Symington’s Pea Soup

symington_pea_advert
Posted in Images | Comments Off on Symington’s Pea Soup

The Discovery crew

shack_discovery

Hired on as Third Officer, Shackleton appears here second from left.

Posted in Images | Comments Off on The Discovery crew

The Discovery

discovery_frmwiki

– from wiki

Posted in Images | Comments Off on The Discovery

Furthest Point South

Ernest Shackleton speaking into an Edison Phonograph in 1910 about the results of his Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, 1907-09, and his Furthest Point South.

Public domain file, sourced from archive.org.

Posted in Audio, Shackleton | 1 Comment

THE NEW EXPEDITION.

THE NEW EXPEDITION. | TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,
— It has been an open secret for some time past that I have been desirous of leading another expedition to the South Polar regions. — I am glad now to be able to state that, through the generosity of a friend, I can announce that an expedition will start next year with the object of crossing the South Polar continent from sea to sea. — I have taken the liberty of calling the expedition “The Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition,” because I feel that not only the people of these islands, but our kinsmen in all the lands under the Union Jack will be willing to assist towards the carrying out of the full programme of exploration to which my comrades and myself are pledged.

— Yours faithfully, 
ERNEST H. SHACKLETON. 
4, New Burlington-street, Regent-street, W., Dec. 27.

Posted in Shackleton | Comments Off on THE NEW EXPEDITION.

An open secret

shack_england

“It has been an open secret for some time past that I have been desirous of leading another expedition to the South Polar regions.”

— Ernest Shackleton, 1913

Posted in Images, Shackleton | Comments Off on An open secret

Goodbye

goodbye

“I always feel as long as I am doing the work and getting through the fight that all is well.”

— letter to Emily Shackleton

***

[Upon Shackleton’s return to England and the Great War, reception was markedly… subdued. Even, and perhaps especially after, the war’s end, his speaking engagements were sparsely attended. Survival was not a popular theme after the devastation of WWI; death took narrative precedence for decades. The story of the Endurance held interest for only a relative few until the very end of the 20th century, when audiences began to return in droves, hungry for more books, films, websites… even reenactments (including, of course, @EShackleton).

Were he alive today, the Boss would be pleased, no doubt. Speaking engagements would not be difficult to find, nor, one suspects, would money. But even more than enjoying his fame, he would be itching to dart away from civilization, back to the inhospitable and the unknown, to venture onward. To boldly go where no man has gone before.]

***

A crossing of South Georgia Island was not attempted again until 1954, when the South Georgia Survey was completed.

The first crossing of Antarctica occurred in 1957-58:
The 1955–58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole. It was [also] the first expedition to reach the South Pole overland for 46 years, preceded only by Amundsen’s and Scott’s respective parties in 1911 and 1912. […] The second crossing of the continent did not happen until 1981.
— wikipedia

***

Books, films, websites:
There’s no shortage of Shackleton! See the Resources tab on this website for what I recommend.

Posted in Images, Other Voices, Shackleton | Comments Off on Goodbye

Shackleton’s grave, Grytviken, South Georgia

“In the darkening twilight I saw a lone star hover
Gem-like above the bay.”
— Ernest Shackleton, last words in diary

Grave of Ernest Shackleton

“I think this is as “the Boss” would have had it himself, standing lonely in an island far from civilisation, surrounded by stormy tempestuous seas, & in the vicinity of one of his greatest exploits.”

— Alexander Macklin

Posted in Images, Other Voices, Shackleton | Comments Off on Shackleton’s grave, Grytviken, South Georgia

A wonderful evening

“At last we came to anchor in Grytviken. How familiar the coast seemed as we passed down: we saw with full interest the places we struggled over after the boat journey… The old familiar smell of dead whale permeates everything. It is a strange and curious place… A wonderful evening.”

— Ernest Shackleton, 4 January 1922

Posted in Shackleton | Comments Off on A wonderful evening

All aboard the Quest

Shackleton and Worsley aboard the Quest, 1921

Shackleton and Worsley aboard the Quest, 1921

The Shackleton-Rowett Expedition, 1921-22.

Crew of the Quest.

Crew of the Quest.

Posted in Images | Comments Off on All aboard the Quest