Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
by Alfred Lansing The astonishing saga of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's survival for
over a year on the ice-bound Antarctic seas, as Time magazine put it, "defined heroism." Alfred
Lansing's scrupulously researched and brilliantly narrated book -- with over 200,000 copies sold
-- has long been acknowledged as the definitive account of the Endurance's fateful trip. To write
their authoritative story, Lansing consulted with ten of the surviving members and gained access
to diaries and personal accounts by eight others. The resulting book has all the immediacy of a
first-hand account, expanded with maps and illustrations especially for this edition.
Ernest Shackleton
Shackleton as a young man
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE, FRGS (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an
Anglo-Irish polar explorer,[1] one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age
of Antarctic Exploration. His first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain
Robert Falcon Scott’s Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, from which he was sent home early on
health grounds. Determined to make amends for this perceived personal failure, he returned to
Antarctica in 1907 as leader of the Nimrod Expedition. In January 1909 he and three companions
made a southern march which established a record Farthest South latitude at 88° 23′ S, 97
geographical miles (114 statute miles, 190 km) from the South Pole, by far the closest
convergence in exploration history up to that time. For this achievement, Shackleton was
knighted by King Edward VII on his return home.
After the race to the South Pole ended in 1912 with Roald Amundsen's conquest, Shackleton
turned his attention to what he said was the one remaining great object of Antarctic journeying–
the crossing of the continent from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end he made preparations for
what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition
when its ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed before the shore
parties could be landed. There followed a sequence of exploits, and an ultimate escape with no
lives lost, that would eventually assure Shackleton's heroic status, although this was not
immediately evident.[2] In 1921 he went back to the Antarctic with the Shackleton-Rowett
Expedition, intending to carry out a programme of scientific and survey activities. Before the
expedition could begin this work Shackleton died of a heart attack while his ship, Quest, was
moored in South Georgia. At his wife's request he was buried there.
Away from his expeditions, Shackleton's life was generally restless and unfulfilled. In his search
for rapid pathways to wealth and security he launched many business ventures and other moneymaking schemes, none of which prospered. His financial affairs were generally muddled; he died
in heavy debt. On his death he was lauded in the press, but was thereafter largely forgotten, while
the heroic reputation of his rival Scott was sustained for many decades. At the end of the 20th
century Shackleton was "rediscovered",[3] and rapidly became a cult figure, a role model for
leadership as one who, in extreme circumstances, kept his team together in a survival story
described by polar historian Stephanie Barczewski as "incredible".[4]
Early life
Dulwich College, South London (a modern photograph).
Childhood
Ernest Shackleton was born on 15 February 1874, in Kilkea near Athy, County Kildare, Ireland,
about 30 miles (48 km) from Dublin. Ernest's father was Henry, and his mother was Henrietta
Letitia Sophia Gavan. His father's family was Anglo-Irish, originally from Yorkshire. His
mother's family was Irish, from counties Cork and Kerry.[5] Ernest was the second of their ten
children and the first of two sons; the second, Frank, would achieve notoriety as a suspect, later
exonerated, in the 1907 theft of Ireland's Crown Jewels.[6] In 1880, when Ernest was six, Henry
Shackleton gave up his life as a landowner to study medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, moving
his family into the city.[7] Four years later, the family moved again, from Ireland to Sydenham in
suburban London. Partly this was in search of better professional prospects for the newly
qualified doctor, but another factor may have been unease about their Anglo-Irish ancestry,
following the assassination by Irish nationalists of Lord Frederick Cavendish, the British Chief
Secretary for Ireland, in 1882.[7]
Education
From early childhood Shackleton was a voracious reader, which sparked a passion for
adventure.[8] He was schooled by a governess until the age of eleven, when he began at Fir
Lodge Preparatory School in West Hill, Dulwich in south east London. At the age of thirteen, he
entered Dulwich College.[7] The young Shackleton did not particularly distinguish himself as a
scholar, and was said to be "bored" by his studies.[7] He was quoted later as saying: "I never
learned much geography at school ... Literature, too, consisted in the dissection, the parsing, the
analysing of certain passages from our great poets and prose-writers ... teachers should be very
careful not to spoil [their pupils'] taste for poetry for all time by making it a task and an
imposition."[7] In his final term at the school, however, he was still able to achieve fifth place in
his class of thirty-one.[9]
Merchant Navy officer
Shackleton's restlessness at school was such that he was allowed to leave at 16 and go to sea.[10]
The options available were a Royal Naval cadetship at HMS Britannia, which Dr Shackleton
could not afford, the mercantile marine cadet ships Worcester and Conway, or an apprenticeship
"before the mast" on a sailing vessel. The third option was chosen.[10] His father was able to
secure him a berth with the North Western Shipping Company, aboard the square-rigged sailing
ship Hoghton Tower.[10] During the following four years at sea, Shackleton learned his trade,
visiting the far corners of the earth and forming acquaintances with a variety of people from
many walks of life, learning to be at home with all kinds of men.[11] In August 1894 he passed
his examination for Second Mate and accepted a post as third officer on a tramp steamer of the
Welsh Shire Line.[11] Two years later he had obtained his First Mate's ticket, and in 1898 he was
certified as a Master Mariner, which qualified him to command a British ship anywhere in the
world.[11]
In 1898 Shackleton joined the Union-Castle Line, the regular mail and passenger carrier between
Southampton and Cape Town. He was, as a shipmate recorded, "a departure from our usual type
of young officer", content with his own company though not aloof, "spouting lines from Keats
[and] Browning", a mixture of sensitivity and aggression but, withal, sympathetic.[12] Following
the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899, Shackleton transferred to the troopship Tintagel Castle
where, in March 1900, he met an army lieutenant, Cedric Longstaff, whose father Llewellyn W.
Longstaff was the main financial backer of the National Antarctic Expedition, then being
organised in London.[13] Shackleton used his acquaintance with the son to obtain an interview
with Longstaff senior, with a view to obtaining a place on the expedition. Longstaff, impressed
by Shackleton's keenness, recommended him to Sir Clements Markham, the expedition's
overlord, making it clear that he wanted Shackleton accepted.[13] On 17 February 1901 his
appointment as third officer to the expedition's ship Discovery was confirmed; shortly afterwards
he was commissioned a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve.[14] Although officially he was
given leave by Union-Castle, this was in fact the end of Shackleton's Merchant Navy service.[13]
Discovery Expedition, 1901–03
Main article: Discovery Expedition
The expedition ship Discovery in Antarctic waters.
