The expedition returned to England in October 1876, having failed to reach the pole. The gains it had made had not been without cost; three men had died from scurvy alone. One of these deaths had occurred on a sledging party from "Alert", the remaining two on "Discovery", from which there had been no major sledging. A Committee of Inquiry investigating the expedition determined a lack of fresh lime juice had triggered the outbreak. Even so, fresh meat, of which there was a plentiful supply near "Discovery", could have staved off the disease. Publicly, Nares defended his surgeons, Ninnis included: