ERNEST SHACKLETON Original, Autographed Check \"ENDURANCE\" Prof. Framed 3 COA\'s

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ERNEST SHACKLETON Original, Autographed Check \"ENDURANCE\" Prof. Framed 3 COA\'s:
$2250.00

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This is an original check signed by SIR ERNEST HENRY SHACKLETON to F. Bridgman, London, July 11, 1914 drawn on the account of \"the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition\" at Lloyds Bank Limited for 4 Pounds. The check measures 8.25\" x 4.5\" and is signed \"E.H. Shackleton\" as Commander and Frank W. White as Secretary. Teller\'s mark across mid check. Stamped \"The Shackleton Collection\" in the lower right, presumably that of the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University. The check was encased in a PSA/DNA Certification (see photo) but was removed for placement in this professionally framed presentation which is of archival quality, with acid-free materials. Three weeks after Shackleton signed this check, he set sail from Plymouth, England with his 28 man crew aboard the Endurance to Antarctica. Their goal was to be the first to cross Antarctica by land. This framed presentation features an 8\" x10\" black and white photograph of Shackleton in Antarctica with the Endurance stuck in the ice behind him, as well as an engraved metal plate that provides a brief history of his accomplishments.He was a true pioneer in resource and human management as his decisions WERE life or death decisions.
This is the ONLY FRAMED PRESENTATION AVAILABLE ON OF SHACKLETON. It is ready to mount on the wall in your office or home.
As well as PSA/DNA Authentication, there is a Certificate of Authenticity from The University Companies (\"University Archives\") as well as a COA from me, Charles K. Bird. Please see the photos of the COA\'s. You have nothing to lose. Your satisfaction is guaranteed or you will receive a full refund of the purchase price (less S&H). As long as the presentation is returned in the same condition as received. The following is more historical information on Sir Ernest H. Shackleton:
Ernest ShackletonFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaSir Ernest ShackletonShackleton c. 1909Born15 February 1874
Kilkea,County Kildare,IrelandDied5 January 1922(aged47)
South Georgia,Falkland Islands DependenciesOccupationMerchant Navy officer and Antarctic explorerSpouse(s)Emily DormanChildrenRaymond, Cecily, andEdwardParent(s)

• Henrietta Gavan
• Henry Shackleton

Awards

• Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of Antwerp(1909)
• Vega Medal(1910)
• Boston Medal, with bar(1910)

Military careerAllegianceUnited KingdomService/branchRoyal Navy
British ArmyYearsof service1901-1907, Army)Battles/warsFirst World War
Russian Civil WarAwardsOfficer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE)
Mentioned in dispatchesShackleton as a young man

Sir Ernest Henry February 1874– 5January 1922) was apolar explorerwho led three British expeditions to theAntarctic, and one of the principal figures of the period known as theHeroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.[1]Born inKilkea, Athy,County Kildare, Ireland, Shackleton and hisAnglo-Irishfamily[2]moved toSydenhamin suburban south London when he was ten. His first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on CaptainRobert Falcon Scott\'sDiscovery Expedition1901–1904, from which he was sent home early on health grounds, after he and his companions Scott andEdward Adrian Wilsonset a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S.

During thesecond expedition1907–1909 he and three companions established a new recordFarthest Southlatitude at 88°S, only 97geographical miles(112statute miles, 180km) from theSouth Pole, the largest advance to the pole in exploration history. Also, members of his team climbedMount Erebus, the most active Antarctic volcano. For these achievements, Shackleton was knighted byKing Edward VIIon his return home.