The National Antarctic Expedition, known as the Discovery Expedition after the ship Discovery,
was the brainchild of Sir Clements Markham, president of the Royal Geographical Society, and
had been many years in preparation. It was led by Robert Falcon Scott, a Royal Navy torpedo
lieutenant lately promoted Commander,[15] and had objectives that included scientific and
geographical discovery.[16] Although Discovery was not a Royal Navy unit, Scott required the
crew, officers and scientific staff to accept voluntarily the conditions of the Naval Discipline Act,
and the ship and expedition were run on Royal Navy lines.[17] Shackleton accepted this, even
though his own background and instincts favoured a different, more informal style of
leadership.[18] Shackleton's particular duties were listed as: "In charge of seawater analysis.
Ward-room caterer. In charge of holds, stores and provisions [...] He also arranges the
entertainments."[19]
Discovery departed London on 31 July 1901, arriving at the Antarctic coast, via Cape Town and
New Zealand, on 8 January 1902. After landing, Shackleton took part in an experimental balloon
flight on 4 February.[20] He also participated, with the scientists Edward Wilson and Hartley
Ferrar, in the first sledging trip from the expedition's winter quarters in McMurdo Sound, a
journey which established a safe route on to the Great Ice Barrier.[21] During the Antarctic winter
of 1902, in the confines of the iced-in Discovery, Shackleton edited the expedition's magazine
The South Polar Times.[22] According to steward Clarence Hare, he was "the most popular of the
officers among the crew, being a good mixer",[23] though claims that this represented an
unofficial rival leadership to Scott's are unsupported.[24] Scott chose Shackleton to accompany
Wilson and himself on the expedition's southern journey, a march southwards to achieve the
highest possible latitude in the direction of the South Pole. This march was not a serious attempt
on the Pole, although the attainment of a high latitude was of great importance to Scott, and the
inclusion of Shackleton indicated a high degree of personal trust.[24][25]
Captain Scott
The party set out on 2 November 1902. The march was, Scott wrote later, "a combination of
success and failure".[26] A record Farthest South latitude of 82° 17′ was reached, beating the
previous record established in 1900 by Carsten Borchgrevink.[a][27] The journey was marred by
the poor performance of the dogs, whose food had become tainted, and who rapidly fell sick.[28]
All 22 dogs died during the march. The three men all suffered at times from snow blindness,
frostbite and, ultimately, scurvy. On the return journey Shackleton had by his own admission
"broken down" and could no longer carry out his share of the work.[29] He would later deny
Scott's claim in The Voyage of the Discovery, that he had been carried on the sledge.[30]
However, he was in a seriously weakened condition; Wilson's diary entry for 14 January reads:
"Shackleton has been anything but up to the mark, and today he is decidedly worse, very short
winded and coughing constantly, with more serious symptoms that need not be detailed here but
which are of no small consequence one hundred and sixty miles from the ship".
On 4 February 1903 the party finally reached the ship. After a medical examination (which
proved inconclusive),[31] Scott decided to send Shackleton home on the relief ship Morning,
which had arrived in McMurdo Sound in January 1903. Scott wrote: "He ought not to risk further
hardship in his present state of health."[31] There is conjecture that Scott's motives for removing
him was resentment of Shackleton's popularity, and that ill-health was used as an excuse to get
rid of him.[32] Years after the deaths of Scott, Wilson and Shackleton, Albert Armitage, the
expedition's second-in-command, claimed that there had been a falling-out on the southern
journey, and that Scott had told the ship's doctor that "if he does not go back sick he will go back
in disgrace."[31] There is no corroboration of Armitage's story. Shackleton and Scott stayed on
friendly terms, at least until the publication of Scott's account of the southern journey in The
Voyage of the Discovery.[30] Although in public they remained mutually respectful and cordial,[33]
according to biographer Roland Huntford, Shackleton's attitude to Scott turned to "smouldering
scorn and dislike"; salvage of wounded pride required "a return to the Antarctic and an attempt to
outdo Scott".[30]
Between the Discovery and Nimrod expeditions, 1903–07
Ernest Shackleton's wife, née Emily Dorman.
After a period of convalescence in New Zealand, Shackleton returned to England via San
Francisco and New York.[34] As the first significant person to return from the Antarctic he found
that he was in demand; in particular, the Admiralty wished to consult him about their further
proposals for the rescue of Discovery.[35] With Sir Clements Markham's blessing he accepted a
temporary post assisting the outfitting of the Terra Nova for the second Discovery relief
operation but turned down the offer to sail with her as chief officer. He also assisted in the
equipping of the Argentinian corvette Uruguay, which was being fitted out for the relief of the
stranded Swedish Antarctic Expedition under Nordenskiöld.[34] In search of more permanent
employment, Shackleton applied for a regular commission in the Royal Navy, via the back-door
route of the Supplementary List,[36] but despite the sponsorship of Markham and of the president
of the Royal Society he was not successful.[34] Instead, he became a journalist, working for the
Royal Magazine, but found this unsatisfactory.[37] He was then offered, and accepted, the
secretaryship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS), a post which he took up on 11
January 1904.[37]
In 1905 Shackleton became a shareholder in a speculative company that aimed to make a fortune
transporting Russian troops home from the Far East. Despite his assurances to Emily that "we are
practically sure of the contract" nothing came of this scheme.[38] He also ventured into politics,
unsuccessfully standing in the 1906 General Election as the Liberal Unionist Party's candidate
for Dundee.[b][39] Meantime he had taken a job with wealthy Clydeside industrialist William
Beardmore (later Lord Invernairn), with a roving commission which involved interviewing
prospective clients and entertaining Beardmore's business friends.[40] Shackleton by this time,
however, was making no secret of his ambition to return to Antarctica at the head of his own
expedition.
Beardmore was sufficiently impressed with Shackleton to offer financial support,[c][41] but other
donations proved hard to come by. Nevertheless, in February 1907 Shackleton presented his
plans for an Antarctic expedition to the Royal Geographic Society, the details of which, under
the name British Antarctic Expedition, were published in the Royal Society's newsletter,
Geographic Journal.[9] The aim was the conquest of both the geographical South Pole and the
South Magnetic Pole. Shackleton then worked hard to persuade others of his wealthy friends and
acquaintances to contribute, including Sir Phillip Lee Brocklehurst, who subscribed £2,000
(2011 equivalent £157,000) to secure a place on the expedition,[42][43] author Campbell
Mackellar, and Guinness baron Lord Iveagh whose contribution was secured less than two weeks
before the departure of the expedition ship Nimrod.[44]
Nimrod Expedition (1907–09)
Main article: Nimrod Expedition
Nimrod Expedition South Pole Party (left to right): Wild, Shackleton, Marshall and Adams.
