Noice, Harold

Harold Herbert Noice, 1895-1984, joined the Canadian Arctic Expedition as a member of the "Polar Bear" crew. He was a young sailor on the schooner when she left Seattle in March 1915. He traveled with Stefansson's exploration party during the discovery of new lands in 1916 and 1917. Noice left the expedition in 1917, purchased a sextant from Gonzales, and set off on his own adventures. Noice managed to continue with his dream of studying and living with the Copper Inuit, and over the next four years acquired a collection of Copper Inuit and archaeological materials, which he eventually sold to an American museum. In 1924, he published his account of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, "With Stefansson in the Arctic." Not content with life in the south, he became involved in Stefansson's tragic Wrangel Island operation, suffered a mental breakdown, and on recovery, turned his attention to South America. He became a motion picture photographer, created radio adventure stories, and made a number of films on foreign lands.