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[[File:Scott of the Antarctic.jpg|thumb|Robert Falcon Scott]] | [[File:Scott of the Antarctic.jpg|thumb|Robert Falcon Scott]] | ||
'''Captain Robert Falcon Scott''', CVO, RN (6 June 1868 – 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] regions: the Discovery Expedition (1901–1904) and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition (1910–1913). On the first expedition, he set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S and discovered the Polar (Antarctic) Plateau, on which the [[South Pole]] is located. On the second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, less than five weeks after [[Roald Amundsen]]'s Norwegian expedition. On their return journey, Scott's party discovered plant fossils, proving Antarctica was once forested and joined to other continents. A planned meeting with supporting dog teams from the base camp failed, despite Scott's written instructions, and at a distance of 150 miles from their base camp and 11 miles from the next depot, Scott and his companions perished. | '''Captain Robert Falcon Scott''', CVO, RN (6 June 1868 – 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] regions: the Discovery Expedition (1901–1904) and the ill-fated [[Terra Nova Expedition]] (1910–1913). On the first expedition, he set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S and discovered the Polar (Antarctic) Plateau, on which the [[South Pole]] is located. On the second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, less than five weeks after [[Roald Amundsen]]'s Norwegian expedition. On their return journey, Scott's party discovered plant fossils, proving Antarctica was once forested and joined to other continents. A planned meeting with supporting dog teams from the base camp failed, despite Scott's written instructions, and at a distance of 150 miles from their base camp and 11 miles from the next depot, Scott and his companions perished. | ||
Before his appointment to lead the Discovery Expedition, Scott had followed the career of a naval officer in the Royal Navy. In 1899, he had a chance encounter with Sir Clements Markham, the president of the Royal Geographical Society, and thus learned of a planned Antarctic expedition, which he soon volunteered to lead. Having taken this step, his name became inseparably associated with the Antarctic, the field of work to which he remained committed during the final 12 years of his life. | Before his appointment to lead the Discovery Expedition, Scott had followed the career of a naval officer in the Royal Navy. In 1899, he had a chance encounter with Sir Clements Markham, the president of the Royal Geographical Society, and thus learned of a planned Antarctic expedition, which he soon volunteered to lead. Having taken this step, his name became inseparably associated with the Antarctic, the field of work to which he remained committed during the final 12 years of his life. | ||
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===First season=== | ===First season=== | ||
On 15 June 1910, Scott's ship ''Terra Nova'', an old converted whaler, set sail from Cardiff, South Wales. Scott meanwhile was fundraising in Britain and joined the ship later in South Africa. Arriving in Melbourne, Australia in October 1910, Scott received a telegram from Amundsen stating: "Beg leave to inform you ''[[Fram]]'' proceeding [[Antarctic]] Amundsen", possibly indicating that Scott faced a race to the pole. | On 15 June 1910, Scott's ship ''[[Terra Nova]]'', an old converted whaler, set sail from Cardiff, South Wales. Scott meanwhile was fundraising in Britain and joined the ship later in South Africa. Arriving in Melbourne, Australia in October 1910, Scott received a telegram from Amundsen stating: "Beg leave to inform you ''[[Fram]]'' proceeding [[Antarctic]] Amundsen", possibly indicating that Scott faced a race to the pole. | ||
The expedition suffered a series of early misfortunes which hampered the first season's work and impaired preparations for the main polar march. On its journey from New Zealand to the Antarctic, ''Terra Nova'' nearly sank in a storm and was then trapped in pack ice for 20 days, far longer than other ships had experienced, which meant a late-season arrival and less time for preparatory work before the Antarctic winter. At Cape Evans, [[Antarctica]], one of the motor sledges was lost during its unloading from the ship, breaking through the sea ice and sinking. Deteriorating weather conditions and weak, unacclimatized ponies affected the initial depot-laying journey, so that the expedition's main supply point, One Ton Depot, was laid 35 miles (56 km) north of its planned location at 80° S. Lawrence Oates, in charge of the ponies, advised Scott to kill ponies for food and advance the depot to 80° S, which Scott refused to do. Oates is reported as saying to Scott, "Sir, I'm afraid you'll come to regret not taking my advice." Four ponies died during this journey either from the cold or because they slowed