Duncan Carse

Duncan Carse (1913–2004) was a British explorer and actor known for surveying South Georgia and for the portrayal of Special Agent Dick Barton on BBC Radio.

Early life

Verner Duncan Carse was born on 28 July 1913, the son of the artist A. Duncan Carse. He attended school at Sherborne and in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Duncan Carse and Bertha Sylvia Hadfield were married in 1938. They had two daughters. He had a son with his second wife. Duncan Carse was married to Venetia Kemp, his third wife, in December 1962. They lived in Fittleworth, West Sussex, and the marriage lasted until Carse's death on 2 May 2004, aged 90.

Exploration

Carse joined the Merchant Navy and sailed for the Southern Ocean aboard the RRS Discovery II in 1933. While in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, Carse encountered the British Graham Land Expedition, which was on its way to Antarctica on the yacht Penola. Carse secured permission to transfer to the expedition, serving as a seaman and wireless operator and helping to lay depots on the Antarctic Peninsula. Carse returned to England in 1937, and in 1939 he was awarded the silver Polar Medal and Clasp for his part in the Graham Land expedition.