After the race to theSouth Poleended in December 1911 withRoald Amundsen\'s conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to the crossing of Antarctica from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end he made preparations for what became theImperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship,Endurance, became trapped inpack iceand was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed. The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disintegrated, then by launching the lifeboats to reachElephant Islandand ultimately the inhabited island ofSouth Georgia, a stormy ocean voyage of 720 nautical miles and Shackleton\'s most famous exploit. In 1921, he returned to theAntarcticwith theShackleton–Rowett Expedition, but died of a heart attack while his ship 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 business ventures which failed to prosper, and he died heavily in debt. Upon 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. Later in the 20th century, Shackleton was \"rediscovered\",[3]and rapidly became a role model for leadership as one who, in extreme circumstances, kept his team together in a survival story described by cultural historian Stephanie Barczewski as \"incredible\".[4]In his 1956 address to theBritish Association,Sir Raymond Priestley, one of his contemporaries, said \"Scott for scientific method, Amundsen for speed and efficiency but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton\", paraphrasing whatApsley Cherry-Garrardhad written in a preface toThe Worst Journey in the World.[5][6]

Contents[show]

Early yearsChildhoodDulwich College, south London (a modern photograph)

Ernest Shackleton was born on 15 February 1874 inKilkeanearAthy,County Kildare, Ireland, about 46 miles (74km) fromDublin. Ernest\'s father was Henry Shackleton, and his mother was Henrietta Letitia Sophia Gavan. His father\'s family wasAnglo-Irish, originally fromYorkshire, England. His mother\'s family wasIrish, from countiesCorkandKerry.[7]Ernest was the second of their ten children and the first of two sons; the second, Frank, achieved notoriety as a suspect, later exonerated, in the 1907 theft of theIrish Crown Jewels.[8]

In 1880, when Ernest was six, Henry Shackleton gave up his life as a landowner to study medicine atTrinity College, Dublin, moving his family into the city.[9]Four years later, the family moved again, from Ireland toSydenhamin 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 theassassinationby Irish nationalists ofLord Frederick Cavendish, the British Secretary for Ireland, in 1882.[9]

Education

From early childhood, Shackleton was a voracious reader, a pursuit which sparked a passion for adventure.[10]He was schooled by a governess until the age of eleven, when he began at Fir Lodge Preparatory School in West Hill,Dulwich, in southeast London. At the age of thirteen, he enteredDulwich College.[9]The young Shackleton did not particularly distinguish himself as a scholar, and was said to be \"bored\" by his studies.[9]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.\"[9]In his final term at the school he was still able to achieve fifth place in his class of thirty-one.[11]

Merchant Navy officerShackleton in 1901, aged 27

Shackleton\'s restlessness at school was such that he was allowed to leave at 16 and go to sea.[12]The options available were aRoyal Navalcadetship atHMSBritannia, which Dr Shackleton could not afford; the mercantile marine cadet shipsWorcesterandConway; or an apprenticeship \"before the mast\" on a sailing vessel. The third option was chosen.[12]His father was able to secure him a berth with the North Western Shipping Company, aboard thesquare-riggedsailing shipHoghton Tower.[12]

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.[13]In August 1894, he passed his examination forSecond Mateand accepted a post asthird officeron atramp steamerof the Welsh Shire Line.[13]Two years later, he had obtained hisFirst Mate\'s ticket, and in 1898, he was certified as aMaster Mariner, qualifying him to command a British ship anywhere in the world.[13]

In 1898, Shackleton joinedUnion-Castle Line, the regular mail and passenger carrier betweenSouthamptonandCape 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.[14]Following the outbreak of theBoer Warin 1899, Shackleton transferred to the troopshipTintagel Castlewhere, in March 1900, he met an army lieutenant, Cedric Longstaff, whose fatherLlewellyn W. Longstaffwas the main financial backer of theNational Antarctic Expeditionthen being organised in London.[15]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 toSir Clements Markham, the expedition\'s overlord, making it clear that he wanted Shackleton accepted.[15]On 17 February 1901, his appointment as third officer to the expedition\'s shipDiscoverywas confirmed; on 4 June he was commissioned into the Royal Navy, with the rank ofsub-lieutenantin theReserves.[16][17]Although officially on leave from Union-Castle, this was in fact the end of Shackleton\'s Merchant Navy service.[15]

DiscoveryExpedition, 1901–03Main article:Discovery ExpeditionThe expedition shipDiscoveryinAntarcticwaters

