NOONANS TO SELL THE POLAR MEDAL AND EPHEMERA RELATING TO A CAPTAIN OF THE BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY

An interesting Polar Medal awarded to Captain Edmund Phelps O.B.E., who served with the British Antarctic Survey for 26 years, and, as Captain of the supply and research vessel R.R.S. John Biscoe, was ordered to transport 40 Royal Marines to Port Stanley, to augment Naval Party 8901, on the eve of the Falklands War will be included in a sale of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria at Noonans Mayfair (16 Bolton Street) on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. It is expected to fetch £7,000-9,000 and is being sold by a member of the family.

The medals will be sold with an archive including clothing, photographs, letters, maps and even a compact British Antarctic Survey dried meat bar from a ration pack. The sale will also include other items from his collection such as a Presentation Barograph, which is estimated at £500-700 and a large collection of over 1,000 personal photographic slides and cinematic film, mostly colour, taken by Phelps during his long service as Master of the R.R.S. John Biscoe; together with 18 cinematic film spools, which carry an estimate of £300-400.

As James Carver of Noonans explains: “Phelps’ illustrious career was undoubtedly full of adventure, which we can see recorded in his extensive photographic archive. but he also played a pivotal role in making sure that 40 Royal Marines arrived prior to the start of the Falklands War. This was among Britain’s earliest responses to the intrusion. However one of the most memorable accolades during his time in Antarctica, was that he was honoured by the naming of the Antarctic rock feature Phelps Rock, which lies 65 00’S 65 50’W, rising 10m above sea level SW off Hugo Island, in the W approaches to French Passage, Wilhelm Archipelago.”


Edmund Malcolm Stuart Phelps was born in Stafford in 1928 and joined The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P & O) in 1946 as a Deck Cadet, and after completing his apprenticeship, served afloat with several merchant shipping companies. During his career with the British Antarctic Survey, he was presented with a Special Barograph Award by the UK Meteorological Office in May 1986, in recognition of his work as a voluntary observer since 1949. He was awarded the Polar Medal on 29 June 1987 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 15 June 1991. He finally retired on 1 June 1991, one month after he had commanded the Biscoe’s final passage from Port Stanley to Grimsby, and died in Devon on 8 April 2017, aged 88.