It’s a crisp London morning, the sun dappling through the trees of Holland Park. You’re standing in front of a simple blue plaque, a testament to a man who braved the icy wilderness of the Arctic. This is the plaque of John Rae, a man of incredible resilience and grit who, in his time, traversed a remarkable 13,000 miles by boat and on foot.
The John Rae Blue plaque marks the place where he spent the last twenty-four years of his life, a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to the exploration of the Arctic. Born in Orkney, Rae was drawn to the challenging world of exploration early in his life. In 1846, he led a daring expedition to survey the northern coastline of North America. The expedition was unlike any before, enduring a harsh winter and surviving off the land. It was during this expedition that Rae discovered the only navigable passage around America that doesn’t require icebreakers, effectively putting an end to a centuries-long quest for a Northwest Passage. He also befriended and learned from the Inuit, earning the nickname “Aglooka,” meaning “he who takes long strides.”
Despite his incredible achievements, John Rae was largely uncelebrated during his lifetime. He became embroiled in the controversy surrounding the fate of Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition. Rae was accused of being the bearer of bad news as well as the villain in the tragic tale of the Franklin expedition. Sadly, he was vilified for accepting the word of the Inuit, unfairly labeled as “hairy and disagreeable” by Franklin’s widow.
Even though his contributions to exploration were substantial, Rae was largely forgotten. It was only in recent decades that his role in the history of Arctic exploration was fully recognized. He is now celebrated for his pioneering work in surveying and survival techniques. And so, this John Rae Blue plaque serves as a reminder to those who walk past it – of a man who faced the harshest of challenges and forged a unique connection with the land and its indigenous people.