the team down and were shot. | The expedition suffered a series of early misfortunes which hampered the first season's work and impaired preparations for the main polar march. On its journey from New Zealand to the Antarctic, ''Terra Nova'' nearly sank in a storm and was then trapped in pack ice for 20 days, far longer than other ships had experienced, which meant a late-season arrival and less time for preparatory work before the Antarctic winter. At Cape Evans, [[Antarctica]], one of the motor sledges was lost during its unloading from the ship, breaking through the sea ice and sinking. Deteriorating weather conditions and weak, unacclimatized ponies affected the initial depot-laying journey, so that the expedition's main supply point, One Ton Depot, was laid 35 miles (56 km) north of its planned location at 80° S. Lawrence Oates, in charge of the ponies, advised Scott to kill ponies for food and advance the depot to 80° S, which Scott refused to do. Oates is reported as saying to Scott, "Sir, I'm afraid you'll come to regret not taking my advice." Four ponies died during this journey either from the cold or because they slowed the team down and were shot. | ||
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The deflated party began the 800-mile (1,300 km) return journey on 19 January. "I'm afraid the return journey is going to be dreadfully tiring and monotonous," wrote Scott on that day. The party made good progress despite poor weather, and had completed the Polar Plateau stage of their journey, approximately 300 miles (500 km), by 7 February. In the following days, as the party made the 100-mile (160 km) descent of the [[Beardmore Glacier]], the physical condition of Edgar Evans, which Scott had noted with concern as early as 23 January, declined sharply. A fall on 4 February had left Evans "dull and incapable," and on 17 February, after another fall, he died near the [[glacier]] foot. With 400 miles (670 km) still to travel across the [[Ross Ice Shelf]], Scott's party's prospects steadily worsened as, with deteriorating weather, a puzzling lack of fuel in the depots, hunger and exhaustion, they struggled northward. | The deflated party began the 800-mile (1,300 km) return journey on 19 January. "I'm afraid the return journey is going to be dreadfully tiring and monotonous," wrote Scott on that day. The party made good progress despite poor weather, and had completed the Polar Plateau stage of their journey, approximately 300 miles (500 km), by 7 February. In the following days, as the party made the 100-mile (160 km) descent of the [[Beardmore Glacier]], the physical condition of Edgar Evans, which Scott had noted with concern as early as 23 January, declined sharply. A fall on 4 February had left Evans "dull and incapable," and on 17 February, after another fall, he died near the [[glacier]] foot. With 400 miles (670 km) still to travel across the [[Ross Ice Shelf]], Scott's party's prospects steadily worsened as, with deteriorating weather, a puzzling lack of fuel in the depots, hunger and exhaustion, they struggled northward. | ||
Meanwhile, back at Cape Evans, ''Terra Nova'' arrived at the beginning of February, and Atkinson decided to unload the supplies from the ship with his own men rather than set out south with the dogs to meet Scott as ordered. When Atkinson belatedly left for the planned rendezvous with Scott, he was delayed at Hut Point by bad weather from 13-18 February, when Tom Crean arrived through a blizzard with news of the collapse of Teddy Evans. After effecting a rescue of Evans who needed urgent medical attention, Atkinson tried to assign the experienced navigator Wright south to meet Scott, but chief meteorologist Simpson declared he needed Wright for scientific work. Atkinson then decided to send the short-sighted [[Apsley Cherry-Garrard]] on 25 February, too late to reach the original rendezvous at latitude 82 or 82.30 on 1 March. Cherry-Garrard reached One Ton Depot, on March 4th and was left to make his own decision on whether to proceed further. He had just enough dog food to run to the next depot and then dash for home but Scott's original timetable would have made it possible to pass Scott travelling in the opposite direction, if he attempted to proceed further. Cherry-Garrard decided that it was better to wait for Scott rather than risk failing to meet him on the march. At the limit of his supplies he turned for home on 10 March barely making it through the worsening weather, reaching Hut Point on 16 March with both men and dogs unfit for further travel. | Meanwhile, back at Cape Evans, ''[[Terra Nova]]'' arrived at the beginning of February, and Atkinson decided to unload the supplies from the ship with his own men rather than set out south with the dogs to meet Scott as ordered. When Atkinson belatedly left for the planned rendezvous with Scott, he was delayed at Hut Point by bad weather from 13-18 February, when Tom Crean arrived through a blizzard with news of the collapse of Teddy Evans. After effecting a rescue