September 2, 2019
Macklin’s birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MACKLIN!
Colonel Alexander Hepburne Macklin, OBE, MC, TD, Scottish physician and RAMC officer, was born 1 September, 1889, in India. Macklin was surgeon on Shackleton’s Imperial Transcontinental…
August 28, 2019
Robert Forde (revised)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FORDE!
On 29 August, 1875, Robert Forde, naval officer and Antarctic explorer, was born in Moviddy, near Bandon, Co. Cork. Forde was part of Captain Robert F. Scott’s Terra Nova expedition.
Robert…
August 18, 2019
The Sound of Silence: Hurley in Antarctica
Stephen Martin, historian and explorer of Antarctica, has written:
‘The silences are a leitmotif, a characteristic of the environment that is a reminder of people’s unease and unfamiliarity in Antarctica.…
August 5, 2019
Vitus Jonassen Bering
ON THIS DATE IN 1681: BAPTISM OF BERING
Vitus Jonassen Bering, Danish cartographer, naval officer with the Russian Imperial Navy, and explorer, was baptised 5 August, 1681, having been born in Horsens, Denmark. The
…June 10, 2019
THE ‘INSTITUTIO DE PESCA NO. 1’ RESUCE ATTEMPT
JUNE, 1916: THE UNCERTAIN BEGINNING OF THE INSTITUTIO DE PESCA NO. 1 RESUCE ATTEMPT
Following the failure of Southern Sky to reach Elephant Island, Shackleton turned to the governments of South America for assistance…
June 3, 2019
Shackleton in Port Stanley
Place: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, early-June, 1916
Following the unsuccessful attempt to return to Elephant Island aboard Southern Sky, Shackleton arrived at Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, on 31 May, 1916.…
April 16, 2019
Death of Rickinson, 1945
ON THIS DATE IN 1945: DEATH OF RICKINSON
Lewis Raphael Rickinson died in a Naval Nursing Home, 16 April, 1945, following lung cancer illness.
Born in Lewisham, south-east London, Lewis was born into a family with strong…
January 1, 2019
New Year’s Day on Polar Expeditions
1900: BORCHGREVINK & CO. AT CAPE ADARE
1902: WITH ‘DISCOVERY’ NEARING THE ANTARCTIC CIRCLE
1903: WITH SCOTT ON THE POLAR TREK
1908: ‘NIMROD’ LEFT LYTTELTON, NZ
1909: IN THE ICE WITH THE ‘POURQUI PAS’…
December 21, 2018
21 December, 1901: DISCOVERY LEFT LYTTELTON, NEW ZEALAND
Below you will find a link to my written piece concerning the departure of Captain Scott’s ship, Discovery, from the harbour at Lyttelton, Nez Zealand in December, 1901. Just click the title below to be taken…
November 4, 2018
Shackleton & the Girls’ Training Hostel, Christchurch, NZ
Following Shackleton’s British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-1909, the Nimrod arrived at Lyttelton, New Zealand, on 25 March, 1909, having left that port on 1 January, 1908. On 7 April, 1909, Shackleton gave…