DNA breakthrough identifies cabin boy David Young as exhibition marks 200 years since ship’s launch

ON MAY 19, 1845, a handsome 17-year-old boy boarded the Pembroke Dock-built ship HMS Erebus to begin one of the most tortuous and tragic voyages in modern history.

David Young, like all the other crew members around him, was full of excitement and an unquenchable determination that their Arctic expedition would be equally as successful as Erebus’s previous voyage to Antarctica. There, under the leadership of Royal Navy Captain Sir James Clark Ross, the ship smashed through approximately 134 miles of ice to discover the South Magnetic Pole.

This time, led by seasoned polar explorer Sir John Franklin, Erebus’s 69-strong crew was convinced their expedition to the Arctic would uncover that vital sea trading route between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans — the Northwest Passage. But what they did not know was that this would turn into one of the most gruesome voyages known to mankind.

So extreme was the crew’s final desperation, the men were forced to resort to cannibalism in temperatures which dropped as low as minus 48C. HMS Erebus, together with her crew, would never return to UK waters.

But now, following the discovery of 14 sets of human remains near King William Island, DNA tests have traced David Young to his great-great-grandnephew, former professional diver Adrian Young, who lives in Templeton, near Narberth.

“David was one of 14 human remains that were found at the site, and finally being able to find out just that little bit more about him means so much to me,” Adrian told The Pembrokeshire Herald.

“In my early 20s, when I was doing some archaeological dives on treasure ships in the Scilly Isles, my aunt told me as much as she knew about David Young. And ever since then, I’ve wanted to find out whether there was a family connection.

“David was obviously a very adventurous young man, and I guess this runs in the family. I worked as a professional diver, I was the chief engineer of tugs, and I also once drove a Land Rover all the way to Turkey!”

David, who served as an Erebus cabin boy, was identified by DNA carried out on his skull and, so far, only five crew members have been identified. These include Captain James Fitzjames, whose jawline showed signs of cannibalism.

Built in Pembroke Dock over 200 years ago, Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb ketch measuring 104 feet long, which was less than half the length of a standard man o’ war ship. She took 20 months to build at a cost of £14,603, which equates to £1.25m in today’s money.

Launched from Pembroke Dock in 1826, she embarked on her successful Antarctic expedition and then, on May 19, 1845, sailed from Greenhithe in Kent on Franklin’s quest for the Northwest Passage.

HMS Erebus was both a powerful and luxurious ship, boasting a steam engine and a propeller capable of thrusting the boat at four knots and 25hp. The crew benefited from a heating system and vast supplies of provisions to see them through their expected three-year voyage. These included cattle, sheep, pigs and hens, which were transported on two accompanying supply ships. Erebus also had three pets on board — a monkey given by Lady Franklin, a Newfoundland dog called Neptune, and a cat.

Despite their luxuries, the sailors’ lives, under the zealous eye of Sir John Franklin, were undoubtedly tough. Franklin was an exceptionally focused individual whose aim was to succeed at everything he did. As a result, he pushed his men so hard he earned himself the moniker “the man who ate his boots”. At the age of 59, he was by far the oldest crew member on board HMS Erebus.

The intention was for the ship to overwinter in the ice before continuing to voyage in the spring. But the extreme weather conditions meant there was no thaw, and Erebus was forced to remain in the ice for 19 months. The sailors now found themselves at the mercy of the immense pressure of the sea ice and unpredictable icebergs before HMS Erebus became trapped in the desolate area around Beechey Island. The Inuit rarely visited this region, with the result that the crew could no longer rely on locals for meat, clothing and oil. Temperatures dropped to minus 48C at night and minus 35C by day; even taking off a balaclava could rip the skin and beard from the sailors’ chins.

In a desperate attempt to find water to enable them to move forward, in April 1848, David Young and 13 other crewmen left Erebus, pulling a whaling boat over the frozen sea for approximately 19 miles. This would have been an exceptionally arduous effort for the men, as they had little food and water to retain their energy levels. And despite the freezing temperatures, the men would still have sweated heavily given the weight of the whaling boat; whenever they stopped, the sweat would turn to ice, so it was possible that gangrene may have set in.

Nobody will ever know what finally took David’s life, however, it is likely to have been a combination of starvation, exhaustion and possibly scurvy.

When Erebus went missing, Franklin’s wife put up a hefty £10,000 reward for information, while the Royal Navy offered a £3,000 reward. A total of 36 searches were carried out between 1847 and 1859, with the total number of searches eventually amounting to 52. Erebus was finally located in 2014 by Parks Canada.

“This was massive news, as searches had been going on for so long,” said Adrian.

“And when they dived down, they found the ship was in exceptionally good condition, with most of the artefacts undamaged. This means Erebus is the only surviving ship launched from Pembroke Dock 200 years ago that still survives. So for me, living just a few miles away, it means so very much, particularly knowing that David Young was my great-great uncle.”

Now, to mark the 200th anniversary of the launch of HMS Erebus from Pembroke Dock, the town’s Heritage Centre is hosting a major exhibition celebrating the ship’s extraordinary history. It brings this remarkable international story back to its birthplace, featuring rare artefacts recovered from the wreck, many of which are being shown to the public for the first time, as well as immersive displays, digital interactives, an Arctic diorama and underwater footage from the wreck site.

The exhibition will run from Monday, June 8, until the end of October.