The sides of the pedestal of Franklin's statue in Waterloo Place, London, list the names of the full complement of the expedition's lost, cast in bronze. To produce what I hope is a definitive list, I have combined the names from the plaques with my own transcriptions of the muster books of Erebus and Terror in the National Archives.
HMS EREBUS | |||||
OFFICERS | |||||
| Name | Qualities | Age | Birthplace | List | No. |
| Sir J. Franklin Kt. K.C.H. | Captain | 1 | 1 | ||
| James Fitzjames | Commander | 1 | 2 | ||
| Graham Gore | Lieutenant | 1 | 6 | ||
| H.T.D. Le Vesconte | Lieutenant | 1 | 3 | ||
| J.W. Fairholme | Lieutenant | 1 | 7 | ||
| Robert O. Sergent | Mate | 1 | 9 | ||
| Charles F. Des Vœux | Mate | 1 | 4 | ||
| Edward Couch | Mate | 1 | 10 | ||
| James Reid | Master (Acting) | 1 | 8 | ||
| Stephen S. Stanley | Surgeon | 2 | 2 | ||
| Charles H. Osmer | Paymaster & Purser | 2 | 1 | ||
| Harry D.S. Goodsir | Surgeon (Acting) | 2 | 3 | ||
| Henry F. Collins | Second Master | 1 | 5 | ||
| Thomas Terry | Boatswain, 3rd Class | 4 | 1 | ||
| John Weekes | Carpenter, 2nd Class | 4 | 3 | ||
| John Gregory | Engineer, 1st Class | 4 | 4 | ||
| |||||
| Samuel Brown | Boatswain's mate | 27 | Hull, Yorks. | 5 | 4 |
| Richard Wall | Ship's Cook | 45 | Hull, Yorks. | 5 | 5 |
| Robert Sinclair | Captain of the Foretop | 25 | Kirkwall, Orkney | 5 | 6 |
| Joseph Andrews | Captain of the Hold | 35 | Edmonton, Middx. | 5 | 1 |
| William Fowler | Paymaster & Purser's Steward | 26 | Bristol, Somerset | 5 | 7 |
| James W. Brown | Caulker | 28 | Deptford, Kent | 5 | 9 |
| John Cowie | Stoker | 32 | Bermondsey, Surrey | 5 | 10 |
| John Sullivan | Captain of the Maintop | 24 | Gillingham, Kent | 5 | 15 |
| Phillip Reddington | Captain of Forecastle | 28 | Brompton, Kent | 5 | 16 |
| John Murray | Sailmaker | 43 | Glasgow, Lanarks. | 5 | 20 |
| John Bridgens | Subordinate Officers' Steward | 26 | Woolwich, Kent | 5 | 21 |
| Thomas Watson | Carpenter's Mate | 40 | Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk | 5 | 22 |
| Thomas Plater | Stoker | Westminster, Middx. | 5 | 23 | |
| William Smith | Blacksmith | 28 | Thibnam [Tibenham], Norfolk | 5 | 24 |
| Francis Dunn | Caulker's Mate | 25 | Llanelly, S. Wales | 5 | 25 |
| Edmund Hoar | Captain's Steward | 23 | Portsea, Hants | 5 | 28 |
| Daniel Arthur | Quartermaster | 35 | Aberdeen | 5 | 32 |
| William Bell | Quartermaster | 36 | Dundee, Forfar | 5 | 43 |
| John Downing | 2nd Quartermaster | 34 | Plymouth, Devon | 5 | 52 |
| James Hart | Leading Stoker | 33 | Hampstead, Middx | 5 | 54 |
| Richard Aylmore | Gunroom Steward | 24 | Southampton, Hants | 5 | 55 |
| James Rigden | Captain's Coxwain | 32 | Upper Deal, Kent | 5 | 18 |
| |||||
| George Thompson | AB | 27 | Staines, Berks | 5 | 8 |
| John Hartnell | AB | 25 | Brompton, Kent | 5 | 11 |
| John Stickland | AB | 24 | Portsmouth, Hants. | 5 | 13 |
| Thomas Hartnell | AB | 23 | Chatham, Kent | 5 | 12 |
| William Orren | AB | 34 | Chatham, Kent | 5 | 17 |
| William Clossan | AB | 25 | Shetland | 5 | 19 |
| Charles Coombs | AB | 28 | Greenwich, Kent | 5 | 3 |
| John Morfin | AB | 25 | Gainsboro., Lincolns. | 5 | 29 |
| Charles Best | AB | 23 | Fareham, Hants. | 5 | 40 |
