The National Museum of the Royal Navy launches national appeal to raise £120,000 to save the sledge flag (Picture: National Museum of the Royal Navy).

History

Celebrities join museum's national campaign to keep historic naval flag in UK

An appeal has been launched by the National Museum of the Royal Navy to save Captain Henry Kellett's sledge flag used in the search for the lost Franklin expedition.

Backed by Monty Python actor Michael Palin and historian Dan Snow, the appeal aims to raise £120,000 to stop Captain Kellett's sledge flag – used during the search for the missing crews of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in 1845 – from leaving the UK in the hands of a private buyer.

The National Museum of the Royal Navy wants to purchase the flag and display it at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Actor, comedian and documentary presenter Michael Palin said: "I wish the campaign to save the Kellett polar sledge flag all the very best.

"It is an important reminder that men were prepared to put their own lives at risk to try and locate any evidence of the fate of Franklin's expedition.

"The Kellett sledge flag is an emblem of survival and heroism in the most appalling circumstances."

He added: "It is an inspirational piece of naval history and should be kept for all to see so that the story of the brave men who flew it is never forgotten."

The Franklin expedition went missing after attempting to chart a route through the Arctic (Picture: Alamy).

The flag was flown during the search for the 129 men of the lost John Franklin expedition that disappeared in 1845 while charting a passage north in the Canadian Arctic.

Captain Kellett's sledge flag has since become a symbol of Britain's maritime heritage and the Royal Navy's history of charting and exploring the globe.

It symbolises the lives lost in the quest to chart the Northwest Passage, the sea route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror (Picture: Alamy).

Historian and broadcaster Dan Snow said: "This flag is less instantly familiar than a mighty battle ensign of a ship of the line, but it is just as important to our naval story.

"It's a flag carried by brave men who put their duty to others above their own self-interest.

"It's a flag that's been taken to some of the most remote places on earth, fluttering away above a hardy little team, reminding those men that no matter how lonely they felt they were part of something much bigger."

He added: "This flag is a part of our national story, and it should be here for us all to learn from and be inspired by."

The museum is trying to raise £120,000 in two weeks to save the flag. Donations can be made directly by visiting donate.nmrn.org.uk or by contacting [email protected].