The National Antarctic Expedition, known as the Discovery Expedition after the shipDiscovery, was the brainchild of Sir Clements Markham, president of theRoyal Geographical Society, and had been many years in preparation. It was led byRobert Falcon Scott, a Royal Navy torpedo lieutenant lately promoted Commander,[18]and had objectives that included scientific and geographical discovery.[19]

AlthoughDiscoverywas not a Royal Navy unit, Scott required the crew, officers and scientific staff to submit to the conditions of the Naval Discipline Act, and the ship and expedition were run on Royal Navy lines.[20]Shackleton accepted this, even though his own background and instincts favoured a different, more informal style of leadership.[21]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.\"[22]

Discoverydeparted London on 31 July 1901, arriving at the Antarctic coast, viaCape TownandNew Zealand, on 8 January 1902. After landing, Shackleton took part in an experimental balloon flight on 4 February.[23]He also participated, with the scientistsEdward WilsonandHartley Ferrar, in the first sledging trip from the expedition\'s winter quarters inMcMurdo Sound, a journey which established a safe route on to theGreat Ice Barrier.[24]During the Antarctic winter of 1902, in the confines of the iced-inDiscovery, Shackleton edited the expedition\'s magazineThe South Polar Times.[25]

According to stewardClarence Hare, he was \"the most popular of the officers among the crew, being a good mixer\",[26]though claims that this represented an unofficial rival leadership to Scott\'s are unsupported.[27]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.[27][28]

Captain Scott

The party set out on 2 November 1902. The march was, Scott wrote later, \"a combination of success and failure\".[29]A recordFarthest Southlatitude of 82°17\' was reached, beating the previous record established in 1900 byCarsten Borchgrevink.[a][30]The journey was marred by the poor performance of the dogs, whose food had become tainted, and who rapidly fell sick.[31]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.[32]

He later denied Scott\'s claim inThe Voyage of the Discovery, that he had been carried on thesledge.[33]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),[34]Scott decided to send Shackleton home on the relief shipMorning, which had arrived in McMurdo Sound in January 1903. Scott wrote: \"He ought not to risk further hardship in his present state of health.\"[34]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.[35]

Years after the death 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.\"[34]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 inThe Voyage of the Discovery.[33]Although in public they remained mutually respectful and cordial,[36]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\".[33]

Between theDiscoveryandNimrodexpeditions, 1903–07Ernest Shackleton\'s wife, Emily (née Dorman)

After a period of convalescence in New Zealand, Shackleton returned to England via San Francisco and New York.[37]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 its further proposals for the rescue ofDiscovery.[38]With Sir Clements Markham\'s blessing, he accepted a temporary post assisting the outfitting of theTerra Novafor the secondDiscoveryrelief operation, but turned down the offer to sail with her as chief officer. He also assisted in the equipping of theArgentinean corvetteUruguay, which was being fitted out for the relief of the strandedSwedish Antarctic ExpeditionunderNordenskiöld.[37]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,[39]but despite the sponsorship of Markham and of the president of theRoyal Society, he was not successful.[37]Instead, he became a journalist, working for theRoyal Magazine, but he found this unsatisfactory.[40]He was then offered, and accepted, the secretaryship of theRoyal Scottish Geographical Society(RSGS), a post which he took up on 11 January 1904.[40]On 9 April 1904 he married Emily Dorman, with whom he had three children: Raymond, Cecily, and Edward.

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.[41]He also ventured into politics, unsuccessfully standing in the1906 General Electionas theLiberal Unionist Party\'s candidate forDundeein opposition to Irish Home Rule.[b][42]In the meantime he had taken a job with wealthy Clydeside industrialistWilliam Beardmore(later Lord Invernairn), with aroving commissionwhich involved interviewing prospective clients and entertaining Beardmore\'s business friends.[43]Shackleton by this time 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][44]but other donations proved hard to come by. Nevertheless, in February 1907, Shackleton presented to the Royal Geographical Society his plans for an Antarctic expedition, the details of which, under the nameBritish Antarctic Expedition, were published in the Royal Society\'s newsletter,Geographic Journal.[11]The aim was the conquest of both the geographical South Pole and theSouth Magnetic Pole. Shackleton then worked hard to persuade others of his wealthy friends and acquaintances to contribute, including SirPhilip Lee Brocklehurst, who subscribed £2,000 (2011 equivalent £157,000) to secure a place on the expedition;[45][46]author Campbell Mackellar; andGuinnessbaronLord Iveagh, whose contribution was secured less than two weeks before the departure of the expedition shipNimrod.[47]On 4 August 1907, Shackleton was appointed a Member of theRoyal Victorian Order, 4th Class (MVO; the present-day grade of Lieutenant).[48]