of Evans who needed urgent medical attention, Atkinson tried to assign the experienced navigator Wright south to meet Scott, but chief meteorologist Simpson declared he needed Wright for scientific work. Atkinson then decided to send the short-sighted [[Apsley Cherry-Garrard]] on 25 February, too late to reach the original rendezvous at latitude 82 or 82.30 on 1 March. Cherry-Garrard reached One Ton Depot, on March 4th and was left to make his own decision on whether to proceed further. He had just enough dog food to run to the next depot and then dash for home but Scott's original timetable would have made it possible to pass Scott travelling in the opposite direction, if he attempted to proceed further. Cherry-Garrard decided that it was better to wait for Scott rather than risk failing to meet him on the march. At the limit of his supplies he turned for home on 10 March barely making it through the worsening weather, reaching Hut Point on 16 March with both men and dogs unfit for further travel. | ||
On the return journey from the Pole, Scott reached the 82.00°S meeting point for the dog teams, 300 miles from Hut Point, three days ahead of schedule, noting in his diary for 27 February 1912 "We are naturally always discussing possibility of meeting dogs, where and when, etc. It is a critical position. We may find ourselves in safety at the next depot, but there is a horrid element of doubt." On 2nd March Oates began to suffer from the effects of frostbite and the party's progress slowed as he was increasingly unable to assist in the workload, eventually only able to drag himself alongside the men pulling the sledge. By 10 March the temperature had dropped unexpectedly to below −40 °C (−40 °F), and it became evident the dog teams were not coming: "The dogs which would have been our salvation have evidently failed. Meares [the dog-driver] had a bad trip home I suppose. It's a miserable jumble." In a farewell letter to Sir Edgar Speyer, dated 16 March, Scott wondered whether he had overshot the meeting point and fought the growing suspicion that he had in fact been abandoned by the dog teams: "We very nearly came through, and it's a pity to have missed it, but lately I have felt that we have overshot our mark. No-one is to blame and I hope no attempt will be made to suggest that we had lacked support." | On the return journey from the Pole, Scott reached the 82.00°S meeting point for the dog teams, 300 miles from Hut Point, three days ahead of schedule, noting in his diary for 27 February 1912 "We are naturally always discussing possibility of meeting dogs, where and when, etc. It is a critical position. We may find ourselves in safety at the next depot, but there is a horrid element of doubt." On 2nd March Oates began to suffer from the effects of frostbite and the party's progress slowed as he was increasingly unable to assist in the workload, eventually only able to drag himself alongside the men pulling the sledge. By 10 March the temperature had dropped unexpectedly to below −40 °C (−40 °F), and it became evident the dog teams were not coming: "The dogs which would have been our salvation have evidently failed. Meares [the dog-driver] had a bad trip home I suppose. It's a miserable jumble." In a farewell letter to Sir Edgar Speyer, dated 16 March, Scott wondered whether he had overshot the meeting point and fought the growing suspicion that he had in fact been abandoned by the dog teams: "We very nearly came through, and it's a pity to have missed it, but lately I have felt that we have overshot our mark. No-one is to blame and I hope no attempt will be made to suggest that we had lacked support." | ||
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===Contemporary reputation=== | ===Contemporary reputation=== | ||
[[File:Cross on Observation Hill.jpg|thumb|400px|Memorial Cross erected in 1912 on Observation Hill near McMurdo Station]] | [[File:Cross on Observation Hill.jpg|thumb|400px|Memorial Cross erected in 1912 on Observation Hill near McMurdo Station]] | ||
The world was informed of the tragedy when ''Terra Nova'' reached Oamaru, New Zealand, on 10 February 1913. Within days, Scott became a national icon. A nationalistic spirit was aroused; Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts Association, asked: "Are Britons going downhill? No! ... There is plenty of pluck and spirit left in the British after all. Captain Scott and Captain Oates have shown us that." Eleven-year-old Mary Steel wrote a poem which ended: | The world was informed of the tragedy when ''[[Terra Nova]]'' reached Oamaru, New Zealand, on 10 February 1913. Within days, Scott became a national icon. A nationalistic spirit was aroused; Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts Association, asked: "Are Britons going downhill? No! ... There is plenty of pluck and spirit left in the British after all. Captain Scott and Captain Oates have shown us that." Eleven-year-old Mary Steel wrote a poem which ended: | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||