Henry Larsen (explorer)
Henry Asbjörn Larsen (September 30, 1899 – October 29, 1964) was a Canadian Arctic explorer. Larsen was born in Norway, like his hero, Roald Amundsen. And, like Amundsen, he became a seaman. Larsen immigrated to Canada and became a British citizen[1] in 1927. In 1928 he joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
RCMP service
In 1928 the RCMP commissioned the St. Roch for Arctic service. During its first voyage into the Arctic Larsen served as mate under a captain the RCMP hired for that purpose, but Larsen was appointed captain once in the Arctic. Larsen commanded the St. Roch for most of the next two decades. Rising to the rank of Sergeant. The final years of Larsen's career he was the senior RCMP officer in the Arctic. Following his command of the St. Roch, Larsen was promoted to Inspector with responsibility for all Arctic detachments.
Exploring the Northwest Passage
For the first twelve years the ship was in commission, Larsen and his crew took supplies to scattered RCMP posts in Canada's far north. The St. Roch was specially constructed to be able to survive being frozen in all winter. And, during the winter the RCMP officers who formed her crew would use dog sleds to turn the St. Roch into a floating RCMP outpost. During this time the St. Roch was the only Canadian presence in the far north, carrying out various governmental duties.
World War II provided Larsen an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his hero and compatriot. In 1940 the St Roch was sent on a mission to travel from the Western Arctic to the Eastern Arctic. The St. Roch completed the West to East voyage in 1942, taking 28 months to do so. For most of these 28 months the St Roch was frozen in. The St. Roch was the second vessel to traverse the Northwest Passage, and the first to do so from west to east. Upon her arrival in Halifax the St. Roch was given an extensive refit, giving her a larger engine, and a deckhouse, increasing her accommodation. The refit was completed in time for her to make the return voyage to Vancouver during the ice-free period, completing her voyage in less than eighty-six days.
For her first transit of the Northwest Passage, Larsen had followed Amundsen's route. For her return voyage Larsen explored a more northerly route, through the Prince of Wales Strait which had not been completely navigated
In 2000, as a millennium project, the RCMP renamed one of its vessels the St. Roch II, and sent it to recreate Larsen's first voyage.
Larsen's explorations and Canadian sovereignty
Some believe the real purpose of the voyages of discovery was not to patrol the Arctic searching for evidence of German infiltrators, but rather to protect Canadian interests from her American allies. There were difficulties in the American/Canadian alliance during World War II, manifested during the construction of the Alaska Highway. [citation needed]
CCGS Henry Larsen
The Canadian Coast Guard named an icebreaker, the CCGS Henry Larsen to honour Larsen.
Notes and references
- ^ At the time, British citizenship applied. In 1947, the Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 came into effect.