P007924 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 2025-12-11 human Helen Cohn updated 2025-12-11 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P007924b.htm person Bickerton Francis Howard AACR2 15 January 1889 21 August 1954 Place of Birth Iffley, United Kingdom Place of Death Borth, Wales Mechanical engineer Antarctic explorer Francis Bickerton was appointed mechanic to the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, his role being to maintain the airplane which Douglas Mawson, leader of the Expedition, had acquired. Bickerton's appointment was through his friend, Aeneas Mackintosh who, with Mawson, had been a member of the 1907 - 1909 British Antarctic Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton. The plane, however, crashed in Adelaide. Bickerton was given the task of converting the wreckage into a tractor to pull sledges. He was leader of the sledging party that set out in December 1912 to explore the western coast of Commonwealth Bay, accompanied by Leslie Whetter and Alfred Hodgeman. After the engine of the sledges seized and the propeller shattered on the second day, the men had to haul the sledges themselves. During this expedition they found the first meteorite to be discovered in Antarctica. Bickerton was one of five men who volunteered to remain at Cape Denison for a second winter, in the hope that Mawson's overdue sledging party would return. During WWI Bickeron's service with the armed forces he continued to experiment with planes. His post-war life included many travels including to Africa and North America, working as a film writer and editor, and service in WWII with the British Expeditionary Force. Bickerton Cape in Davis Bay, Antarctica, was named in his honour. 1906 1910 Education - Studied aeronautical engineering at City and Guilds College, London 1911 February 1914 Career position - Mechanic, Australasian Antarctic Expedition 3 December 1912 18 January 1913 Career position - Leader of sledging party to explore western coast of Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica September 1914 May 1918 Military service - Served with the British Army and Royal Flying Corps 1915 1915 Award - Polar Medal (Silver) Whetter, Leslie Hatton (1888 - 1955) Hodgeman, Alfred (1888 - 1964) Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911 - 1914)

Mechanic, Cape Denison 1911 - 1914

 'Bickerton, Francis Howard', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Bickerton, Francis Howard Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Book: Born adventurer: the life and times of Frank Bickerton, Antarctic pioneer Haddelsey, Stephen Born adventurer: the life and times of Frank Bickerton, Antarctic pioneer Stroud, U.K. Sutton Publishing 2005 Book: The home of the blizzard: being the story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911 - 1914 Mawson, Douglas The home of the blizzard: being the story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911 - 1914 London J.B. Lippincott: Heinemann 1915 Book: Mawson's remarkable men: the personal stories of the epic 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expediton Jensen, David Mawson's remarkable men: the personal stories of the epic 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expediton Sydeny Allen and Unwin 2015