COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE

Sir Ernest Shackleton

Issue Date: February 2000






Sir Ernest Shackleton - Leader of Men

Born in 1874, Shackleton attended Dulwich College. He left school at 16 and at 27 became a junior officer on Scott's 1901 expedition. By 1908 he had organised his own expedition to the South Pole, although he had to turn back 97 miles short of the Pole. To usher in the Year 2000, British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands and South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands are each issuing stamps featuring the celebrated 1914 expedition, 'the first crossing of the last continent.'

This legendary trip, full of incident, is depicted over nine stamps (each territory issuing three values) and the stamps of Falkland Islands feature the following:

Endurance left South Georgia on December 5th 1914. Two days later she encountered the first of the pack ice near the South Sandwich Islands and continued south towards the Antarctic Continent. Shackleton intended to take the shore lead southwesterly towards the newly discovered Filchner Ice Shelf and land at Vahsel Bay at the head of the Weddell Sea. This was his starting point for the crossing of Antarctica. However, the pack ice was particularly extensive, and it took over six weeks to force a passage to the south, reaching the Coats Land on the 10th January 1915. From here on, Endurance cruised southwesterly, along new coastline until she was beset on 18th January some 352 km further on. The new land was later named the Caird Coast after a principal benefactor of the expedition.

At some stage Endurance passed what is now the neighbourhood of Halley Research Station, identifying the chaotic grounded ice of the McDonald Ice Rumples and the ice falls of the Dawson-Lambton Glacier. Currently Halley Research Station is situated some 15 km from the ice cliffs of the edge of the Brunt Ice Shelf, lying between these two ice features dicovered by Shackleton. It will be recalled that in 1984 scientists at Halley Research Station discovered the hole in the ozone layer which exists over the Antarctic continent during the summer months. The ozone layer protects everyone on the planet from the harmful effects of the sun's ultra violet rays. The depletion in the ozone layer is now being experienced in the northern hemisphere too.

Endurance, about 300 tonnes, was a 44m barquentine-rigged polar vessel renamed after Shackleton's family motto - 'By Endurance We Conquer'. She was built in Norway of pine and oak planking up to 0.75m thick and sheathed in greenheart. She was reputedly one of the strongest ships ever built for the work in the ice and was powered by a single triple-expansion steam engine giving her 8-9 knots under full steam.

On 18th January 1915 Endurance was beset as she neared Vahsel Bay in the Filchner Ice Shelf. She was trapped by a northeasterly wind which closed the ice pack around her. At this time they were experiencing very low temperatures both day and night. A survey of their position on the 20th January showed they were totally beset with heavy pack ice in every direction. By the 27th January the ships fires were drawn although further attempts were made to break out when the pack appeared to ease, but they proved to be useless.

On 24th February they ceased to observe the ships routine and Endurance became a winter station. The quarters between decks were adapted for permanent occupation and became known as 'The Ritz' and all hands settled down for a winter routine. The dogs were put in ice covered kennels on the floe adjacent the ship. Dog training and games of hockey and football on the ice were the mens' chief recreations. During the winter, ferocious blizzards raged and Endurance trembled under the pressure of the wind and constant and ominous grinding of the ice around her. As she was caught between heavy ice floes the sides of the ship were kept clear to allow Endurance to rise if the ice pressed heavily against her hull. However it was to no avail because in October when the ice began its summer break up the relentless forces buckled the ship's timbers and she began to leak badly. Endurance was doomed.

Shackelton was born of Anglo-Irish parentage, in Kilkee, County Clare, Ireland and he was the eldest of two sons and had eight sisters. The family briefly lived in Dublin before his physician father moved permanently to London where he was educated at Dulwich College. In 1890 at the age of 16 he joined the British merchant navy and gained his masters certificate in 1898. He achieved the rank of third officer with the Union Castle Line in 1899. Wishing to make a name for himself he joined Robert Falcon Scott's 1901-04 'Discovery' expedition to the McMurdo Sound area of the Ross Sea sector of Antarctica. After developing scurvy from a record-breaking southern trip with Scott and Edward Wilson he was invalided home, much against his will. It was probably as a result of this treatment that he then set about organising his own 1907-09 'Nimrod' expedition to the same area. He attempted to be the first man to reach the South Pole coming to within 180 km (100 nautical miles) but wisely retreating before supplies and bodily strength was exhausted and the season deteriorated. It was the most difficult decision he had ever made with the prize of the South Pole so tantalisingly close. His expedition also achived the first ascent of Mt Erebus, 3794m now known to be Antarctica's highest active volcano. Members of the expedition also reached the South Magnetic Pole.

