{{Short description|British navigating officer and polar explorer (1886–1942)}} {{use dmy dates|date=March 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Hubert Taylor Hudson | image = Hubert hudson.jpg | caption = Hubert Hudson with young emperor penguins | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1886|09|17}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1942|06|15|1886|09|17}} | birth_place = [[London]], England }}

'''Huberht Taylor Hudson''', RD (17 September 1886 – 15 June 1942), commonly known as '''Hubert Hudson''' instead of by his actual first name (an Old English version of the name), was a navigating officer in the British [[Royal Navy]], who took part in [[Ernest Shackleton|Ernest Shackleton's]] [[Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition]] to Antarctica.

Hudson joined the expedition whilst a 'mate' in the Royal Navy. He earned the nickname of 'Buddha', when the rest of the crew successfully tricked him into dressing-up in little more than a bedsheet for a 'fancy dress' party on the whaling station at South Georgia.<ref name="coolantarctica">{{cite web|url=http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/biography/hudson_hubert.php|publisher=coolantarctica.com|title=Huberht Taylor Hudson - Biographical notes|accessdate=2016-09-05|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816075746/https://coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/biography/hudson_hubert.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Hudson was described as a "young dandy" who was somewhat self-centered and a poor listener, "simple and a little irritating....a little impressed with his own good looks, but really not too sure of himself."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lansing |first1=Alfred |title=Endurance |date=1959 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-06288-1 |page=92}}</ref>

During the expedition, Hudson was famed for his ability to catch penguins, which the crew used as a source of food whilst trapped on the ice. Hudson would be put in charge of steering the tiller of one of the lifeboats, the ''Stancomb Wills'', once the crew [[Voyage of the James Caird|escaped from the pack ice]], eventually landing on [[Elephant Island]].{{sfn|Lansing|1959|p=178}} Towards the end of the expedition, Hudson suffered a severe breakdown of mental morale, possibly due to a massive boil that he developed on his buttocks. His illness caused [[Frank Wild]], the second-in-command, a lot of worry that he would not survive. However, Hudson pulled through and eventually recovered his health.<ref name="enduranceobituaries">{{cite web|url=http://www.enduranceobituaries.co.uk/hudson.htm|publisher=enduranceobituaries.co.uk|title=Huberht Taylor Hudson &#124; Endurance Obituaries|accessdate=2016-09-05|url-status=usurped|archive-date=2017-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113202906/http://www.enduranceobituaries.co.uk/hudson.htm}}</ref>

Upon return from the expedition, Hudson took part in [[World War I]], serving on [[Q-ships]].<ref name="enduranceobituaries"/>

He later also took part in [[World War II]] as a Royal Navy Reserve Convoy Commodore. Hudson died on 15 June 1942 while in [[convoy HG 84]] when his ship, the merchant vessel ''Pelayo'', was torpedoed by {{GS|U-552||2}}.

== Notes ==

{{Reflist}}

{{Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition}} {{Polar exploration|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Hubert}} [[Category:British explorers of Antarctica]] [[Category:Personnel of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition]] [[Category:Royal Navy officers of World War I]] [[Category:1886 births]] [[Category:1942 deaths]] [[Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II]] [[Category:Royal Naval Reserve personnel]] [[Category:Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II]] [[Category:Military personnel from London]] [[Category:People from Holloway, London]] [[Category:Convoy commodores]]