A relic of Sir John Franklin's last expedition 1845-8. A silver old English pattern table spoon owned by Lieutenant Robert Orme Sargent ('HMS Erebus'). The front of the handle is engraved with Sargent's crest of a dolphin and wings It was found in an abandoned boat at Erebus Bay, King William Island, in May 1859 by the McClintock Search Expedition 1857-9. The makers' marks are those of Matthew Boulton and John Fothergill - 'MB', 'IF'. It has Birmingham hallmarks with a date code for 1773.
Sargent passed his Lieutenant's examination in 1843. He was appointed Mate of HMS 'Terror' during Sir John Franklin's last expedition and was promoted after it sailed. In his journal Commander Fitzjames described him as a 'nice, pleasant-looking lad, very good-natured'.
McClintock's party reached this site on the 30 May and discovered that Hobson had been there a few days before on the 18th. The boat was 28 foot long and mounted on a heavy sledge. McClintock found it just above high tide mark pointing back in the direction of the ships and containing a large quantity of abandoned personal possessions and two skeletons. McClintock found none of the iron spoons used by the men, and concluded that the officer's plate had been distributed among the crew to preserve it.