On 1 January 1908, Nimrod sailed for the Antarctic from Lyttelton Harbour, New Zealand.
Shackleton's original plans had envisaged using the old Discovery base in McMurdo Sound to
launch his attempts on the South Pole and South Magnetic Pole.[43] However, before leaving
England he had been pressured to give an undertaking to Scott that he would not base himself in
the McMurdo area, which Scott was claiming as his own field of work. Shackleton reluctantly
agreed to look for winter quarters either at the Barrier Inlet (which Discovery had briefly visited
in 1902) or at King Edward VII Land.[45]
To conserve coal, the ship was towed 1,650 miles (2,655 km) by the steamer Koonya to the
Antarctic ice, after Shackleton had persuaded the New Zealand government and the Union
Steamship Company to share the cost.[46] In accordance with Shackleton's promise to Scott the
ship headed for the eastern sector of the Great Ice Barrier, arriving there on 21 January 1908.
They found that the Barrier Inlet had expanded to form a large bay, in which were hundreds of
whales, which led to the immediate christening of the area as the Bay of Whales.[47] It was noted
that ice conditions were unstable, precluding the establishment of a safe base there. An extended
search for an anchorage at King Edward VII Land proved equally fruitless, so Shackleton was
forced to break his undertaking to Scott and set sail for McMurdo Sound, a decision which,
according to second officer Arthur Harbord, was "dictated by common sense" in view of the
difficulties of ice pressure, coal shortage and the lack of any nearer known base.[47]
Nimrod arrived at McMurdo Sound on 29 January, but was stopped by ice 16 miles (26 km)
north of Discovery's old base at Hut Point.[48] After considerable weather delays, Shackleton's
base was eventually established at Cape Royds, about 24 miles (39 km) north of Hut Point. The
party was in high spirits, despite the difficult conditions; Shackleton's ability to communicate
with each man kept the party happy and focused.[49]
The "Great Southern Journey",[50] as Frank Wild called it, began on 19 October 1908. On 9
January 1909 Shackleton and three companions (Wild, Eric Marshall and Jameson Adams)
reached a new Farthest South latitude of 88° 23′ S, a point only 112 miles (180 km) from the
Pole.[d] En route the South Pole party discovered the Beardmore Glacier, (named after
Shackleton's patron),[51] and became the first persons to see and travel on the South Polar
Plateau.[52] Their return journey to McMurdo Sound was a race against starvation, on half-rations
for much of the way. At one point Shackleton gave his one biscuit allotted for the day to the
ailing Frank Wild, who wrote in his diary: "All the money that was ever minted would not have
bought that biscuit and the remembrance of that sacrifice will never leave me".[53] They arrived
at Hut Point just in time to catch the ship.
The expedition's other main accomplishments included the first ascent of Mount Erebus, and the
discovery of the approximate location of the South Magnetic Pole, reached on 16 January 1909
by Edgeworth David, Douglas Mawson, and Alistair Mackay.[54] Shackleton returned to the
United Kingdom as a hero, and soon afterwards published his expedition account, Heart of the
Antarctic. Emily Shackleton later recorded: "The only comment he made to me about not
reaching the Pole was "a live donkey is better than a dead lion, isn't it?" and I said "Yes darling,
as far as I am concerned".[55]
In 1910 Shackleton made a series of three recordings describing the expedition using an Edison
Phonograph.[56]
Several mostly intact cases of whisky and brandy left behind in 1909 were recovered in 2010, for
analysis by a distilling company. A revival of the vintage (and since lost) formula for the
particular brands found has been offered for sale with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the
New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust which discovered the lost spirits.[57][58][59]
Between expeditions 1909–14
Shackleton embarked on an extensive lecture tour in which he talked not only about his own polar
journeys but also those of Scott and Amundsen.
Public hero
On Shackleton's return home, public honours were quickly forthcoming. King Edward VII
received him on 12 July and invested him as Commander of the Royal Victorian Order;[60][61] in
the king's Birthday Honours list in November he was made a knight and thus became Sir Ernest
Shackleton.[62][63] He was honoured by the Royal Geographical Society, who awarded him a
Gold Medal–a proposal that the medal be smaller than that earlier awarded to Captain Scott was
not acted on.[64] All the members of the Nimrod Expedition shore party received silver Polar
Medals.[62] Shackleton was also appointed a Younger Brother of Trinity House, a significant
honour for British mariners.[60]
Besides the official honours, Shackleton's Antarctic feats were greeted in Britain with great
enthusiasm. Proposing a toast to the explorer at a lunch given in Shackleton's honour by the
Royal Societies Club, Lord Halsbury, a former Lord Chancellor, said: "When one remembers
what he had gone through, one does not believe in the supposed degeneration of the British race.
One does not believe that we have lost all sense of admiration for courage [and] endurance".[65]
The heroism was also claimed by Ireland: the Dublin Evening Telegraph's headline read "South
Pole Almost Reached By An Irishman",[65] while the Dublin Express spoke of the "qualities that
were his heritage as an Irishman".[65] Shackleton's fellow-explorers expressed their admiration;
Roald Amundsen wrote, in a letter to RGS Secretary John Scott Keltie that "the English nation
has by this deed of Shackleton's won a victory that can never be surpassed".[66] Fridtjof Nansen
sent an effusive private letter to Emily Shackleton, praising the "unique expedition which has
been such a complete success in every respect".[66] The reality was, however, that the expedition
had left Shackleton deeply in debt, unable to meet the financial guarantees he had given to
backers. Despite his efforts, it required government action, in the form of a grant of £20,000
(2008: £1.5 million) to clear the most pressing obligations. It is likely that many debts were not
pressed and were written off.
