A relic of Sir John Franklin's last expedition 1845-8. A silver fiddle-pattern table fork owned by John Smart Peddie (Surgeon, 'HMS Terror'). It was found in an abandoned boat at Erebus Bay, King William Island, in May 1859 by the McClintock Search Expedition 1857-9. The maker's mark is that of Robert Walliss 'RW' and the fork has London hallmarks with the date code for 1844. The back of the handle is engraved with 'J.S.P. in monogram. 'No 7' is written in ink also on the back of the handle.
he son of James Peddie and Anne Smart, James Smart Peddie was christened in Edinburgh on 3 March 1816. He obtained the licence of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1836 and entered the navy as Assistant surgeon. He served as Acting Surgeon on HMS 'Terror' during Sir John Franklin's last expedition of 1845 and perished with the rest of Franklin's crews. He had been promoted to the rank of Surgeon a few months after the expedition sailed.
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.