The man who told the truth - Ian Archibald

Ian Archibald, our speaker this week, is a retired cartographer who has spent almost his entire working life in survey and mapping. He was the Cartographic and Geographic Information Systems Manager for the Crown Estate Office in Edinburgh. Prior to working for the Crown Estate he had a nomadic career working all over the U.K. as a cartographic surveyor with the Ordnance Survey.

He describes himself as having many varied interests particularly in social history and the development of local heritage. He is the Convenor and a founder member of Burntisland Heritage Trust and is also an Honorary Member of Burntisland and Kinghorn Rotary Club.

Ian lives in Burntisland with his wife Dorothy.

His talk “The story of the Orcadian explorer Drr John Rae who discovered the fate of the Franklin expedition (The man who told the truth)” was intriguing enlightening inspiring and most enjoyable. 

Dr John Rae was, in Ian’s opinion, “one of the greatest explorers who ever lived”, an unsung hero with his contribution largely unacknowledged.  An extremely impressive monument to the Orkney born man is to be seen in St Magnus’s cathedral in Kirkwall. An impressive, brave man he was accomplished at a whole array of things, a doctor, sailor, hunter, snow shoe walker, fisherman, survivalist, explorer. However, he had the miss fortune to come up against the wife of Sir John Franklin, a formidable woman who you wouldn’t want to take an open pay packet home to! And so some of his discoveries were attributed elsewhere. He trekked hundreds of miles, mapped the uncharted territories around the Northwest passages, discovered the fate of the Franklin expedition and contributed an immense amount for future explorers to us and build on.

A thoroughly gripping presentation by Ian with Peter McGavigan proposing a vote of thanks on behalf of the members.