Biding time
In the period immediately after his return, Shackleton engaged in a strenuous schedule of public
appearances, lectures and social engagements. He then sought to cash in on his celebrity by
making a fortune in the business world.[67] Among the ventures which he hoped to promote were
a tobacco company,[68] a scheme for selling to collectors postage stamps overprinted "King
Edward VII Land" (based on Shackleton's appointment as Antarctic postmaster by the New
Zealand authorities),[69] and the development of a Hungarian mining concession he had acquired
near the city of Nagybanya, now part of Romania.[70] None of these enterprises prospered, and
his main source of income was his earnings from lecture tours. He still harboured thoughts of
returning south, even though in September 1910, having recently moved with his family to
Sheringham in Norfolk, he wrote to Emily: "I am never again going South and I have thought it
all out and my place is at home now".[67] He had been in discussions with Douglas Mawson
about a scientific expedition to the Antarctic coast between Cape Adare and Gaussberg, and had
written to the RGS about this in February 1910.[e][71]
Any future resumption by Shackleton of the quest for the South Pole depended on the results of
Scott's Terra Nova Expedition, which left from Cardiff in July 1910. By the spring of 1912 the
world was aware that the pole had been conquered, by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen. The fate
of Scott's expedition was not then known. Shackleton's mind turned to a project that had been
announced, and then abandoned, by the Scottish explorer William Speirs Bruce, for a continental
crossing, from a landing in the Weddell Sea, via the South Pole to McMurdo Sound. Bruce, who
had failed to acquire financial backing, was happy that Shackleton should adopt his plans,[72]
which were similar to those being followed by the German explorer Wilhelm Filchner. Filchner
had left Bremerhaven in May 1911; in December 1912 the news arrived from South Georgia that
his expedition had failed.[f][72] The transcontinental journey, in Shackleton's words, was the "one
great object of Antarctic journeyings" remaining, now open to him.[73]
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914–17
Main articles: Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Ross Sea Party, and List of personnel of the Imperial
Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Map of the sea routes of Endurance, the James Caird, and Aurora, the overland supply depot route of
the Ross Sea Party, and the planned overland route of the Weddell Sea Party led by Ernest Shackleton
on his trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914–15:
Voyage of Endurance
Drift of Endurance in pack ice
Sea ice drift after Endurance sinks
Voyage of the James Caird
Planned trans-Antarctic route
Voyage of Aurora to Antarctica
Retreat of Aurora
Supply depot route
Preparations
Shackleton published details of his new expedition, grandly titled the "Imperial Trans-Antarctic
Expedition", early in 1914. Two ships would be employed; Endurance would carry the main
party into the Weddell Sea, aiming for Vahsel Bay from where a team of six, led by Shackleton,
would begin the crossing of the continent. Meanwhile a second ship, the Aurora, would take a
supporting party under Captain Aeneas Mackintosh to McMurdo Sound on the opposite side of
the continent. This party would then lay supply depots across the Great Ice Barrier as far as the
Beardmore Glacier, these depots holding the food and fuel that would enable Shackleton's party
to complete their journey of 1,800 miles (2,900 km) across the continent.[73]
Shackleton used his considerable fund-raising skills, and the expedition was financed largely by
private donations, although the British government gave £10,000 (about £680,000 in 2008
terms). Scottish jute magnate Sir James Caird gave £24,000, Midlands industrialist Frank Dudley
Docker gave £10,000 and tobacco heiress Janet Stancomb-Wills gave an undisclosed but
reportedly "generous" sum.[74] Public interest in the expedition was considerable; Shackleton
received more than 5,000 applications to join it.[75] His interviewing and selection methods
sometimes seemed eccentric; believing that character and temperament were as important as
technical ability,[76] he would ask unconventional questions. Thus physicist Reginald James was
asked if he could sing;[77] others were accepted on sight because Shackleton liked the look of
them, or after the briefest of interrogations.[78] Shackleton also loosened some traditional
hierarchies, expecting all men, including the scientists, to take their share of ship's chores. He
ultimately selected a crew of 56, twenty eight on each ship.[79]
Despite the outbreak of the First World War on 3 August 1914, Endurance was directed by the
First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, to "proceed",[g] and left British waters on 8
August. Shackleton delayed his own departure until 27 September, meeting the ship in Buenos
Aires.[80]
Crew
Whilst Shackleton led the expedition' the Endurance was captained by Cpt. F. Worsley DSO. Lt.
J. Stenhouse DSC captained the "Aurora".
On the Endurance the second in command was the experienced explorer, Frank Wild. The
meteorologist was Cpt. L. Hussey (also an able banjo player). Dr. McIlroy was head of the
scientific staff, which also included Wordie. Dr. Macklin was the vet, in charge of keeping the 70
dogs healthy. Tom Crean was in more immediate charge as head dog-handler. Other crew
included James, Hussey, Greenstreet, and Clark (the biologist). Of later independent fame was
the photographer Frank Hurley.
Dog names known are Shakespeare, Samson, Hercules (the strongest), Smiler, Surly, and Sire.[81]
Loss of Endurance
Endurance departed from South Georgia for the Weddell Sea on 5 December, heading for
Vahsel Bay. As the ship moved southward, early ice was encountered, which slowed progress.
Deep in the Weddell Sea conditions gradually grew worse until, on 19 January 1915, Endurance
became frozen fast in an ice floe.[82] On 24 February, realising that she would be trapped until the
following spring, Shackleton ordered the abandonment of ship's routine and her conversion to a
winter station.[83] She drifted slowly northward with the ice through the following months. When
spring arrived in September the breaking of the ice and its later movements put extreme
pressures on the ship's hull.[84]
Shackleton after the loss of Endurance
Until this point Shackleton had hoped that the ship, when she was released from the ice, could
work her way back towards Vahsel Bay. On 24 October, however, water began pouring in. After
a few days, with the position at 69° 5′ S, 51° 30′ W, Shackleton gave the order to abandon ship,
saying, "She's going down!"; and men, provisions and equipment were transferred to camps on
the ice.[85] On 21 November 1915, the wreck finally slipped beneath the surface.[86]
For almost two months Shackleton and his party camped on a large, flat floe, hoping that it
would drift towards Paulet Island, approximately 250 miles (402 km) away, where it was known
that stores were cached.[87] After failed attempts to march across the ice to this island, Shackleton
decided to set up another more permanent camp (Patience Camp) on another floe, and trust to the
drift of the ice to take them towards a safe landing.[88] By 17 March their ice camp was within 60
miles (97 km) of Paulet Island[89] but, separated by impassable ice, they were unable to reach it.
On 9 April their ice floe broke into two, and Shackleton ordered the crew into the lifeboats, to
head for the nearest land.[90] After five harrowing days at sea the exhausted men landed their
three lifeboats at Elephant Island, 346 miles from where the Endurance sank.[81] This was the
first time they had stood on solid ground for 497 days.[91] Shackleton's concern for his men was
such that he gave his mittens to photographer Frank Hurley, who had lost his during the boat
journey. Shackleton suffered frostbitten fingers as a result.[92]
The open-boat journey
Main article: Voyage of the James Caird
Launching the James Caird from the shore of Elephant Island, 24 April 1916.
