[1] He worked at the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (MBA) in Plymouth and was member of the 1910–1913 British Antarctic Expedition.

He took part in a sledging journey to One Ton Depot, carrying food supplies for the returning polar party.

[3] On his return from the Antarctic, Nelson worked as Senior Naturalist at the laboratory in Plymouth, taking leave to fight with the British 63rd (Royal Naval) Division in the Gallipoli campaign, then later in the trenches of France.

In 1920 the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food approached the MBA to propose that the Association undertake the manufacture of a large number of "Drift Bottles", to be used in tracking the movement of the waters of the North Sea.

By this time, Nelson was the Scientific Superintendent of the Fisheries Board for Scotland, and wrote a paper on the manufacture of the drift bottles for the Association's Journal.