75th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FRENCH STATION AT SCORESBYSUND

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aukepalmhof
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75th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FRENCH STATION AT SCORESBYSUND

Post by aukepalmhof » Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:27 pm

75th Anniversary of the French Station at Scoresbysund
The second Polar Year 1932-1933
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Polar Year, a special commission
was founded during the 7th Conference of Meteorological Services Directors in
Copenhagen in September 1929. The project of a new Polar Year was warmly welcomed by geophysicists and meteorologists all over the world, since progress in techniques and sciences were evident after the World War and, after a half century, new needs of research were expected on Polar matters. Progress in radio emissions, aviation and the recent discovery of “jet streams” were the focus of the new projects.The International Commission for the Polar Year 1932-1933 had proposed France to establish a station at Scoresbysund (Ittoqqortoomiit) on the East Coast of Greenland where French expeditions had been active since 1925 with the ship “POURQUOI-PAS?” under the command of J.B. Charcot. Both ship and captain were honoured last year by both La Poste and POST Greenland with a joint issue.France accepted the recommendation and a French Committee for the Polar Year 1932-1933 was established under the leadership of
General Ferrié and M. Fichot. The position of secretary was granted to Charles Maurin,
Director of the Geophysical Institute of Earth. A preliminary mission with the “POURQUOI-PAS ? took place in 1931 to search for the best location for the French station. Special attention was given to the installation of an altitude observatory; the mission was given to Louis Gain, a renowned meteorologist and member of the first voyage of the “POURQUOI-PAS ? to the Antarctic in 1909-1910. A rendezvous
with the vessel “GERTRUD RASK”, which shipped the construction materials bought by
France in Denmark, was also planned. The station was to be built by M. Hansen, the
carpenter of the Rosenvinge Colony.The station was manned by the French Navy:
Five officers and eight navy servants were in charge of the wintering party with two civilians in charge of special observations: auroras and cosmic rays for one of them, magnetism and geology for the second. The leader was Ship Lieutenant Habert.
The following year, the French Navy commissioned two vessels to bring the mission
to Greenland: the “POURQUOI-PAS? of course, and the “POLLUX” a former icebreaker of the White Russian Army “WRANGEL”.(most probably the ILYA MUROMETS, there is not a Russian icebreaker under the name WRANGEL.)
By Spring, Hansen had finished the construction of the two stations: the main station was named “Ker Doumer” (“Ker” is Breton for House and Paul Doumer was President of the French Republic who had recently been murdered in May 1932). The secondary observatory was named “”Ker Virginie” to pay tribute to Virginie Heriot, a rich yacht woman who had generously sponsored the construction of this observatory.
Around 500 tons of supplies had to be disembarked during the presence of the
two French ships and, on August 11th 1932, the station was officially inaugurated. Some
scientists were present, e.g. Jean-Louis Faure and Charles Maurin, Secretary of the French Polar Year Committee.
The following season, the two ships were back in order to pick up the wintering expedition and most of the scientific instruments. Some were lent to the Danes for one more year to be picked up in 1934 by the “POURQUOI-PAS?”
The building was donated to the Danish Crown and served for decades as the hospital
in Scoresbysund until it burned down in the late 1950’s.
The commemoration of the French Station’s 75th anniversary at Scoresbysund is part of the “France-Greenland Year 2007-2008” events.
By Patrick Simonin

http://www.stamps.gl/Documents/Greenlan ... B_0803.pdf

The sailing ship in the background of the stamp can be the POURQUOI-PAS? of 1908 comparing the photo on the web-site with photo’s of the ship, on the stamp she looks more as a Grand Banker fishing vessel.

Greenland 2008 10.50Kr. sg?, scott?
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