Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition

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Activities in Antarctica During the 20th Century
International agreements
Antarctic Treaty System
British Commonwealth activities
Scott's 1st expedition (1901-04)
Shackleton's 1st expedition (1907-09)
Scott's 2nd expedition (1910-13)
Shackleton's 2nd expedition (1914-17)
Shackleton's 3rd expedition (1921-22)
Mawson's expedition (1929-31)
The Graham Land Expedition (1934-37)
Operation Tabarin (1943-45)
Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Fuchs-Hillary) (1955-58)
French activities
Charcot's 1st expedition (1903-05)
Charcot's 2nd expedition (1908-10)
German activities
Drygalski's expedition (1901-03)
Filchner's expedition (1911-12)
The New Swabia Expedition (1938-39)
Norwegian activities
Amundsen's expedition (1910-12)
U.S. activities
Operation Highjump (1946-47)
Operation Windmill (1947-48)
Ronne's expedition (1947-48)
Operation Deep Freeze (1955-56)

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was a major exploration undertaking led by Sir Ernest Shackleton that consisted in attempting to make the first crossing of the Antarctic continent from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. It initially began with the following advertisement enlisting crew members:

MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON[1]

The expedition had its headquarters at 4 New Burlington Street in London, England. It set out from the East India Docks on August 1, 1914 with the goal of crossing the Antarctic from a location near Vahsel Bay on the south side of the Weddell Sea, reach the South Pole and then continue to Ross Island on the opposite side of the continent. By an odd quirk of fate, this was the same day that Britain declared war on Germany, and Shackleton spent a long time weighing whether it was still appropriate to go.

Endurance trapped in pack ice during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition

After extensive consultations with the expedition members Shackleton sent a telegrammed note to the Admiralty placing the expedition at the disposal of the government. The single word reply came back 'proceed'. A later response came directly from Winston Churchill (then First Lord of the Admiralty). The ship departed Plymouth on August 9, 1914, sailing for Buenos Aires.

The expedition's goal had to be abandoned when the ship, Endurance, was beset by sea ice short of its goal of Vahsel Bay. It was later crushed by the pack ice. The ship's crew and the expedition personnel endured an epic journey by sledge towing three open boats (which they named the Dudley Docker and the Stancomb Wills and the James Caird) across the Weddell Sea pack and then in the three boats to Elephant Island. Upon arrival at Elephant Island off the Antarctic Peninsula, they gave the James Caird a cover, using wood and nails from broken-up supplies packing cases and sledge runners and tent or sail canvas, and Shackleton with five others set sail for South Georgia to seek help. This remarkable journey in a 6.7 meter boat through the Drake Passage to South Georgia in the late Antarctic autumn (April and May) is perhaps without rival. They landed on the southern coast of South Georgia, and moved a short way along its south coast to King Haakon Bay. There three of them took screws from their boat to put in their boots to get traction climbing up ice slopes, and crossed the spine of the island to Husvik in an equally remarkable 36-hour journey. The inhabitants of Husvik sent a whaler-ship to King Haakon Bay and picked up the other men who were there. The 22 men who remained on Elephant Island were rescued by the Chilean ship Yelcho commanded by Luis Pardo Villalón, after three other failed attempts on August 30, 1916 (22 months after departing from South Georgia). Everyone from Endurance survived.

Many details of Shackleton's expedition were recorded on movie camera and in photography by expedition photographer Frank Hurley. Hurley used these recordings to make the documentary film South in 1919.

1 Ross Sea Party
2 Crew
3 See also
4 Documentary films
5 Further reading
6 External links

[edit] Ross Sea Party

The Ross Sea Party was a supply mission that had been sent to the other side of the continent to lay food depots for Shackleton's group. Their ship, the "Aurora", which was before owned by Douglas Mawson, was blown offshore in a storm, stranding the company, but they set out across the Ross Ice Shelf to lay the supplies regardless. In December 1916, Shackleton embarked on a rescue mission to pick up members of this group, the Ross Sea Party. Although they suffered casualties, this party still managed to lay food depots. But three of the ten men died, and only three of their dogs remained, Oscar, Gunner and Towser. They were brought to the Wellington zoo and lived there happily.

Expedition journals were carefully kept and are preserved to this day.

[edit] Crew

Ernest Shackleton	1st in Command
Frank Wild	2nd in Command
Frank Worsley	Captain of Endurance
Frank Hurley	Photographer
Hubert Hudson	Navigating Officer
Lionel Greenstreet	1st Officer
Thomas Crean	2nd Officer
Alfred Cheetham	3rd Officer
Louis Rickinson	Chief Engineer
A.J. Kerr	Second Engineer
Dr. James McIlroy	Surgeon
Dr. Alexander Macklin	Surgeon
Robert Clark	Biologist
Leonard Hussey	Meteorologist
James Wordie	Geologist
Reginald James	Physicist
George Marston	Artist
Thomas Orde-Lees	Motor Expert
Harry "Chippy" McNish	Carpenter
Charles Green	Cook
Perce Blackborrow	Steward (stowaway)
William Stevenson	Fireman
Ernest Holness	Fireman
John Vincent	Able Seaman
Timothy McCarthy	Able Seaman
Walter How	Able Seaman
William Bakewell	Able Seaman
Thomas McLeod	Able Seaman
Mrs. Chippy	Ship's mascot (cat)