Sheila Bransfield

As a young girl, SHEILA BRANSFIELD was intrigued to see the Bransfield name on an Antarctic map and first began to inquire about this in the 1980s. Research began in earnest in 1996 with the first of hundreds of visits to The National Archives. She learned that her great-great grandfather was born in Cork around the same time as Edward Bransfield, but further research has proved difficult. Then, in 1998 she was alerted to the location and poor condition of Edward Bransfield’s grave and began raising funds for its renovation. She visited Antarctica in January 1999 and celebrated an unveiling of the grave in June. Sheila subsequently wrote a number of articles for historical journals and magazines before being accepted by the Greenwich Maritime Institute (University of Greenwich) for a Master of Arts in Maritime History due to her research and publications, receiving her award in 2002.