Commander Cortlandt James Woore (known as Jim) Simpson was born in 1911. His grandfather had previously served in the Royal Navy, and Simpson initially followed career path. In 1936 Simpson left the Navy to study electrical engineering at the University of London. In 1939 he re-joined the navy and served as an Electrical Officer during World War Two, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1945.

In 1951 Simpson, still a naval officer, led a preparatory expedition to North Greenland ahead of the British North Greenland Expedition, he established a location for the landing of the full expedition which was to follow, and a location for the expedition's main base. In 1952 he returned as the leader of the British North Greenland Expedition. The expedition consisted of members of all three branches of the British military and several academic researchers. The expedition, led by Simpson, lasted 2 years, and acted as a test bed and exemplar for British polar research capabilities. The expedition undertook research in a broad range of areas including glaciology, seismology, human physiology, polar logistics and radio communications. The expedition was largely successful, though did suffer one fatality, Captain Hans A. Jenson who died following an accident, and several near misses including small fires and breakdowns in equipment, particularly the tracked Weasel vehicles which were employed for travelling across the ice. Following the expedition the whole team was awarded the Polar Medal, and in 1956 Simpson was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), before retiring from the Navy in 1961.