With the South Pole attained by Amundsen in 1911 - whilst Scott and his companions perished on their return journey in 1912, there remained but one major feat of Antarctic exploration to be achieved - the crossing of Antarctica from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. Thus Shackleton organised the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition consisting the main and a supporting party. The Weddell Sea Party comprised the main crossing party and sailed in Endurance for the newly discovered Filchner Ice Shelf at the head of the Weddell Sea, whilst the supporting Ross Sea Party sailed in Aurora for Shackleton's old base in McMurdo Sound. Their job was to lay depots for the crossing party.

The Ross Sea supporting party has since become known as the 'Forgotten Expedition', overshadowed as it was by the loss of Endurance and the heroic efforts by Shackleton to rescue his men. The story of this part of the expedition is of a sledging journey to lay the depots involving extraordinary human effort, endurance and sacrifice under the most arduous conditions to ensure the crossing party's survival. This was undertaken despite the loss of many necessary stores after Aurora was blown out into the Ross Sea locked in an ice floe. This left them marooned in the Antarctic with barely enough equipment to complete their task. In fact both expedition ships were adrift in the ice during the winter of 1915: Aurora survived the Ross Sea pack although very battered, but Endurance was crushed.

With the loss of Endurance in the Weddell Sea Shackleton and his men were set adrift and camped on a solid ice floe. By early April 1916 they had to take to the ship's boats as their floe began to heave with the ocean swell and break up beneath them. After a week at sea they reached Cape Valentine at the eastern end of Elephant Island. It was not a safe location and two days later they reach Point Wild. Here, 22 men survived an Antarctic winter living under the shelter of two upturned boats whilst Shackleton sailed for South Georgia in the James Caird to obtain rescue for his men. The voyage to South Georgia is considered to be one of the most momentous open-boat journeys ever undertaken.

Shackleton had to organise four relief expeditions to Elephant Island: the first three were thwarted by ice conditions. At his fourth attempt, this time in the Chilean steam tug ss Yelcho, Shackleton rwached Elephant Island. It was 30th August 1916, 128 days after sailing away in search of rescue. Within an hour he had embarked the remainder of his men and sailed immediately for Punta Arenas. They were all safe and well: not a single man had been lost from the Weddell Sea party. Shackleton then made his way to New Zealand to join the Aurora during the relief of the marooned Ross Sea Party.

Shackleton was called 'Boss' by the men under his command. It was his drive and outstanding leadership throughout the expedition which ultimately brought rescue for the men who were marooned on Elephant Island.

Shackleton's Elephant Island relief attempts were:

	Vessel	Dates	Ports
1st Relief	Southern Sky	23rd - 31st May	South Georgia - Port Stanley
2nd Relief	Instituto de Pesco No 1	10th - 16th June	Port Stanley - Port Stanley
3rd Relief	Emma	12th July - 8th August	Punta Arenas - Port Stanley
4th Relief	Telcho	25th August - 3rd September	Punta Arenas - Elephant Island - Punta Arenas

Many regard the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition as the last expedition of what has become known as the 'Heroic Era' of polar exploration when husky dogs, ponies or manhauling provided the only motive power. Hereafter, expeditions were conceived with and employed more mechanical means for their primary mode of transport. It was not until the International Geophysical Year in 1957-58 that Shackleton's dream was realised. Sir Vivian Fuchs with Sir Edmund Hillary led the successful Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition making the crossing from Vahsel Bay to McMudro Sound via the South Pole in 99 days.



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