Elephant Island was an inhospitable place, far from any shipping routes. Consequently,
Shackleton decided to risk an open-boat journey to the 800 mile distant South Georgia whaling
stations, where he knew help was available.[93] The strongest of the tiny 20-foot (6.1 m) lifeboats,
christened James Caird after the expedition's chief sponsor, was chosen for the trip.[93] Ship's
carpenter Harry McNish made various improvements, including raising the sides, strengthening
the keel, building a makeshift deck of wood and canvas, and sealing the work with oil paint and
seal blood.[93] Shackleton chose five companions for the journey: Frank Worsley, "Endurance'"s
captain, who would be responsible for navigation; Tom Crean, who had "begged to go"; two
strong sailors in John Vincent and Timothy McCarthy, and finally the carpenter McNish.[93]
Shackleton had clashed with McNish during the time when the party was stranded on the ice,
but, while he would not forgive the carpenter's earlier insubordination, Shackleton recognised his
value for this particular job.[h][94][95]
Shackleton refused to pack supplies for more than four weeks, knowing that if they did not reach
South Georgia within that time, the boat and its crew would be lost.[96] The James Caird was
launched on 24 April 1916; during the next fifteen days it sailed through the waters of the
southern ocean, at the mercy of the stormy seas, in constant peril of capsizing. On 8 May, thanks
to Worsley's navigational skills, the cliffs of South Georgia came into sight but hurricane-force
winds prevented the possibility of landing. The party were forced to ride out the storm offshore,
in constant danger of being dashed against the rocks. They would later learn that the same
hurricane had sunk a 500-ton steamer bound for South Georgia from Buenos Aires.[97] On the
following day they were able, finally, to land on the unoccupied southern shore. After a period of
rest and recuperation, rather than risk putting to sea again to reach the whaling stations on the
northern coast, Shackleton decided to attempt a land crossing of the island. Although it is likely
that Norwegian whalers had previously crossed at other points on ski, no one had attempted this
particular route before.[98] Leaving McNish, Vincent and McCarthy at the landing point on South
Georgia, Shackleton travelled 32 miles (51 km)[81] with Worsley and Crean over mountainous
terrain for 36 hours to reach the whaling station at Stromness on 20 May.[99]
The next successful crossing of South Georgia was in October 1955, by the British explorer
Duncan Carse, who travelled much of the same route as Shackleton's party. In tribute to their
achievement he wrote: "I do not know how they did it, except that they had to–three men of the
heroic age of Antarctic exploration with 50 feet of rope between them–and a carpenter's
adze".[100]
Rescue
"All Safe, All Well", allegedly depicting Shackleton's return to Elephant Island, August 1916. However, a
photograph of the departure of the James Caird in April was doctored by photographer Frank Hurley to
create this image.[101]
Shackleton immediately sent a boat to pick up the three men from the other side of South
Georgia while he set to work to organise the rescue of the Elephant Island men, who had been
isolated there for four and a half months. His first three attempts were foiled by sea ice, which
blocked the approaches to the island. He appealed to the Chilean government, which offered the
use of Yelcho, a small seagoing tug from its navy. Yelcho reached Elephant Island on 30 August,
and Shackleton quickly evacuated all 22 men.[102] The Yelcho took the crew to Valparaiso in
Chile where crowds warmly welcomed them back to civilisation.
There remained the men of the Ross Sea Party, who were stranded at Cape Evans in McMurdo
Sound, after Aurora had been blown from its anchorage and driven out to sea, unable to return.
The ship, after a drift of many months, had returned to New Zealand. Shackleton travelled there
to join Aurora, and sailed with her to the rescue of the Ross Sea party. This group, despite many
hardships, had carried out its depot-laying mission to the full, but three lives had been lost,
including that of its commander, Aeneas Mackintosh.[103]
World War I
Shackleton returned to England in May 1917, while Europe was in the midst of World War I. He
suffered from a heart condition, most likely made worse by the fatigue of his arduous journeys.
He was too old to be conscripted, but nevertheless he volunteered for the army, repeatedly
requesting to be sent to the front in France.[104] He was by now drinking heavily.[105][106] In
October 1917 he was sent to Buenos Aires to boost British propaganda in South America.
Unqualified as a diplomat, he nevertheless tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade Argentina and Chile
to enter the war on the side of the Allies.[107] He returned home in April 1918.
Shackleton was then briefly involved in a mission to Spitzbergen, the purpose of which was to
establish a British presence there, in the guise of a mining operation.[108] On the way there, in
Tromsø, he was taken ill, possibly with a heart attack; in any event he was required to return
home, as he had been commissioned into the army and appointed to a military expedition to
Murmansk, in northern Russia.[108] The Armistice was signed on 11 November 1918, and four
months later, in March 1919, Shackleton returned home. He was full of plans, however, for the
economic development of Northern Russia, and began seeking capital to this end. These plans
foundered as the region fell to the Bolsheviks.[109] Shackleton returned to the lecture circuit, and
in December 1919 published South, his own account of the Endurance expedition.[110] For his
war effort in North Russia, Shackleton was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British
Empire (OBE).[111]
Final expedition and death
Main article: Shackleton–Rowett Expedition
Quest, passing through Tower Bridge, London.
In 1920, tired of the lecture circuit, Shackleton began to consider the possibility of a last
expedition. He thought seriously of going to the Beaufort Sea area of the Arctic, a largely
unexplored region, and raised some interest in this idea from the Canadian government.[112] With
funds supplied by a former schoolfriend John Quiller Rowett he acquired a 125 ton Norwegian
sealer, named Foca I which he renamed Quest.[112][113] The plan changed; the destination became
the Antarctic, and the project was defined by Shackleton as an "oceanographic and sub-antarctic
expedition".[112] The goals of the venture were imprecise, but a circumnavigation of the Antarctic
continent and investigation of some "lost" sub-Antarctic islands were mentioned as
objectives.[114] Rowett agreed to finance the entire expedition, which became known as the
Shackleton-Rowett Expedition, and which left England on 24 September 1921.[114]
Although some of his former crew members had not received all of their pay from the Endurance
expedition, many of them signed on with their former "Boss".[114] When the party arrived in Rio
de Janeiro, Shackleton suffered a suspected heart attack.[115] He refused a proper medical
examination and would not seek treatment, so Quest continued south, and on 4 January 1922
arrived at South Georgia.
Sir Ernest Shackleton's grave in Grytviken, South Georgia.
