Fonds consists of records relating to the North Eastern Arctic Expedition, 1852-1853, in search of Sir John Franklin, commanded by Sir Edward Belcher. Included are various notes on the Arctic explorations of Belcher and other explorers, 1961-1976.
The fonds also contains a report, 30 May 1853, giving the position of the search party with an order by Belcher on the reverse side that the cairns must not be touched by any of his officers, and a listing of provisions in the depot left by Assistance (HMS), 13 July 1853, together with an account of the progress of the expedition, 14 July 1853, and a map of the search area, 6 pages. A second list of provisions was also found but was too badly torn to be transcribed. Found in 1961 by Michael Marsden of the Arctic Institute of North America. Original in vault, photographs and photocopies available.
The fonds includes also directional accounts dated 16 August 1852 and 14 May 1853 with Belcher's order not to touch any of the cairns and a description of a food cache left by Captain George Henry Richard, 6 pages. All these documents were found on various parts of Devon Island in 1960 and were received in 1961 from the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources.
There is also a document left in the Arctic to mark the position of Belcher's expedition of 1852, photograph, 2 pages. The original was found in 1962 at Mudge point, Melville Island and received in 1963 from W.E.S. Henoch of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, Ottawa. A photocopy made at the time of acquisition is available for reference. The original document was in such fragile state that it could not be preserved and as of 1982 is considered as no longer extant.
There is also a document which had been deposited in the Arctic in 1853 by Commander G.H. Richard at Cape Hornby, Devon Island, giving an account of the position of Belcher's expedition of 1852, 1 page. The document was found in 1976 by a group from the Archeological Research Section of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and transferred in 1977 to the National Archives of Canada. The document has been mounted in an acid free board frame with an ultra violet resistant plexiglass cover and is stored in the vault. A photograph is available.
In addition, there are various notes placed with the documents explaining the circumstances of the findings, 1961-1976, originals and photocopies, 8 pages. Also included is a background paper containing information on the Arctic explorations of Sir Edward Belcher and other explorers prepared in 1961 by the office of the Hon. Walter Dinsdale for a press conference, transcripts, 21 pages.
A document, printed on one side and handwritten on the other, pertaining to the Arctic Search Expedition under the command of Belcher, is contained in horizontal storage, container 2.