NimrodExpedition (1907–09)Main article:Nimrod ExpeditionNimrod ExpeditionSouth Pole Party (left to right):Wild, Shackleton,MarshallandAdams

On 1 January 1908,Nimrodsailed for the Antarctic fromLyttelton Harbour, New Zealand. Shackleton\'s original plans had envisaged using the oldDiscoverybase in McMurdo Sound to launch his attempts on the South Pole and South Magnetic Pole.[46]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 at either theBarrier Inlet(whichDiscoveryhad briefly visited in 1902) orKing Edward VII Land.[49]

To conserve coal, the ship was towed 1,650 miles (2,655km) by the steamerKoonyato the Antarctic ice, after Shackleton had persuaded the New Zealand government and the Union Steamship Company to share the cost.[50]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 th of Whales.[51]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.[51]

Nimrodarrived at McMurdo Sound on 29 January, but was stopped by ice 16 miles (26km) north ofDiscovery\'s old base atHut Point.[52]After considerable weather delays, Shackleton\'s base was eventually established atCape Royds, about 24 miles (39km) 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.[53]

The \"Great Southern Journey\",[54]asFrank Wildcalled it, began on 29 October 1908. On 9 January 1909, Shackleton and three companions (Wild,Eric MarshallandJameson Adams) reached a newFarthest Southlatitude of 88°23\'S, a point only 112 miles (180km) from the Pole.[d]En route the South Pole party discovered theBeardmore Glacier(named after Shackleton\'s patron)[55]and became the first persons to see and travel on the South Polar Plateau.[56]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\".[57]They arrived at Hut Point just in time to catch the ship.

The expedition\'s other main accomplishments included the first ascent ofMount Erebus, and the discovery of the approximate location of the South Magnetic Pole, reached on 16 January 1909 byEdgeworth David,Douglas Mawson, andAlistair Mackay.[58]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\'\".[59]

In 1910, Shackleton made a series of three recordings describing the expedition using an EdisonPhonograph.[60]

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 theNew Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trustwhich discovered the lost spirits.[61][62][63]

Between expeditions 1909–14Shackleton embarked on an extensive lecture tour in which he talked not only about his own polar journeys but also those of Scott andAmundsen.Public heroShackleton caricatured by KITE forVanity Fair, 1909

On Shackleton\'s return home, public honours were quickly forthcoming. King Edward VII received him on 10 July and raised him to aCommander of the Royal Victorian Order(CVO);[64][65]in the King\'s Birthday Honours list in November, he was made aknight, becoming Sir Ernest Shackleton.[66][67]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.[68]All the members of the Nimrod Expedition shore party received silverPolar Medalson 23 November, with Shackleton receiving a clasp to his earlier medal.[66][69]Shackleton was also appointed a Younger Brother ofTrinity House, a significant honour for British mariners.[64]

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 formerLord 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\".[70]The heroism was also claimed by Ireland: the DublinEvening Telegraph\'sheadline read \"South Pole Almost Reached By An Irishman\",[70]while theDublin Expressspoke of the \"qualities that were his heritage as an Irishman\".[70]Shackleton\'s fellow-explorers expressed their admiration;Roald Amundsenwrote, in a letter to RGS SecretaryJohn Scott Keltie, that \"the English nation has by this deed of Shackleton\'s won a victory that can never be surpassed\".[71]Fridtjof Nansensent an effusive private letter to Emily Shackleton, praising the \"unique expedition which has been such a complete success in every respect\".[71]The reality was 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.

