“early discovered that I had no-one… except Shackleton who could be trusted at the tiller, and he was fully occupied by the general supervision of the fleet. I was at the tiller the whole time we were moving.

“About 3am, Shackleton was attending to one of the semi-conscious men and asked me some question. Peering ahead through my sore and bloodshot eyes, I had just at that moment caught a glimpse of a moonlit glacier on Elephant Island, and instead of replying to the question I said as plainly as I was able with swollen and aching tongue and throat, “I can see it! I can see it!” By the time Shackleton turned the island was obscured and he afterwards told me he had a momentary dread that ‘poor old Wild’s gone off his head.’”

— Frank Wild