During the search for the lost Franklin Expedition, no spectacle stirred the British public so much as Arctic exploration.

Newspaper artists embellished the adventures of these "supermen" - the "gladiators" of the Victorian era. They represented British might - conquering the brute force of the Arctic. Their sledges were given names like ships, and canvas sails billowed dramatically from tent poles. Folklore grew up around them.

The reality was somewhat different. Desperate to make their way through the ice, commanders used unusual and equally desperate methods to free their ships.

Ice obstacles were sometimes "blown up" using gunpowder inserted into empty wine bottles or food cans. "Canals" were sometimes sawn through the ice, and the ships were hauled through by straw-hatted, pigtailed, press-gang recruited, pathetically ill-equipped crews pulling ropes like barge horses.

GAME: Search for Franklin