offering 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.[72]Among the ventures which he hoped to promote were a Tobacco company,[73]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),[74]and the development of a Hungarian mining concession he had acquired near the city ofNagybanya, now part ofRomania.[75]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 toSheringhamin 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\".[72]He had been in discussions with Douglas Mawson about a scientific expedition to the Antarctic coast betweenCape AdareandGaussberg, and had written to the RGS about this in February 1910.[e][76]

Any future resumption by Shackleton of the quest for the South Pole depended on the results of Scott\'sTerra Nova Expedition, which left from Cardiff in July 1910. By early 1912, the world was aware that the pole had been conquered, by the NorwegianRoald 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 explorerWilliam Speirs Bruce, for a continental crossing, from a landing in theWeddell Sea, via the South Pole to McMurdo Sound. Bruce, who had failed to acquire financial backing, was happy that Shackleton should adopt his plans,[77]which were similar to those being followed by the German explorerWilhelm Filchner. Filchner had leftBremerhavenin May 1911; in December 1912, the news arrived from South Georgia that his expedition had failed.[f][77]The transcontinental journey, in Shackleton\'s words, was the \"one great object of Antarctic journeyings\" remaining, now open to him.[78]

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914–17Main articles:Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition,Ross Sea Party, andList of personnel of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic ExpeditionMap of the sea routes ofEndurance, theJames Caird, andAurora, the overland supply depot route of theRoss Sea Party, and the planned overland route of theWeddell SeaParty led by Ernest Shackleton on his trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914–15:Voyage ofEnduranceDrift ofEndurancein pack iceSea ice drift afterEndurancesinksVoyage of theJames CairdPlanned trans-Antarctic routeVoyage ofAurorato AntarcticaRetreat ofAuroraSupply depot routePreparations

Shackleton published details of his new expedition, grandly titled the \"Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition\", early in 1914. Two ships would be employed;Endurancewould 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, theAurora, would take a supporting party under CaptainAeneas Mackintoshto 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 (2,900km) across the continent.[78]

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). ScottishjutemagnateSir James Cairdgave £24,000, Midlands industrialistFrank Dudley Dockergave £10,000 and Tobacco heiressJanet Stancomb-Willsgave an undisclosed but reportedly \"generous\" sum.[79]Public interest in the expedition was considerable; Shackleton received more than 5,000 applications to join it.[80]His interviewing and selection methods sometimes seemed eccentric; believing that character and temperament were as important as technical ability,[81]he asked unconventional questions. Thus physicist Reginald James was asked if he could sing;[82]others were accepted on sight because Shackleton liked the look of them, or after the briefest of interrogations.[83]Shackleton also loosened some traditional hierarchies, expecting all men, including the scientists, to take their share of ship\'s chores. He ultimately selected acrew of 56, twenty-eight on each ship.[84]

Despite the outbreak of the First World War on 3 August 1914,Endurancewas directed by theFirst 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 inBuenos Aires.[85]

Crew

While Shackleton led the expedition, Captain F. Worsley commanded theEnduranceand Lieutenant J. Stenhouse theAurora.

On the Endurance, the second in command was the experienced explorer Frank Wild. The meteorologist was Captain L. Hussey (also an able banjo player). Dr. McIlroy was head of the scientific staff, which included Wordie.Alexander Macklinwas one of two surgeons and also in charge of keeping the 70 dogs healthy.Tom Creanwas in more immediate charge as head dog-handler. Other crew included James, Hussey, Greenstreet, a carpenter Henry McNeish, and Clark (the biologist). Of later independent fame was the photographerFrank Hurley. There was a (male) cat named Mrs. Chippy that belonged to the carpenter Henry McNeish. Mrs. Chippy was shot when the Endurance sank, due to the belief it would not have survived the ordeal that followed.[86][87]

Loss ofEndurance

Endurancedeparted from South Georgia for the Weddell Sea on 5 December, heading for Vahsel Bay. As the ship moved southwardnavigating in ice,first year icewas encountered, which slowed progress. Deep in the Weddell Sea, conditions gradually grew worse until, on 19 January 1915,Endurancebecame frozen fast in anice floe.[88]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.[89]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.[90]

