Editing Clements Markham (section)

=== Second Arctic voyage, 1875–1876 ===
[[File:HMS Discovery (1874).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|{{HMS|Discovery|1874|2}} and {{HMS|Alert|1856|2}} in the Arctic; both ships had auxiliary steam engines]]
Markham had, through his various activities, come to know many influential people, and during the early 1870s used these connections to make the case for a Royal Naval Arctic expedition. Prime minister [[Benjamin Disraeli]] consented, in the "spirit of maritime enterprise that has ever distinguished the English people".<ref>Coleman, p.&nbsp;195.</ref> When the expedition was ready to sail, Markham was invited to accompany it as far as Greenland, on {{HMS|Alert|1856|6}}, one of the expedition's three ships. Markham accepted, and left with the convoy on 29&nbsp;March 1875. He was gone for three months, remaining with ''Alert'' as far as [[Disko Island]] in Baffin Bay.

He wrote of this journey: "I never had a happier cruise&nbsp;... a nobler set of fellows never sailed together."<ref>A. Markham, pp.&nbsp;233–237.</ref> He returned to England on the support vessel {{HMS|Valorous|1851|6}},<ref>Coleman, p.&nbsp;206.</ref> although the homeward voyage was delayed after ''Valorous'' struck a reef and required substantial repairs.<ref>A. Markham, pp.&nbsp;238–239.</ref> Markham's extended absence from his India Office duties, together with his increasing involvement in a range of other interests, caused his superiors to request his resignation. Markham retired from his post in 1877, his 22&nbsp;years of service entitling him to a pension.<ref name= Baigent/>

Meanwhile, the main expedition, under the command of Captain [[George Nares]], had proceeded north with the two ships {{HMS|Discovery|1874|6}} and {{HMS|Alert|1856|6}}. On 1&nbsp;September 1875, they reached 82°&nbsp;24', the highest northern latitude reached by any ship up to that date.<ref>Coleman, p.&nbsp;209.</ref> In the following spring a sledging party led by Markham's cousin, Commander [[Albert Hastings Markham]], achieved a record [[Farthest North]] at 83°&nbsp;20'.<ref>Coleman, p.&nbsp;216.</ref>