In the early hours of the next morning Shackleton summoned the expedition's physician,
Alexander Macklin,[116] to his cabin, complaining of back pains and other discomfort. According
to Macklin's own account, Macklin told him he had been overdoing things and should try to
"lead a more regular life", to which Shackleton answered: "You are always wanting me to give
up things, what is it I ought to give up?" "Chiefly alcohol, Boss," replied Macklin. A few
moments later, at 2:50 a.m. on 5 January 1922, Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack.[116]
Macklin, who conducted the autopsy, concluded that the cause of death was atheroma of the
coronary arteries exacerbated by "overstrain during a period of debility".[117] Leonard Hussey, a
veteran of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition, offered to accompany the body back to
Britain; however, while he was in Montevideo en route to England, a message was received from
Emily Shackleton asking that her husband be buried in South Georgia. Hussey returned to South
Georgia with the body on the steamer Woodville, and on 5 March 1922 Shackleton was buried in
the Grytviken cemetery, South Georgia, after a short service in the Lutheran church.[118] Macklin
wrote in his diary: "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."
On 27 November 2011, the ashes of Frank Wild were interred on the right-hand side of
Shackleton's grave site in Grytviken. The inscription on the rough-hewn granite block set to
mark the spot reads "Frank Wild 1873–1939, Shackleton's right-hand man."[119]
Legacy
Before the return of Shackleton's body to South Georgia, there was a memorial service held for
him with full military honours at Holy Trinity Church, Montevideo, and on 2 March a service
was held at St Paul's Cathedral, London, at which the King and other members of the royal
family were represented.[118] Within a year the first biography, The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton,
by Hugh Robert Mill, was published. This book, as well as being a tribute to the explorer, was a
practical effort to assist his family; Shackleton died some £40,000 in debt (2011: £1.6
million).[42][120] A further initiative was the establishment of a Shackleton Memorial Fund, which
was used to assist the education of his children and the support of his mother.[121]
The statue of Sir Ernest Shackleton, outside the London headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society.
During the ensuing decades Shackleton's status as a polar hero was generally outshone by that of
Captain Scott. Scott's polar party had by 1925 been commemorated in Britain alone by more than
30 monuments, including stained glass windows, statues, busts and memorial tablets.[122] A
statue of Shackleton designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens was unveiled at the Royal Geographical
Society's Kensington headquarters in 1932,[123] but public memorials to Shackleton were
relatively few. Likewise, the printed word saw much more attention given to Scott–a forty-page
booklet on Shackleton, published in 1943 by OUP as part of a "Great Exploits" series, is
described by cultural historian Stephanie Barczewski as "a lone example of a popular literary
treatment of Shackleton in a sea of similar treatments of Scott". This disparity continued into the
1950s.[124]
In 1959 Alfred Lansing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage was published. This was
the first of a number of books about Shackleton that began to appear, showing him in a highly
positive light. At the same time, attitudes towards Scott were gradually changing as a more
critical note was sounded in the literature, culminating in Roland Huntford's 1979 treatment of
him in his dual biography Scott and Amundsen, described by Barczewski as a "devastating
attack".[125] This negative picture of Scott became accepted as the popular truth[126] as the kind of
heroism that Scott represented fell victim to the cultural shifts of the late twentieth century.[125]
Within a few years he was thoroughly overtaken in public esteem by Shackleton, whose
popularity surged while that of his erstwhile rival declined. In 2002, in a BBC poll conducted to
determine the "100 Greatest Britons", Shackleton was ranked eleventh while Scott was down in
54th place.[127]
In 2001 Margaret Morrell and Stephanie Capparell presented Shackleton as a model for
corporate leadership in their book Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great
Antarctic Explorer. They wrote: "Shackleton resonates with executives in today's business world.
His people-centred approach to leadership can be a guide to anyone in a position of
authority".[128] Other management writers were soon following this lead, using Shackleton as an
exemplar for bringing order to chaos. The Centre for Leadership Studies at the University of
Exeter (United Kingdom) offers a course on Shackleton, who also features in the management
education programmes of several American universities.[129] In Boston USA a "Shackleton
School" was set up on "Outward Bound" principles, with the motto "The Journey is
Everything".[129] Shackleton has also been cited as a model leader by the US Navy, and in a
textbook on Congressional leadership, Peter L Steinke calls Shackleton the archetype of the
"nonanxious leader" whose "calm, reflective demeanor becomes the antibiotic warning of the
toxicity of reactive behaviour".[129] The Athy Heritage Centre-Museum, Athy, County Kildare,
Ireland established in 2001 the Ernest Shackleton Autumn School, which is held annually, to
honour the memory of Ernest Shackleton and to commemorate the era of heroic polar
exploration.
Shackleton's death marked the end of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, a period of
discovery characterised by journeys of geographical and scientific exploration in a largely
unknown continent without any of the benefits of modern travel methods or radio
communication. In the preface to his book The Worst Journey in the World, Apsley CherryGarrard, one of Scott's team on the Terra Nova Expedition, wrote: "For a joint scientific and
geographical piece of organisation, give me Scott; for a Winter Journey, Wilson; for a dash to the
Pole and nothing else, Amundsen: and if I am in the devil of a hole and want to get out of it, give
me Shackleton every time".[130]
In 2002, Channel 4 produced Shackleton, a TV serial depicting the 1914 expedition with
Kenneth Branagh in the title role. Broadcast in the United States on the A&E Network, it won
two Emmy Awards.[131] On 15 February 2011 the 137th anniversary of Shackleton's birth was
celebrated with a Google Doodle on the search company's homepage.[132] In 2011, a biscuit that
Shackleton handed to a starving fellow traveller on the 1907–09 Nimrod expedition sold at
auction in London for 1,250 pounds at Christie's.[133]
See also



Avro Shackleton, British long-range maritime patrol aircraft used by the Royal Air Force, named
after him.
Shackleton (crater), an impact crater that lies at the south pole of the Moon.
Third Man factor, refers to the reported situations where an unseen presence such as a "spirit"
provided comfort or support during traumatic experiences.
Notes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
^ Modern calculations, based on Shackleton's photograph and Wilson's drawing, place the furthest point
reached at 82° 11′. (Crane, pp. 214–5)
^ Shackleton stood as political candidate in Dundee but finished fourth of five candidates, with 3,865
votes to the victor's 9,276. (Morrell & Capparell, p. 32)
^ Beardmore's help took the form of guaranteeing a loan at Clydesdale Bank, for £7,000 (2008 equivalent
approx. £350,000), not through an outright gift. (Riffenburgh 2005, p. 106)
^ The distance from the Pole is commonly given as 97 or 98 miles, this being the distance in nautical miles.