Shackleton after the loss ofEndurance

Until this point, Shackleton had hoped that the ship, when released from the ice, could work her way back towards Vahsel Bay. On 24 October 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.[91]On 21 November 1915, the wreck finally slipped beneath the surface.[92]

For almost two months, Shackleton and his party camped on a large, flat floe, hoping that it would drift towardsPaulet Island, approximately 250 miles (402km) away, where it was known that stores were cached.[93]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.[94]By 17 March, their ice camp was within 60 miles (97km) of Paulet Island[95]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.[96]After five harrowing days at sea, the exhausted men landed their three lifeboats atElephant Island, 346 miles (557km) from where the Endurance sank.[97]This was the first time they had stood on solid ground for 497 days.[98]Shackleton\'s concern for his men was such that he gave his mittens to photographerFrank Hurley, who had lost his during the boat journey. Shackleton suffered frostbitten fingers as a result.[99]

Open-boat journeyMain article:Voyage of the James CairdLaunching theJames Cairdfrom the shore ofElephant Island, 24 April 1916

Elephant Islandwas an inhospitable place, far from any shipping routes; rescue upon chance discovery was very unlikely. Consequently, Shackleton decided to risk an open-boat journey to the 720-nautical-mile-distantSouth Georgiawhaling stations, where he knew help was available.[100]The strongest of the tiny 20-foot (6.1m) lifeboats, christenedJames Cairdafter the expedition\'s chief sponsor, was chosen for the trip.[100]Ship\'s carpenterHarry McNishmade 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.[100]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 inJohn VincentandTimothy McCarthy, and finally the carpenter McNish.[100]Shackleton had clashed with McNish during the time when the party was stranded on the ice, but, while he did not forgive the carpenter\'s earlier insubordination, Shackleton recognised his value for this particular job.[h][101][102]

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.[103]TheJames Cairdwas 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 was forced to ride out the storm offshore, in constant danger of being dashed against the rocks. They later learned that the same hurricane had sunk a 500-ton steamer bound for South Georgia from Buenos Aires.[104]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.[105]For their journey, the survivors were only equipped with boots they had pushed screws into to act as climbing boots, a carpenter\'sadze, and 50 feet of rope. Leaving McNish, Vincent and McCarthy at the landing point on South Georgia, Shackleton travelled 32 miles (51km)[97]with Worsley and Crean over extremely dangerous mountainous terrain for 36 hours to reach the whaling station atStromnesson 20 May.[106]

The next successful crossing of South Georgia was in October 1955, by the British explorerDuncan 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 50feet of rope between them — and a carpenter\'sadze\".[107]

Rescue\"All Safe, All Well\", allegedly depicting Shackleton\'s return to Elephant Island, August 1916. A photograph of the departure of theJames Cairdin April was doctored by photographerFrank Hurleyto create this image.[108]

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. His first three attempts were foiled by sea ice, which blocked the approaches to the island. He appealed to theChileangovernment, which offered the use ofYelcho, a small seagoingtugfrom its navy.Yelcho, commanded by CaptainLuis Pardo, and the British whalerSS Southern SkyreachedElephant Islandon 30 August 1916, at which point the men had been isolated there for four and a half months, and Shackleton quickly evacuated all 22 men.[109]TheYelchotook the crew first toPunta Arenasand after some days toValparaisoin Chile where crowds warmly welcomed them back to civilisation.

There remained the men of theRoss Sea Party, who were stranded atCape Evansin McMurdo Sound, afterAurorahad 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 joinAurora, 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.[110]

First World War

When Shackleton returned to England in May 1917, Europe was in the midst of theFirst World War. Suffering from a heart condition, made worse by the fatigue of his arduous journeys, and too old to be conscripted, he nevertheless volunteered for the army. Repeatedly requesting posting to the front in France,[111]he was by now drinking heavily.[112][113]In October 1917, he was sent toBuenos Airesto boost British propaganda in South America. Unqualified as a diplomat, he was unsuccessful in persuading Argentina and Chile to enter the war on the Allied side.[114]He returned home in April 1918.

