A relic of Sir John Franklin's last expedition 1845-8. A silver fiddle-pattern table fork belonging to Thomas Henry Dundas le Vesconte. It was obtained from the Inuit at Repulse Bay in 1854 by the Rae Expedition. The Inuit said that they had found the material at a camp to the north west of the mouth of the Back River where a party of Europeans had died of starvation.
The fork has Dublin hallmarks and the date for 1834-5. It has the maker's name 'M. WEST' and the initials 'RW'. The back of the handle has a dragon crest which identifies the owner.
It was presented to Greenwich Hospital by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, 2nd December 1854.
Lieutenant Le Vesconte's father, Commander Henry Le Vesconte, RN, came from Jersey. He married Sarah Wills from Marldon in Devon and his son Henry Thomas Dundas was born nearby at Netherton in 1813. He entered the Navy in 1829 and served as mate of HMS 'Calliope' during the First China War. Distinguishing himself in this conflict, he was promoted to Lieutenant in June 1841. He went on to serve in HMS 'Hyacinth' on the East India Station and then in 'Clio' as second in command to James Fitzjames who recommended his appointment as lieutenant in HMS 'Erebus'. He perished with the other members of Sir John Franklin's 1845 expedition. A skeleton found by Charles Hall near the Peffer River and believed to be that of Le Vesconte, was returned to England and reburied in the Painted Hall at Greenwich.