog team was put to work. He brought back several [[pinniped|seals]] that had been shot for food, and once the men began the long trek across the ice, he and the other dog teams were sent back to Ocean Camp (the first camp established near the ship) to fetch supplies. Eventually all the dogs had to be shot, but Macklin's team was the last to be killed.

After arriving at Elephant Island, Shackleton and five men took one of the boats, the ''[[James Caird (boat)|James Caird]]'', and set out to fetch help from [[South Georgia]]. Macklin and [[James McIlroy (surgeon)|McIlroy]], the other surgeon, were left behind as Shackleton knew the skills would be required more on the island than on the boat: [[Lewis Rickinson|Rickinson]] had a heart condition, [[Hubert Hudson|Hudson]] was suffering a nervous breakdown. [[Perce Blackborow|Blackborow]] had [[gangrene]] in his toes and shortly after the boat left, Macklin and McIlroy were forced to amputate all the toes on his left foot; Macklin gave him a [[chloroform]] [[anesthesia|anaesthetic]] while McIlroy removed the toes. Like most of the crew, Macklin was awarded the Silver [[Polar Medal]] for his efforts during the expedition.

==After the expedition== On his return to Britain, Macklin gained a commission as a temporary lieutenant in the [[Royal Army Medical Corps]] (RAMC), with effect from 22 November 1916.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29858|supp=y|page=12092|date=8 December 1916}}</ref> He was promoted to temporary captain on 22 November 1917.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30423|supp=y|page=12993|date=11 December 1917}}</ref> During World War I he served in France, Russia and Italy. He won the [[Military Cross]] (MC) for bravery in tending the wounded under fire while serving in Italy.

After the war, Macklin continued to serve with the RAMC, seeing service with the Allied Expeditionary Force in Northern Russia along with his old Boss, Shackleton. He rose to the acting rank of major on 4 May 1919<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31462|supp=y|page=9116|date=15 July 1919}}</ref> and, for his service in Russia, was appointed an [[Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] on 11 November 1919<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31764|supp=y|page=1376|date=30 January 1920}}</ref> and awarded the Russian [[Order of Saint Stanislaus]].<ref name=Wright>Damien Wright. ''Shackleton's men in the Arctic: polar explorers and Arctic warfare in North Russia 1918–19''. Orders & Medals Research Society Journal, September 2017, page 197.</ref> He resigned his commission on 23 March 1920, retaining the rank of captain.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31858|supp=y|page=4314|date=9 April 1920}}</ref>

Together with former ''Endurance'' crew members [[Frank Worsley|Worsley]], [[Leonard Hussey|Hussey]], [[Frank Wild|Wild]], [[James McIlroy (surgeon)|McIlroy]], [[Alexander Kerr|Kerr]], [[Thomas McLeod (sailor)|McLeod]] and [[Charles Green (cook)|Charles Green]], Shackleton invited Macklin to join him for the [[Shackleton–Rowett Expedition]] in 1922 on board the ''[[Quest (ship)|Quest]]''. The ship was plagued by engine trouble and eventually diverted to [[Rio de Janeiro]]. After repairs lasting several weeks, the Quest headed for South Georgia. Shackleton was troubled with heart pain throughout the voyage, but despite Macklin's orders refused to rest. In Rio, Shackleton suffered a heart attack but would not let Macklin examine him. The ship landed in South Georgia on 4 January 1922. Early in the morning of 5 January, Macklin was called to Shackleton's quarters to find him having another heart attack. He died shortly after Macklin arrived. As the ship's surgeon, it was Macklin's role to prepare the body for burial on South Georgia.

In 1925 Macklin relocated to [[Dundee]] and began work at the [[Dundee Royal Infirmary]], where he would work for the next 21 years. At the start of World War II, he returned to active service as a major in the Medical Corps, serving in East Africa and rising to lieutenant-colonel. He received the [[Territorial Decoration]] (TD), and retired from the army in August 1948 with the honorary rank of colonel.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38644|supp=y|page=3049|date=21 June 1949}}</ref>

He married Jean in 1947 and moved to [[Aberdeen]] where he worked as the physician of student health services at the [[University of Aberdeen]]. Though he retired from university practice in 1960, he continued to work at the [[Aberdeen Royal Infirmary]] as a locum house surgeon. He and Jean had two sons, Alexander and Richard. He died on 21 March 1967.

== References == {{reflist}}

== Bibliography == *{{cite web|url=http://www.visitandlearn.co.uk/factfiles05/obit16.asp |title=Endurance Obituaries: Dr. Alexander Hepburne Macklin |year=2005 |publisher=HMS Endurance Tracking Project |access-date=20 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209192503/http://www.visitandlearn.co.uk/factfiles05/obit16.asp |archive-date=9 February 2006 }} *{{cite web|url=http://www.south-pole.com/p000098b.htm|title=Antarctic Explorers: Ernest Shackleton|publisher=South Pole.com|access-date=20 December 2006| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070108004934/http://www.south-pole.com/p000098b.htm| archive-date= 8 January 2007 | url-status= live}} *{{cite web|url=http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/biography/macklin_alexander.htm|title=Dr. Alexander Hepburne Macklin|year=2001|author=Paul Ward|publisher=Cool Antarctica|access-date=20 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203164424/http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/biography/macklin_alexander.htm|archive-date=3 February 2007|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} *{{cite book|title=South|author=Sir Ernest Shackleton|orig-year=1919|year=1999|publisher=Penguin Books|location=Great Britain|isbn=0-14-028886-4|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5199}} *{{cite web|url=http://www.bahshe.demon.co.uk/publications/maclean%20lecture.htm#macklin|title=The Malleson Memorial Lecture: Giants in our genesis|year=1994|author=Dr. David McLean|access-date=20 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610061713/http://www.bahshe.demon.co.uk/publications/maclean%20lecture.htm#macklin|archive-date=10 June 2007|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macklin, Alexander}} [[Category:20th-century British medical doctors]] [[Category:1889 births]] [[Category:1967 deaths]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of London]] [[Category:British Army personnel of the Russian Civil War]] [[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]] [[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Personnel of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition]] [[Category:British explorers of Antarctica]] [[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:People educated at Plymouth College]] [[Category:Recipients of the Military Cross]] [[Category:Royal Army Medical Corps officers]] [[Category:Military personnel of British India]]