Dr. Jolly

'Dr. Jolly is one of the principal antagonists in the novel Ice Station Zebra.

He was a Soviet agent who had turned traitor against the British government, selling information to the Russians. While he was serving as the chief medical officer at Drift Station Zebra, a balloon carrying top-secret film of British military installations went down near Zebra, and was recovered by its commanding officer. Jolly and his cohort, radio operator Kinnaird, sought to obtain the film for the Russians.

To this end, Jolly had Kinnaird start a fire that destroyed Zebra, killing several of its personnel, including the commander, and leaving the survivors (including Jolly and Kinnaird) stranded without any shelter. During the confusion, they stole the film from the commander's quarters. Jolly's plan was for the British or the Americans to send a rescue team, so that they could get the film out.

The US sent the advanced submarine Dolphin for exactly this purpose. When the rescue team arrived, led by American Naval officer Commander James Swanson and British agent Dr. Neil Carpenter, one of the sub's crew, Zabrinski, broke his leg. With the sub's regular physician Dr. Benson indisposed, Jolly mended the leg, but concealed the film inside Zabrinski's cast. Jolly hoped to later recover it when he removed the cast after they'd left the arctic.

However Carpenter was on to the pair, and without Jolly (or even Zabrinski) realizing it, he'd changed the American's cast, finding and removing the film. Once back aboard the Dolphin, he confronted the two traitors with their crimes, claiming he had evidence. In reality, he had nothing but his own suspicions, but, spooked and realizing that getting caught meant execution for treason, Jolly and Kinnaird both pulled guns on Carpenter and the Americans, thus proving their guilt.

American crewman Rawlings shot Kinnaird in the hand, wounding him, whilst Jolly angrily attacked Carpenter after being disarmed. However, he was knocked unconscious by Rawlings and defeated.