This film is part of Free

Arctic Expedition : 1937
Join James Wordie on his 1937 Arctic expedition venturing the frozen seas of Baffin Bay encountering native Greenlandic Inuit along the way.
Overview
Footage capturing Polar explorer and geologist and one-time companion of Ernest Shackleton, James Wordie on an expedition in the vast expanse that is Baffin Bay. Stopping off at various points along the Greenland coast they record the lives of the native Inuit. Meteorologist and fellow Scotsman, Edmund Dymond completes a series of experiments with weather balloons up and down the coast.
Sir James Mann Wordie (1889-1962) was born at Partick, Glasgow, and educated at the Glasgow Academy and University. Wordie would continue his studies at St. John's College, Cambridge where his lifelong association with polar research began. In 1912 he met with scientists who had returned from Scott’s second expedition. This connection would see him appointed on Shackleton’s Endurance expedition as geologist and chief of the scientific staff which set sail in 1914. Wordie’s morale amongst the men on this near-disastrous voyage and scientific findings would be commended with a medal from the Royal Geographical Society. Wordie would go on to devote much of his life to arctic research and would serve as the President of the RGS between 1951 and 1954.
Related

Shackleton South Georgia Birds Shackleton South Georgia Birds
1920 13 mins Silent
Wildlife in the remote South Atlantic, captured during the ill-fated Shackleton-Rowett Expedition

Jenny's Dog Team Journey Jenny's Dog Team Journey
Documentary 1975 25 mins
Travels with my camera: inspirational seventy-something Scottish film-maker Jenny Gilbertson travels through Northern Canada by dog sled, with four adults and a baby.

The Conquest of Everest The Conquest of Everest
Documentary 1953 78 mins
Colour film (narrated by Meredith Edwards) telling the story of the ‘Mount Everest Expedition 1953’, which saw the first successful ascent of the mountain.

Preparing for an Expedition Preparing for an Expedition
Travelogue 1959 8 mins Silent
Scenes from a documentary or educational programme filmed in South America on the subject of how to prepare for an expedition.

Southward on the "Quest" Southward on the "Quest"
Documentary 1922 68 mins Silent
Potent record of the 1921 Shackleton-Rowett Antarctic expedition, marked by the death of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Cape to Cairo Cape to Cairo
Travelogue 1926 1 mins
The Court Treatt expedition arrives in Luxor in this fragment from the film record of their journey across Africa.

Layla - Exclusive Q&A Layla - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 27 mins
Writer, director and performer Amrou Al-Kadhi talks to Rico Johnson-Sinclair about their debut feature.

All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 28 mins
Payal Kapadia discusses her Cannes prize-winning and Bafta-nominated drama with Ashanti Omkar.

Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.

Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
Documentary 2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.

Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.

Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.