| Thomas Mc. Convey | AB | 24 | Liverpool, Lancs. | 5 | 41 |
| Henry Lloyd | AB | 26 | Christiansen, Norway | 5 | 42 |
| Thomas Work | AB | 41 | Kirkwall, Orkney | 5 | 44 |
| Robert Ferrier | AB | 29 | Perth | 5 | 45 |
| Josephus Geater | AB | 32 | London, Middx. | 5 | 46 |
| George Williams | AB | 35 | Holyhead, Angelsea | 5 | 47 |
| Thomas Tadman | AB | 28 | Brompton, Kent | 5 | 48 |
| Abraham Seeley | AB | 34 | Gravesend, Kent | 5 | 49 |
| Francis Pocock | AB | 24 | Upnor, Kent | 5 | 50 |
| Robert Johns | AB | 24 | Penryn, Cornwall | 5 | 51 |
| William Mark | AB | 24 | Holyhead, Angelsea | 5 | 52 |
| |||||
| Daniel Bryant | Sergeant | 31.5 | Shepton Montague, Somerset | 7 | 1 |
| Alexander Paterson* | Corporal | 30 | Inverness | 9 | 1 |
| Robert Hopcraft | Private | 38.8 | Nottingham, Notts. | 8 | 1 |
| William Pilkington | Private | 28.4 | Kilrush, Clare | 9 | 2 |
| William Braine | Private | 31.3 | Oakhill, Somerset | 9 | 3 |
| Joseph Healey | Private | 29.10 | Manchester, Lancs. | 9 | 4 |
| William Reed | Private | 28.8 | Bristol, Somerset | 9 | 5 |
| |||||
| George Chambers | Boy, 1st Class | 18 | Woolwich, Kent | 6 | 1 |
| David Young | Boy, 1st Class | 18 | Sheerness, Kent | 6 | 2 |
| |||||
OFFICERS | |||||
| Name | Qualities | Age | Birthplace | List | No. |
| F.R.M. Crozier | Captain | 1 | 1 | ||
| Edward Little | Lieutenant | 1 | 2 | ||
| George H. Hodgson | Lieutenant | 1 | 3 | ||
| John Irving | Lieut | 1 | 5 | ||
| Frederick Hornby | Mate | 1 | 3 | ||
| Robert Thomas | Mate | 1 | 4 | ||
| Thomas Blanky | Master (Acting) | 1 | 7 | ||
| John S. Peddie | Surgeon (Acting) | 2 | 1 | ||
| Alexander Mc. Donald | Assistant Surgeon | 2 | 2 | ||
| G.A. MacBean | Second Master | 1 | 6 | ||
| E. J. H. Helpman | Clerk in Charge | 3 | 1 | ||
| Thomas Honey | Carpenter, 3rd Class | 4 | 1 | ||
| John Lane | Boatswain, 3rd Class | 4 | 2 | ||
| James Thompson | Engineer, 1st Class (Acting) | 4 | 3 | ||
| |||||
| John Diggle | Ship's Cook | 36 | Westminster, London | 5 | 2 |
| Henry Peglar | Captain of the Foretop | 37 | London, Middx. | 5 | 3 |
| William Gibson | Subordinate Officers' Steward | 22 | London, Middx. | 5 | 12 |
| Cornelius Hickey | Caulker's Mate | 24 | Limerick | 5 | 13 |
| William Goddard | Captain of the Hold | 29 | Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk | 5 | 15 |
| Reuben Male | Captain of the Forecastle | 27 | Woolwich, Kent | 5 | 17 |
| Alexander Wilson | Carpenter's Mate | 27 | Holy Island, N. Durham | 5 | 18 |
| John Wilson | Captain's Coxwain | 33 | Portsea, Hants | 5 | 20 |
| Thomas Darlington | Caulker | 29 | Plymouth, Devon | 5 | 21 |
| William Johnson | Stoker | 45 | Kiston-Lindsey, Lincolns. | 5 | 22 |
| Thomas R. Farr | Captain of the Maintop | 32 | Deptford, Kent | 5 | 23 |
| Luke Smith | Stoker | 27 | London, Middx. | 5 | 37 |
| David Mc. Donald | Quartermaster | 46 | Peterhead, Scotland | 5 | 40 |
| John Kenley | Quartermaster | 44 | St. Monance, Fifeshire | 5 | 53 |
| William Rhodes | Quartermaster | 31 | Redingstreet, Kent | 5 | 56 |
| Thomas Johnson | Boatswain's Mate | 28 | Wisbeach, Cambridge | 5 | 46 |
| Thomas Armitage | Gunroom Steward | 40 | Chatham, Kent | 5 | 49 |
| Samuel Honey | Blacksmith | 22 | Plymouth, Devon | 5 | 50 |
