British Antarctic Territory
Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration Part II
Captain Robert Falcon Scott

Issue Date: 5 December 2001










33p - Route of the Expedition
In 1896 the International Geographical Union meeting resolved to concentrate on exploration of the Antarctic. Sir Clements Markham, President of the Royal Geographical Society, proposed a British expedition. Through his unstinting efforts the Discovery Expedition departed on the 6th of August 1901, arriving off the Ross Ice shelf on the 23rd January 1902. Of all the expedition of the time, this was by far the most successful (in terms of geographical discovery and its broad spectrum of scientific endeavour and wealth of results).

The design uses a modern map of the Ross Sea Sector coastline and illustrates the extent of the expedition's work. The outward voyage of Discovery is traced in dashed blue; the major sledging journeys of exploration shown in dashed red and the major geographical discoveries are shaded in red. Ice shelves (floating glacier ice) are shown in white, grounded ice in light blue and the sea in dark blue. This expedition added more to your geographical knowledge of the map of Antarctica than any other during the Heroic Era of Antarctic Exploration, including the discovery of King Edward VII Land; the Transantarctic Mountains and the Antarctic ice cap beyond; and the Dry Valleys.

The Expedition explored the surface of the Ross Island Shelf, quickly establishing that McMurdo Bay was in fact a sound and that Ross Island was separated from mountains to the west. Its observations fixed the south magnetic pole. The Expedition undertook some 28 scientific sledging journeys together with original research into marine biology, glacisology, meteorology and terrestrial magnetism.

37p - Captain Robert F Scott RN
Rovert Falcon Scott was born in 1868 into a large Devon family, with a strong navel tradition. Con, as his parents called him, joined the Royal Navy in 1883.

During his service on HMS Majestic as torpedo office, Scott learned of proposals by Sir Clement Markham, president of the Royal Geographical Society, for a British National Antarctic Expedition. He applied to lead the Expedition and was appointed to do so on 9 June 1900. With Markham, he began selecting expedition scientific staff, and officers and men from civilian life, the Merchant Navy and the Royal Navy.

The design of this stamp is a portrait in sepia of Scott based on his photograph appearing as the frontispiece in Volume II of The Voyage of Discovery. Scott received his promotion to the rank of Captain, Rn on 10 September 1904, the day of his return from the Discovery Expedition. He is shown wearing the Commander's neck badge of the Royal; Victorian Order and his Polar Medal.

The medal (1st type) shows the head of King Edward VII. On the reverse there is a scene with six expedition members on skis, man hauling a loaded sledge, with Discovery in winter quarters beyond, and Observation Hill in the background.

43p - First Antarctic Balloon ascent
After the expedition arrived off the Ross Ice Shelf, Discovery sailed eastwards closely following the 50m high ice cliffs for several days to eastern limits of the ice shelf. Beyond this, the new land was named King Edward VII Land. Scott chartered some 280km of new coastline before closing coastal leads forced Discovery to return westwards. On the way she entered a broad embayment in the ramparts of the Ross Ice Shelf. Scott decided to use the army observation balloon for aerial reconnaissance of their immediate surroundings and try and see the southern extent of the ice shelf.

The design of the stamp shows Discovery docked to the low ice shelf with seal carcasses hanging in the ratlines. Inflated with 240cu metres of hydrogen, the tethered balloon 'Eva' is shown ascending for the first time, carrying Scott aloft on his (and the Antarctic's) first ever balloon ascent, which was the the limit of the tether, at a height of 244m. Expedition members gather round to watch the proceedings, 'Eva' was tethered by a thin wire and ballast bags were hung around the basket which was only large enough for one passenger. Hydrogen cylinders and other equipment lie on the shelf ice around the ground sheet.

Lt Ernest Shackleton made the next ascent and took photographs. Thereafter, the balloon developed a leak and was never used again. Following the ascents on 4 February 1902, the embayment became known as 'Balloon Bight'. (Now it is considered to have been the location of the Bay of Whales, site of Amundsen's base 'Framheim', and that of Admiral Byrd's 'Little America'.)

65p - Emperor Penguin Chick by Edward Adrian Wilson
One of the expedition's many discoveries was of the first rookeries of the emperor penguin chick done by the expedition's assistant medical officer and vertebrate zoologist Edward Adrian Wilson, whose name will endure in the annals of Antarctic exploration as the expedition's naturalist and artist.

Born in 1872, Wilson took a great interest in natural history, graduating in natural sciences at Cambridge University in 1891 and as a doctor of medicine in 1900.

70p - Farthest South, 30th December 1902
An objective of the Expedition during the first austral summer was to travel far to the south.

The design shows portraits of Shackleton, Scott and Wilson based on photographs taken as they set out from Hut Point on 2 November 1902. Below is a scene of their most southerly campsite in latitude 82° 16'S reached on 28 December 1902 some 520km from Hut Point. In the foreground are two grossly overloaded sledges. Scott stands near the second sledge and Wilson, characteristically arms akimbo, is near the single pyramid tent. Beyond is Shackleton Inlet with Cape Wilson in the right. In the distance are the Transantarctic Mountains with Mt Markham (4350m), clearly visable.

On 30 December, before beginning the harrowing return journey, the southern party walked a little further to attempt to reach land, but the crevassed surfaced provided impenetrable. At an estimated 82° 16'33"S, within 850km of the South Pole, they began their return journey.

80p - Discovery in Winter Quarters
Discovery was used as the expedition base throughout the expedition. She was anchored in a natural harbour off Hut Point and allowed to be trapped in the ice as the sea froze around her. Her fires were drawn and her boilers drained. As she had limited storage and workroom capacity, a large storage hut and two smaller scientific facilities were erected ashore. During the two years, the ice around her became nearly 5 metres thick.

The design shows Discovery amid snow drifts with a number of kennels for the Siberian huskies. The snow's wind-driven dynamo provided electric lighting until it became irreparably damaged during an early winter blizzard. Beyond may be seen the slopes of Observation Hill.

Life on the ship during the winter months was a well-ordered routine of work. Officers and men had their own seperate quarters. Concerts, talks, musical shows and card games helped provide recreation and stimulus. In the ship's wardroom, temperatures rose as high as 25°C whilst outside they plummeted to below -40°C. Ernest Shackleton edited a monthly journal, the South Polar Times, from an office in the hold of the ship.

Technical Details

Designer : Mike Skidmore
Printer : The House of Questa
Process: Lithography
Stamp size: 28.45 x 42.58mm
Sheet size: 50 (2 x 25)
Values: 33p, 37p, 43p, 65p, 70p, 80p
Text supplied by Mike Skidmore.



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