A relic of Sir John Franklin's last expedition 1845-8. A silver fiddle-pattern table spoon owned by Lieutenant John Irving ('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 spoon has 'J . I' in monogram on the front of the handle. The maker's mark is that of Hester Bateman 'HB'. It has London hallmarks and a date code for 1788.
John Irving was the fourth son of John Irving, Writer to the Signet, was born in Edinburgh on 8th February, 1815. He was trained at the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth where he was awarded the second mathematical prize. After serving for a few years in the Navy, he left in 1837 and emigrated to New South Wales. Six years later he returned to the United Kingdom and rejoined the Navy. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 23rd March, 1843, serving in ‘Volage’ and ‘Excellent’ during the 1840’s. He was one of the three lieutenants on HMS ‘Terror’ during Sir John Franklin’s last Arctic expedition. His body, identified by the prize medal, was found by Lieutenant Schwatka at Point Victory, King William Island.
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.