(Shackleton, Heart of the Antarctic, p. 210)
^ This expedition took place under Mawson, without Shackleton's participation, as the Australasian
Antarctic Expedition 1911–13. (Riffenburgh 2005, p. 298)
^ Filchner was able to bring back geographical information that would be of much use to Shackleton,
including the discovery of a possible landing site at Vahsel Bay. (Huntford, p. 367)
^ Churchill sent Shackleton a one-word telegram on 3 August – Proceed. (Fisher, p. 324)
^ For an account of McNish's "mutiny", see Huntford, pp. 475–76. Despite McNish's heroics during the
James Caird voyage, Shackleton refused to recommend him for the award of a Polar Medal. (Huntford,
p. 656)
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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8.
9.
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17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
^ BBC, Shackleton.
^ Barczewski, p. 146.
^ Jones, p. 289.
^ Barczewski, p. 295.
^ Byrne, p. 852.
^ Huntford, pp. 227–28.
^ a b c d e Huntford, pp. 6–9.
^ Kimmel, pp. 4–5.
^ a b Mill, pp. 24, 72–80, 104–115, 150.
^ a b c Huntford, p. 11.
^ a b c Huntford, pp. 13–18.
^ Huntford, pp. 20–23.
^ a b c Huntford, pp. 25–30.
^ Huntford, p. 42.
^ Savours, p. 9.
^ Fisher, pp. 19–20.
^ Fiennes, p. 35.
^ Crane, pp. 171–72.
^ Fisher, p. 23.
^ Wilson, p. 111.
^ Wilson, pp. 115–118.
^ Fiennes, p. 78.
^ Huntford, p. 76.
^ a b Fiennes, p. 83.
^ Fisher, p. 58.
^ Fiennes, p. 104.
^ Crane, pp. 214–15.
^ Crane, p. 205.
^ Fiennes, pp. 101–02.
^ a b c Huntford, pp. 143–44.
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^ Huntford, p. 123.
^ a b Huntford, pp. 124–28.
^ Fisher, pp. 97–98.
^ Morrell & Capparell, p. 32.
^ Fisher, p. 99.
^ Riffenburgh 2005, p. 106.
^ a b Measuring Worth.
^ a b Riffenburgh 2005, p. 108.
^ Riffenburgh 2005, p. 130.
^ Riffenburgh 2005, pp. 110–16.
^ Riffenburgh 2005, pp. 143–44.
^ a b Riffenburgh 2005, pp. 151–53.
^ Riffenburgh 2005, pp. 157–67.
^ Riffenburgh 2005, pp. 185–86.
^ Mills, p. 72.
^ Mills, pp. 82–86.
^ Mills, p. 90.
^ Mills, p. 108.
^ Riffenburgh 2005, p. 244.
^ Huntford, p. 300.
^ My South Polar Expedition.
^ USA Today, century-old whisky.
^ AP, century-old scotch.
^ BBC News, Whisky recreated.
^ a b Fisher, p. 263.
^ London Gazette, 16 July 1909.
^ a b Fisher, p. 272.
^ London Gazette, 24 December 1909.
^ Fisher, p. 251.
^ a b c Huntford, pp. 298–99.
^ a b Fisher, pp. 242–43.
^ a b Fisher, pp. 284–85.
^ Huntford, pp. 351–52.
^ Huntford, p. 312.
^ Huntford, pp. 323–26.
^ Riffenburgh 2005, p. 298.
^ a b Huntford, p. 367.
^ a b Shackleton, South, preface, pp. xii–xv.
^ Huntford, pp. 375–77.
^ Fisher, p. 308.
^ Huntford, p. 386.
^ Fisher, p. 312.
^ Fisher, pp. 311–315.
^ Alexander, p. 16.
^ Fisher, pp. 324–25.
^ a b c Shackleton, South (film).
^ Shackleton, South, pp. 29–30.
^ Shackleton, South, p. 36.
84. ^ Shackleton, South, pp. 63–66.
85. ^ Shackleton, South, pp. 75–76.
86. ^ Shackleton, South, p. 98.
87. ^ Shackleton, South, p. 100.
88. ^ Shackleton, South, p. 106.
89. ^ Fisher, p. 366.
90. ^ Shackleton, South, pp. 121–22.
91. ^ Shackleton, South, p. 143.
92. ^ Perkins, p. 36.
93. ^ a b c d Worsley, pp. 95–99.
94. ^ Huntford, p. 475.
95. ^ Huntford, p. 656.
96. ^ Alexander, p. 137.
97. ^ Worsley, p. 162.
98. ^ Huntford, p. 574.
99. ^ Worsley, pp. 211–12.
100. ^ Fisher, p. 386.
101. ^ Alexander, pp. 202–03.
102. ^ Alexander, pp. 166–69, 182–85.
103. ^ Huntford, pp. 634–41.
104. ^ Huntford, p. 649.
105. ^ Alexander, p. 192.
106. ^ Huntford, p. 653.
107. ^ Huntford, pp. 658–59.
108. ^ a b Huntford, pp. 661–63.
109. ^ Huntford, pp. 671–72.
110. ^ Fisher, pp. 439–40.
111. ^ Mill, Appendix.
112. ^ a b c Fisher, pp. 441–46.
113. ^ Riffenburgh 2006, p. 892.
114. ^ a b c Huntford, p. 684.
115. ^ Huntford, p. 687.
116. ^ a b Fisher, pp. 476–78.
117. ^ Alexander, p. 193.
118. ^ a b Fisher, pp. 481–83.
119. ^ Telegraph, Forgotten hero.
120. ^ Huntford, p. 692.
121. ^ Fisher, p. 485.
122. ^ Jones, pp. 295–96.
123. ^ Fisher, pp. 486–87.
124. ^ Barczewski, p. 209.
125. ^ a b Barczewski, p. 282.
126. ^ Fiennes, p. 432.
127. ^ Barczewski, p. 283.
128. ^ Barczewski, p. 292.
129. ^ a b c Barczewski, pp. 294–95.
130. ^ Wheeler, pp. 187.
131. ^ Emmys.com, Shackleton.
132. ^ Hooton, Google Doodle.
133. ^ ABC, Shackleton's biscuit.
Sources
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Alexander, Caroline (1998). The Endurance: Shackleton's legendary Antarctic expedition. London:
Bloomsbury. ISBN 0-7475-4123-X.
