CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Polar Research ship should be named after killed cyclist

(11 posts)
  • Started 7 years ago by Stephan Matthiesen
  • Latest reply from jdanielp

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  1. The sister of a scientist killed by a lorry while cycling is campaigning to name a polar research ship in her honour — after pranksters hijacked the online poll in favour of “Boaty McBoatface”.

    Climate change expert Dr Katharine Giles, 35, was knocked off her bike by a tipper truck near Victoria in 2013.

    This year, the National Environment Research Council asked the public to suggest names for a £200 million ship, due to set sail for Antarctica in 2019.

    (...)

    http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/boaty-mcboatface-ship-should-be-named-after-scientist-killed-by-lorry-while-cycling-says-sister-a3217206.html

    Posted 7 years ago #
  2. You can vote for the suggestion here. Search for Katharine Giles (note: there is a second one with the name spelled wrong "Katherine") - can't work out how to get a direct link:

    https://nameourship.nerc.ac.uk/entries.html

    Posted 7 years ago #
  3. If you ignore all the joke names, Katherine Giles is on place 5 or 6 of the most popular suggestions. The other serious suggestions are mostly older male blokes with lots of decorations.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  4. I found the direct link now:

    https://nameourship.nerc.ac.uk/?id=9SduprYy

    Posted 7 years ago #
  5. neddie
    Member

    Good idea Stephan.

    Voted for Katharine.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  6. Katharine Giles is doing quite well, and if NERC is not just going by number of votes then this is the best suggestion so far.

    Leaving out all the joke suggestions, the contenders are Poppy-Mai (a two-year old toddler with terminal cancer, variation "Poppy-Mai Warrior Princess"), Henry Worsley (an adventurer), David Attenborough, Catalina of Aragon (wife of Henry VIII) and then Katharine Giles.

    Katharine Giles is the only who actually makes sense for a polar research ship. She was a modern polar researcher (a scientist, not an adventurer like Worsley). The story of Poppy-Mai is certainly very sad, but I can't really see why a ship should be named after her, and Attenborough has already some plants and animals named after him...

    Posted 7 years ago #
  7. Katharine Giles' life and death are the perfect symbol for modern research.

    Going out on fieldwork to the most remote places is perfectly safe thanks to extensive health&safety regulations, but you easily get killed on your way to the office as basic H&S principles are totally ignored on UK roads.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  8. Katharine Giles is now quite far up the list with 5990 votes (Attenborough 9732, Worsley 14535).

    I think this suggestion is going to win, not just on votes, but because it's most appropriate on many levels to commemorate a good scientist who worked safely in the Arctic and the Antarctic but didn't survive traffic in London.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  9. UtrechtCyclist
    Member

    In case anyone else clicked on the link but couldn't work out how to vote, you have to click on the heart in order to vote for a submission! Katharine Giles seems like a good idea.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  10. chdot
    Admin

  11. jdanielp
    Member

    Boring McBoringface

    Posted 7 years ago #

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