Adam Ayles was an Arctic explorer who served under George Nares

George Nares

Vice-Admiral Sir George Strong Nares KCB FRS was a British naval officer and Arctic explorer. He commanded both the Challenger Expedition and the British Arctic Expedition, and was highly thought of a leader and a scientific explorer...

 as the Petty Officer of HMS Alert

HMS Alert (1856)

HMS Alert was a 17-gun wooden screw sloop of the Cruizer class of the Royal Navy, launched in 1856 and broken up in 1894. She was the eleventh ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name , and was noted for her Arctic exploration work; in 1876 she reached a record latitude of 82°N.-Construction:The...

 in the British Arctic Expedition

British Arctic Expedition

The British Arctic Expedition of 1875-1876, led by Sir George Strong Nares, was sent by the British Admiralty to attempt to reach the North Pole via Smith Sound. Two ships, HMS Alert and HMS Discovery , sailed from Portsmouth on 29 May 1875...

.

The Ayles Ice Shelf

Ayles Ice Shelf

The Ayles Ice Shelf was one of six major ice shelves in Canada, all located on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. The ice shelf broke off from the coast on August 13, 2005, forming a giant ice island thick and measuring around by in size . The oldest ice in the ice shelf is...

 and Mount Ayles

Mount Ayles

Mount Ayles is a mountain located on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. It forms part of the border of the Quttinirpaaq National Park. Like the nearby Ayles Ice Shelf, the mountain was named by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1965 for Petty Officer Adam Ayles of HMS Alert, who was serving in the...

 were both named after him.

Ayles was born of an unmarried mother at Marnhull, Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

. He left school at age twelve and worked on a farm for a few years. He joined the British navy in 1867 and served in fighting in Ethiopia that year.