Barczewski, Stephanie (2007). Antarctic Destinies: Scott, Shackleton and the changing face of
heroism. London: Hambledon Continuum. ISBN 978-1-84725-192-3.
Byrne, James Patrick (2008). Ireland and the Americas. ABC-CLIO.
Crane, David (2005). Scott of the Antarctic. London: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-715068-7.
Fiennes, Ranulph (2003). Captain Scott. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. ISBN 0-340-82697-5.
Fisher, Marjorie and James (1957). Shackleton. James Barrie Books Ltd.
Huntford, Roland (1985). Shackleton. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-25007-0.
Jones, Max (2003). The Last Great Quest. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280483-9.
Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody (1999). Ice story: Shackleton's lost expedition. New York, N.Y.: Clarion Books.
ISBN 9780395915240.
Mill, Hugh Robert (1923). "The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton". Internet Archive (originally William
Heinemann).
http://www.archive.org/stream/lifeofsirernests00milluoft/lifeofsirernests00milluoft_djvu.txt.
Retrieved 7 December 2008.
Mills, Leif (1999). Frank Wild. Whitby: Caedmon of Whitby. ISBN 0-905355-48-2.
Morrell, Margot; Capparell, Stephanie (2001). Shackleton's Way: Leadership lessons from the great
Antarctic explorer. New York, N.Y.: Viking. ISBN 0-670-89196-7.
Perkins, Dennis N.T. (2000). Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of
Shackleton's Antarctica Expedition. New York, N.Y.: AMACOM (a division of the American
Management Association). ISBN 0-8144-0543-6. http://books.google.com/?id=3bYIQr_ftPcC.
Preston, Diana (1997). A First Rate Tragedy: Captain Scott's Antarctic Expeditions. London:
Constable & Co. ISBN 0-09-479530-4.
Riffenburgh, Beau (2005). Nimrod: Ernest Shackleton and the Extraordinary Story of the 1907–09
British Antarctic Expedition. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 0-7475-7253-4.
Riffenburgh, Beau, ed. (October 2006). Encyclopedia of the Antarctic. 1. New York, N.Y.: Taylor &
Francis Group, L.L.C.. ISBN 978-0-415-97024-2. http://books.google.com/?id=fRJtB2MNdJMC.
Savours, Ann (2001). The Voyages of the Discovery. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-149X.
Shackleton, Ernest (1911). Heart of the Antarctic. London: William Heinemann.
Shackleton, Ernest (1982) [1919]. South: The story of Shackleton's 1914–17 expedition. London:
Century Publishing. ISBN 0-7126-0111-2.
Shackleton, Ernest (1919). "South — Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic". BFI
online (British Film Institute (BFIVO54)). http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/725774/.
Retrieved 12 October 2011.
Wheeler, Sara (2001). Cherry: A life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard. 2001: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-22405004-4.
Wilson, Edward A. (1975). Diary of the Discovery Expedition. London: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-71370431-4.
Worsley, Frank A. (1931). Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure. London: Philip Allen.
Online sources
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"Shackleton". Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. http://www.emmys.com/shows/shackleton.
Retrieved 18 December 2011.
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"Historical figures: Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922)". BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/shackleton_ernest.shtml. Retrieved 11 October
2011.
"Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1264 to Present". MeasuringWorth.
http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
"My South Polar Expedition". Australian Screen Online. The National Film and Sound Archive of
Australia. 1910. http://aso.gov.au/titles/spoken-word/my-south-polar-expedition/. Retrieved 12
October 2011.
"Explorers' century-old whisky found in Antarctic". USA Today. 5 February 2010.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-02-05-Shackleton-whisky-antarctic_N.htm. Retrieved
14 October 2011.
Katz, Gregory (18 January 2011). "Explorer's century-old scotch returns from Antarctica". Toronto
Star. Associated Press. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/923600--explorer-s-centuryold-scotch-returns-from-antarctica. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
Lusher, Adam (27 November 2011). "Forgotten hero Frank Wild of Antarctic exploration finally laid
to rest, beside his 'boss' Sir Ernest Shackleton". Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/antarctica/8917630/Forgotten-hero-of-Antarcticexploration-finally-laid-to-rest-beside-his-boss-Sir-Ernest-Shackleton.html. Retrieved 8 December
2011.
"Whisky buried by Ernest Shackleton expedition recreated". BBC News. 4 April 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-12959215. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
London Gazette: no. 28271. p. 5461. 16 July 1909. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
London Gazette: no. 28321. p. 9763. 24 December 1909. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
Hooton, Christopher (15 February 2011). "Ernest Shackleton honoured with birthday Google
Doodle". Associated Newspapers Limited. http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/855538-ernest-shackletonhonoured-with-google-doodle. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
Stansall, Ben (30 September 2011). "Shackleton's biscuit fetches tasty price". ABC News.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-30/shackletons-biscuit-sold-at-christies/3193616. Retrieved
30 September 2011.
Further reading
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Hurley, Frank (2004). South with Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition 1914–1917, the
photographs of Frank Hurley. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 0-7475-7534-7.
Lansing, Alfred (2001). Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
ISBN 978-02978-2919-5.
Mill, Hugh Robert (2006). The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton. London: William Heinemann.
Shackleton, Jonathan; MacKenna, John (2002). Shackleton: an Irishman in Antarctica. University of
Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0299186202.
Turley, Charles (1914). The Voyages of Captain Scott. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Worsley, Frank A. (1999). Shackleton's Boat Journey. London: Pimlico. ISBN 0-7126-6574-9.
"Kent Archaeological Society".
http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/MIs/MIsSydenham/01.htm#Index.
Source texts
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Sir Ernest Shackleton, 1874–1922 indigo.i.e. Site managed on behalf of Shackleton family
"The James Caird Society". www.James Caird Society.com. http://www.JamesCairdSociety.com/.
Retrieved 12 October 2011.
"Sir Ernest Shackleton". Athy Heritage Centre Museum. http://www.athyheritagecentremuseum.ie/shackleton/. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
Archival material relating to Ernest Shackleton listed at the UK National Register of Archives
History, Distilled New York Times article on the whisky recovered in 2010
Images of Shackleton from the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge
Listen to Ernest Shackleton describing his 1908 South Pole Expedition, and read more about the
recording on [australianscreen online].
The recording describing Shackleton's 1908 South Pole Expedition was added to the National Film
and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2007
Ernest Shackleton and dogs on Nimrod back from expedition to reach Antarctica, 1909 (photo by
Philip Brocklehurst)
Ernest Shackleton speaking on Antarctic attempt (archive.org – Free download)
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