Museum manager Amanda reveals the chance discovery in a loft that sparked a quest that spanned 23 years and a journey of nearly 10,000 miles.
Do you have a dream that seems too crazy to achieve?
My dream was to travel to Antarctica to live and work in the same place where my father, George Barry, had lived in 1948. That place was Port Lockroy, and today I’m utterly thrilled to be doing just that.
My journey started after I stumbled upon all his journals, letters and photographs that were hidden in an old trunk in my mother’s loft. He had died when I was a child, so I never got to ask him about his polar days, but these precious papers were a window into never-before-thought-of ideas and feelings about his great adventure. I knew from my mother that he had always wanted to return to Antarctica, but never got the opportunity. So, as he couldn’t, I decided in that moment, I would.
Realising that dream took much longer than I thought, but finally, a few weeks ago, I found myself on board a ship sailing towards Port Lockroy. I could hardly believe that the moment had come, and I was about to step on the tiny island that he had stepped off from so many years before.
In reality, getting ashore on the day of our arrival meant that my priority was to help the team transfer everything from the boat to our living accommodation. There is no slipway on Goudier Island, so this meant clambering over rocks with luggage and supplies, being careful to keep our distance from the resident colony of gentoo penguins as we did so. Once we were in, our base leader, Lisa, suggested I take a few moments to go on my own to Bransfield House, the original hut where my father would have lived.
I had goosebumps walking through that door, and I must admit I cried as I walked around the rooms, imagining what it must have been like for him. I feel sad that I never really knew him or got to speak to him about his time here. Wondering what he would have thought of his youngest daughter now standing here, a lifetime apart.
What I wasn’t expecting was to see a photograph of him on one of the information boards in the lounge of Bransfield House. I felt a whoop of joy when I spotted it and thought how thrilled he would be to know that he and his three colleagues are captured for posterity in this way.
The black and white photograph captures the men in the Antarctic landscape, yet dressed in their Sunday best, clearly for some special occasion. Good to know that even the Antarctic didn’t stop them from upholding certain standards!
Amazingly, my job as museum manager at Port Lockroy involves talking to visiting cruise ship guests about Bransfield House and its history. It’s always a special moment when I share that my father was the base leader here.
What I wasn’t prepared for, though, was the emotional reactions. I’ve had so many wonderful connections as people say how touched they are. I’m learning that there is something about family, connection and finding something that has been lost that is universal, no matter who we are or where we come from.
This dream of mine to relive my father’s great Antarctic adventure may have been crazy, but fulfilling it has exceeded everything I could have imagined. So please remember, if you have a dream, keep holding on to it. You never know, it may just come true.
If you love a place, protect it
UKAHT is committed to making Antarctica, its heritage and its stories accessible to everyone.
Eighty years in Antarctica have left their mark on this beloved site. Now, Port Lockroy urgently needs restoration to protect its future. Please donate today.
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Your adoption directly supports on-site colony monitoring and conservation at Port Lockroy. Funds go directly to paying for a wildlife monitor to travel to Antarctica and study the penguin colony at Port Lockroy for the austral summer.
