**John Bridgens**, a Subordinate Officer’s Steward aboard HMS Erebus. His identification was connected to a living descendant with a notable media profile: Rich Preston, identified as a journalist with the BBC, was identified as a matching descendant and provided the DNA comparison sample. The public announcement of his connection to Bridgens attracted separate coverage.
**Harry Peglar**, Captain of the Foretop aboard HMS Terror. His identification was geographically distinct from the others: his remains were found not at Erebus Bay but approximately 130 kilometers away. This distance is significant, because it places Peglar as one of the survivors who traveled further south than the Erebus Bay group before dying. The identification also resolved a historical puzzle that had existed since 1859.
When Francis McClintock’s search party found a body near the southern coast of King William Island in 1859, it found near the body a collection of personal papers — now known as the “Peglar Papers” after the name written on some of the documents — but clothing inconsistent with the rank those papers suggested. The discrepancy between the papers and the clothing had been a source of historical discussion for more than 150 years. The 2026 DNA identification confirmed that the body was indeed Harry Peglar’s, resolving the question of the body’s identity while leaving open the question of the clothing discrepancy.
Peglar’s identification also makes him the only sailor from HMS Terror confirmed by DNA identification, and the only identified expedition member whose remains were found away from the Erebus Bay cluster. The other five — Gregory, Fitzjames, Orren, Young, and Bridgens — all died at or near Erebus Bay on King William Island.