| Thomas Jopson | Captain's Steward | 27 | Marylebone, Middx. | 5 | 52 |
| Edward Genge | Paymaster's Steward | 21 | Gosport, Hants. | 5 | 55 |
| John Torrington | Leading Stoker | 19 | Manchester | 5 | 58 |
| |||||
| George J. Cann | AB | 23 | Battersea, Middx. | 5 | 1 |
| William Strong | AB | 22 | Portsmouth, Hants. | 5 | 4 |
| David Sims | AB | 24 | Gedney, Lincoln. | 5 | 5 |
| John Bailey | AB | 21 | Leyton, Essex | 5 | 6 |
| William Jerry | AB | 29 | Pembroke, Wales | 5 | 8 |
| Henry Sait | AB | 23 | Bognor, Sussex | 5 | 14 |
| Alexander Berry | AB | 32 | S. Ferry, Fifeshire | 5 | 16 |
| John Handford | AB | 28 | Sunderland | 5 | 24 |
| John Bates* | AB | 24 | London, Middx. | 5 | 25 |
| Samuel Crispe | AB | 24 | Lynn, Norfolk | 5 | 36 |
| Charles Johnson | AB | 28 | Halifax, Nova Scotia | 5 | 38 |
| William Shanks | AB | 29 | Dundee, Scotland | 5 | 39 |
| David Leys | AB | 37 | Montrose, Scotland | 5 | 41 |
| William Sinclair | AB | 30 | Sallaway [Galloway], Scotland | 5 | 42 |
| George Kinnaird | AB | 23 | Hastings, Sussex | 5 | 43 |
| Ed. Lawrence | AB | 30 | London, Middx. | 5 | 47 |
| Magnus Manson | AB | 28 | Shetland, Scotland | 5 | 48 |
| James Walker | AB | 29 | S. Shields | 5 | 54 |
| William Wentzall | AB | 33 | London, Middx. | 5 | 57 |
| |||||
| Solomon Tozer | Sergeant | 34 | Axbridge, Somerset | 7 | 1 |
| William Hedges | Corporal | 30 | Bradford, Wilts | 9 | 1 |
| William Heather | Private | 35 | Battersea, Surrey | 8 | 1 |
| Henry Wilkes | Private | 28 | Leicester | 9 | 2 |
| John Hammond | Private | 32 | Bradford, Yorks. | 9 | 3 |
| James Daly | Private | 30 | Luberclue [Tubberclare], Westmeath | 9 | 4 |
| |||||
| Robert Golding | Boy | 19 | Deptford, Kent | 6 | 1 |
| Thomas Evans | Boy | 18 | Deptford, Kent | 6 | 3 |
The final two columns, "List" and "No.", refer to the individual lists within the muster books and the number of each man within them. The titles of the lists referred to above are shown in the following table.
| 1. | Commissioned Officers - Military Branch |
| 2. | Commissioned Officers - Civil Branch |
| 3. | Subordinate Officers |
| 4. | Warrant Officers |
| 5. | Ship's Company |
| 6. | Boys, 1st Class |
| 7. | Marines, Not Classed |
| 8. | Marines, 1st Class |
| 9. | Marines, 3rd Class |
Andrew Lambert notes that "In February 1914 the Board of Works corrected the spelling of des Voeux's name from des Vauex, and changed le Vesconte's middle initial from F to T in 1931, at £2 a time. Then the Board checked the Admiralty record to ensure there were no more errors."
I have to take issue with the Board of Works in two cases, Alexander Paterson of HMS Erebus, and Able Seaman John Bates of HMS Terror, who gain a "t" and lose an "s", respectively, on the plaques.
Even the legendary Richard Cyriax was not immune to error. His transcription of the muster lists spells the surname of William Clossan as "Closson" and renames Sergeant Daniel Bryant as David.
In the light of the above, I can make no claims for perfection, but hope that this is an improvement on previous compilations.
Correction: 25 July 2023. The surname of 1st Mate on Erebus, Robert O. Sergent had been erroneously listed as Sergeant. Big thanks to Logan Zachary for reporting the error.
