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Endurance Obituaries |
 Endurance Obituaries |
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ALEXANDER JOHN HENRY KERR
( 2/12/1892 - 04/12/1964 )
BORN : ILFORD . ESSEX. ENGLAND
DIED : STEPNEY. LONDON. ENGLAND
NICKNAME : KRASKY
DUTY : 2ND ENGINEER.
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Awarded Silver Polar Medal
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Alexander Kerr was born in December 1892 at Thorold Road, Ilford in Essex. He attended Kensington Road School for a short time before the family moved to Hockley. Essex. The 1901 census of England and Wales shows that he was at the time aged 8, and living with his mother Emily Susan Kerr and his two older sisters Emily Barbara and Marian Ada Kerr, at 7A Hatfield Terrace. Upton Park. West Ham Essex. His father was a Ship’s Master and there is quite a tale behind how Kerr came to be named Alexander.
It seems that his father’s ship was ordered to the Hook of Holland to collect and bring back to England, Princess Alexandra of Teck, daughter of the King of Denmark who was to marry Albert Victor The Prince of Wales. In those days it was customary when conveying royalty for the Ship’s Captain to take along his wife to act as a kind of lady in waiting. During the voyage to London, Kerr’s mother was talking to the Princess and the Princess told her that if she ever had a daughter she should name it Alexandra after her.
When AJHK came along she did the next best thing and named him Alexander.
When Kerr left school he joined the Royal Navy and sat and passed his engineering exams at a very early age. For reasons unknown, he volunteered to join Shackleton’s 1914/16 expedition, and was accepted at the age of just 20, which until Blackborow, the stowaway was discovered, made him the youngest official member of the expedition.
Kerr was a quiet but dependable member of the expedition. Both he and 1st Engineer Rickinson seem to have got on well together, and indeed with the rest of the crew. Orde-Lees wrote in his diary….
“The chief engineer is Rickinson who, like his assistant Kerr, is on the small side as to stature. They share a cubicle and are apparently ideal comrades, having identical tastes. One is almost tempted to describe them as a neat little pair”.
Kerr’s grandson Alan Heard , recalls a tale that “the old man use to tell us” which seems to bare out the bond of friendship that existed between Kerr and Rickinson
“Rickinson and grandfather never fell out, except on one occasion. Sometime before the Endurance became beset and in danger of sinking. Shackleton told Rickinson in confidence that he had been thinking about choosing the party that would make the trek inland across the continent. He was considering including Kerr in the party and would he have any objection to this. Rickinson was not at all in favour and replied with words to the effect that Kerr was more needed on the Endurance. Kerr eventually got to hear about this conversation and was most annoyed with Rickinson for scuppering his chances. Rickinson simply replied “ why be so annoyed when all I did was probably save your
life !”
Kerr returned home to England in 1916 and on Friday 13th January 1917 married his sweetheart Lillian and they settled in East Ham. London. He did his bit for the war effort by re-joining the Royal Navy and worked on Mine Sweepers in Northern Russia. After WW1 ended he and Lillian settled in Ilford. Essex . Their marriage produced a son named Jack (born 1918) and a daughter named Eileen. (born 1920).
In 1922 Shackleton invited Kerr to join up with him and other shipmates from the “Endurance” to form the nucleus of the “Quest” expedition. Kerr was 1st Engineer. The expedition was to be cut short by Shackleton’s sudden death at South Georgia Island.
Alexander returned home again to England and enlisted in the British Merchant Navy as an engineer . Being a family man now, he eventually gave up deep-sea voyages and worked on Tugboats in and around the port of London. In 1934 he finally retired from the sea and set up a wholesale confectioner, tobacconist’s and newsagent’s business in Ilford, which he successfully managed for many years. Kerr was one of the founder members of the British Antarctic Club.
Alfred Lansing, author of “Endurance” wrote to Kerr during the course of his research and told him ….” What you and your shipmates accomplished will always remain among the truly great achievements of human resourcefulness and courage.”
Kerr died in the London Hospital. Stepney on Friday 4th December 1964, the year of the 50th reunion of the expedition. The Ilford Recorder of Thursday 10th December 1964 reported his death as follows :
“Kerr. Alexander John Henry. of 22 Hedgley. Woodford Avenue. Ilford. Died on 4th December aged 72 years at the London Hospital after a long and painful illness. Cremation City of London Crematorium, 11 o’clock Thursday 10th December.”
His wife Lillian, son Jack and daughter Eileen survived him.
Another wonderful anecdote that Kerr’s grandson Alan tells concerns a thermometer….
“As children I remember the old man trying to explain to us exactly how a thermometer worked. He took us to the old heating boiler in the house and held the thermometer against the hot metal surface so that we would see the temperature start to rise. I can see it now. The small thermometer was mounted on a wooden back, and the name “Endurance” written at the top of
it . How I wish I knew where that thermometer went to!”
Kerr’s Polar medal is still in the safe keeping of his family.
With thanks to Eileen Heard ( Daughter of Alexander Kerr).
Alan Heard (Grandson of Alexander Kerr).
Helen Nottingham,Ian Dowling and Valerie Bryant. (Redbridge Local Studies).
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