This page features occasional news and events of interest to Arctic Club members.

To publicise an event here please contact web@arcticclub.org.uk

Michael Lea

It is with great sadness that we have to report that Michael Lea has died. 

Mike was long standing member of the Club, and has been a President of the Arctic Club as well as the Scottish Arctic Club. Mike made many summer expeditions to East Greenland along with his wife Kate. The Club owes Mike an enormous debt of gratitude for his commitment. He set up the current website and the email system, kept the website alive with Arctic stories and was an active committee member. He will be fondly remembered for his kindness and guidance.

Mike always had wonderful stories to tell at the Annual Club Dinners and had some fantastic photographs. Mike was energetic following his retirement and was responsible for writing books and encouraging young people to go to the Arctic.

Kate is also a member of the Arctic Club and will be known to many members.  We send her our sincere condolences.

Michael's cremation will be on Thursday 11 May at 2.00 pm at Eden Valley Crematorium at Temple Sowerby, Cumbria. All are welcome to come.

If you wish to make a donation in Michaels memory I suggest either WithUkraine - this is the official fundraising donation page of the Ukrainian Embassy in the UK (Michael had several Physics links with Ukraine and was there again in 2018 spending a day with Olga and Zhenya in Odessa both of whom are currently staying with me in the UK), or to Eden Animal Rescue. Donations can be made at the cremation, or online at www.walkersfunerals.co.uk or sent c/o Walker’s Funeral Directors, Chapel Street, Appleby-in-Westmorland, CA16 6QR

For those unable to come to the ceremony Kate has produced a booklet about Michael's life which she is happy to email.  Whilst the booklet covers all aspects of his life we are advised that it contains much about their adventures in Greenland.

Derek Fordham- 9th Aug 1939 - 6th Aug 2022

Derek Fordham died peacefully in his sleep three days short of his 83rd birthday.  He had had a stroke in 2018 and had been in a care home, but remained enthusiastic and hugely interested in Arctic expeditions and travel.  

Derek was a longtime member of the Arctic Club.  He served as Honorary Secretary for many years and the Club's existence owes much to his persistence, commitment and the energy that he devoted to the Club. Derek also served as Secretary of the Gino Watkins Memorial Fund which decides on the recipients of the Arctic Club Award. He was awarded the Polar Medal by Prince William recognition of his many expeditions and outstanding service to the Arctic community.

Derek had a tremendous passion for the Arctic and particularly Greenland. His enthusiasm for, and vast knowledge of, Greenland and the polar regions will be sorely missed. However, his ability to take stunning photographs means that there is a great record of his trips, in addition to the tales from the journeys he made with fellow Arctic travelers.  

Derek's funeral is on 8th Sep 2022 at 11:30am Honor Oak Crematorium, Brockley Way, London SE4 2LJ

The service will be streamed live and will also be available online for 30 days. Details in this link

Podcast - 'If Oceans Could Spea

Derek Fordham- 9th Aug 1939 - 6th Aug 2022

Derek Fordham died peacefully in his sleep three days short of his 83rd birthday.  He had had a stroke in 2018 and had been in a care home, but remained enthusiastic and hugely interested in Arctic expeditions and travel.  

Derek was a longtime member of the Arctic Club.  He served as Honorary Secretary for many years and the Club's existence owes much to his persistence, commitment and the energy that he devoted to the Club. Derek also served as Secretary of the Gino Watkins Memorial Fund which decides on the recipients of the Arctic Club Award. He was awarded the Polar Medal by Prince William recognition of his many expeditions and outstanding service to the Arctic community.

Derek had a tremendous passion for the Arctic and particularly Greenland. His enthusiasm for, and vast knowledge of, Greenland and the polar regions will be sorely missed. However, his ability to take stunning photographs means that there is a great record of his trips, in addition to the tales from the journeys he made with fellow Arctic travelers.  

Derek's funeral is on 8th Sep 2022 at 11:30am Honor Oak Crematorium, Brockley Way, London SE4 2LJ

The service will be streamed live and will also be available online for 30 days. Details in this link

Podcast - 'If Oceans Could Speak' - 20-Nov-2021

Researchers from across Europe (including from the British Antarctic Survey here in Cambridge) have joined forces through the EU4Ocean Coalition for Ocean Literacy to create a brand new podcast “If Oceans Could Speak”. 

This premiere season focuses exclusively on the Arctic - listening to stories from those who have shared their life with the mighty Arctic Ocean. Each week we discuss a new perspective, from the adventures of Thomas Wunderlich, Captain of RV Polarstern, to the musical journey of composer Lera Auerbach which led to her award-winning symphony, “Arctica”.  

Our guests reflect on issues of climate change, sustainability, and equality, and share their hopes and concerns for the Arctic’s future.

Click here to go to Podcasts

National Nordic Museum - 02-Nov-2021

Coinciding with the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26), this virtual symposium will convene speakers from museums located in or representing the Arctic to address climate change and the imminent threat it poses to the indigenous communities they serve.

Click here to go to Event website

Ice Worlds 2021

A free exhibition at Greenwich 28th - 30th October 2021 at National Maritime Museum.

Click here to go to Ice Worlds website

Counting Walrus

BBC article from 13th October 2021 about counting walrus from satellite photographs

Click here for details

Channel 4 Program

A Year in the Ice: The Arctic Drift - Shown on 16th October 2021 and available for 30 days.

Click here to view

Expedition News

An article on the 1920 Oxford Spitsbergen Expedition was re-published in The Times on 16th December 2020. Click here to review.

Scotland’s first “Arctic Day”

Celebrate Scottish-Arctic links and explore new avenues for cooperation and policy-exchange between Scotland and the High North. The event will provide a free and public forum for debates, workshops and networking at Eden Court (Bishops Road, Inverness, IV3 5SA) on Monday 25 March 2019 from 11:00-18:30.

Arctic Club Dinner 2019

The 2019 Arctic Club Dinner was held in Queens' College, Cambridge on Saturday 7th December 2019 with Madeleine White nee Humphreys as President. 

Arctic Club Dinner 2018

The 2018 Arctic Club Dinner was held in the New Club, Edinburgh on Saturday 8th December 2018 with Ian Frearson as President. 

New Books - order now

Expeditions 2018

Read the 2018 Expedition Reports from the Gino Watkins Memorial Fund and other Expeditions.

Moskus Expedition

Congratulations to the Moskus Expedition on their exciting and successful Arctic Club Award Expedition to the Stauning Alps.
Read their GRNLND2018 - Expedition Report.

Ice Alive

Watch two films about the Black and Bloom project on the Greenland Icecap. 

Ross Hewitt Interview

Spitsbergen Retraced - the Film

In 2017, the Spitsbergen Retraced expedition returned from a successful crossing of the island.
Very sadly, Jamie Gardiner, Expedition Historian and Film Director, later died tragically in Norway. 
We remember Jamie as a keen mountaineer, true friend and talented film maker; he was the driving force behind this film. 

Spitsbergen Retraced - Film Screenings

Will Hartz, James Lam and Liam Garrison

Polar Medals 2018 

The London Gazette on 26 January 2018 announced the award of the Polar Medal 2018 to four people 'for outstanding achievement and service to the United Kingdom in the field of polar research'. The awards related to the Arctic were to Dr Kevin Kerr Newsham, James Michael Stewart Wake and Nicholas Levers Cox. Congratulations to all, especially to Nick Cox, a long-standing member of the Arctic Club.

(Mike Lea "Vega Sund")