the port of London and of merchant ships along the East coast of Britain. He hoisted his flag on board the battleship on the same day. He was promoted to the rank of admiral on 21 January 1903. Having been made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 9 November 1903, he retired upon reaching the age limit on 11 November 1906. At the outbreak of the First World War he offered his services to the Admiralty, but his services were declined. Instead, he worked for the next four years as treasurer for the Mine Sweepers' Fund. He had just finished some fund work on 23 October 1918 when he fell ill, and died two weeks before his 77th birthday. Exploration In 1873, Markham shipped as the second mate in the whaler Arctic through Davis Straits and Baffin Bay. While performing his share of whaling duties, which he would later write about, he also kept detailed notes on the ice conditions and wrote a report suggesting the route for use with steam vessels. For the British Arctic Expedition of 1875–76 he was appointed second-in-command of HMS Alert under Captain Nares. Despite suffering from scurvy and being poorly clothed, he led a sledge-party to reach the highest latitude ever attained at the time (83°20′26″ N), a record that stood for 20 years. They did, however, fail to realize their ultimate goal of reaching the North Pole. In 1879, he accompanied Sir Henry Gore Booth aboard the Isbjörn to Novaya Zemlya, a remote island in northern Russia. In 1886, he went alone to report on the ice conditions of Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay, a report which garnered thanks from both Houses of the Canadian Parliament. The ship which took him to Hudson Bay was his old ship Alert from the British Arctic Expedition of 1875–76, by then on loan to the Canadian Marine Service of the Department of Marine and Fisheries. He served for many years on the Council of the Royal Geographical Society along with his cousin Sir Clements Markham, whose biography he would later write. He remained an avid supporter of both Arctic and Antarctic exploration and delighted in the successes of young explorers. Writings Markham wrote numerous books and articles about his exploration as well as two biographies. While stationed in the Pacific from 1879 to 1882 he compiled a list of Pacific gulls which