Shackleton was then briefly involved in a mission toSpitzbergento establish a British presence there under guise of a mining operation.[115]On the way he was taken ill inTromsø, possibly with a heart attack. Appointment to a military expedition toMurmanskobliged him to return home again, before departing for northern Russia.[115]

With the Allied Expeditionary Force in the Russian Civil War

Shackleton was specially appointed a temporary major on 22 July 1918.[116]From October 1918 he served with theNorth Russia Expeditionary Forcein theRussian Civil Warunder the command of Major-General (later Field Marshal Lord)Ironside, with the role of advising on the equipment and training of British forces in arctic conditions.[117]For his \"valuable services rendered in connection with Military Operations in North Russia\" Shackleton was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) in the 1919 King\'s Birthday Honours,[118]and was alsomentioned in despatchesby General Ironside.[119]Shackleton returned to England in early March 1919,[117]full of plans for the economic development of Northern Russia. In the midst of seeking capital, his plans foundered when Northern Russia fell toBolshevikcontrol.[120]He was finally discharged from the army in October 1919, retaining his rank of major.[121]

Final expedition and deathMain article:Shackleton–Rowett ExpeditionQuest, passing throughTower Bridge, LondonFilm fragment from 1922: Sir Ernest Shackleton

Shackleton returned to thelecture circuitand published his own account of theEnduranceexpedition,South, in December 1919.[122]In 1920, tired of the lecture circuit, Shackleton began to consider the possibility of a last expedition. He thought seriously of going to theBeaufort Seaarea of theArctic, a largely unexplored region, and raised some interest in this idea from the Canadian government.[123]With funds supplied by former schoolfriendJohn Quiller Rowett, he acquired a 125-ton Norwegian sealer, namedFoca Iwhich he renamedQuest.[123][124]The plan changed; the destination became the Antarctic, and the project was defined by Shackleton as an \"oceanographic and sub-antarctic expedition\".[123]The goals of the venture were imprecise, but a circumnavigation of the Antarctic continent and investigation of some \"lost\" sub-Antarctic islands, such asTuanaki, were mentioned as objectives.[125][126]

Rowett agreed to finance the entire expedition, which became known as theShackleton-Rowett Expedition.[125]On 16 September 1921, Shackleton recorded a farewell address on asound-on-filmsystem created byHarry Grindell Matthews, who claimed it was the first \"talking picture\" ever made.[127]The expedition left England on 24 September 1921.

Although some of his former crew members had not received all their pay from theEnduranceexpedition, many of them signed on with their former \"Boss\".[125]When the party arrived inRio de Janeiro, Shackleton suffered a suspected heart attack.[128]He refused a proper medical examination, soQuestcontinued south, and on 4 January 1922, arrived atSouth Georgia.

Sir Ernest Shackleton\'s grave inGrytviken,South Georgia

In the early hours of the next morning, Shackleton summoned the expedition\'s physician,Alexander Macklin,[129]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 2:50a.m. on 5 January 1922, Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack.[129]

Macklin, who conducted the postmortem, concluded that the cause of death wasatheromaof the coronary arteries exacerbated by \"overstrain during a period of debility\".[130]Leonard Hussey, a veteran of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition, offered to accompany the body back to Britain; while he was inMontevideoen 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 steamerWoodville, and on 5 March 1922, Shackleton was buried in theGrytvikencemetery, South Georgia, after a short service in theLutheran church,[131]withEdward Binnieofficiating.[132][133]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.\"[134]

Study of diaries kept byEric Marshall, medical officer to the 1907–09 expedition, suggests that Shackleton suffered from anatrial septal defect(\"hole in the heart\"), acongenital heart defect, which may have been a cause of his health problems.[135]

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ERNEST SHACKLETON Original, Autographed Check \"ENDURANCE\" Prof. Framed 3 COA\'s:
$2250.00