Tom Crean - Antarctic Explorer
A brief overview of the life of Ireland's greatest Antarctic explorer.
Category: Documentary
Lawrence Oates – A Brief Biography.
Captain Lawrence Oates.
A Brief Video Biography.
On March 17th 1912, the day of his 32nd birthday, Lawrence Oates walked to his death, from the tent of the returning Polar Party, and into the realm of Antarctic heroes. Oates was among a group of five men, who were on their return march from the South Pole, which they had reached on January 17th 1912. Led by Captain Scott, the group had discovered, to their dismay, that Roald Amundsen‘s Norwegian team, had been to the pole before them.
Defeated they turned for home, and their journey gradually descended into a desperate battle for survival. Edgar Evans died at the foot of the Beardmore Glacier on February 17th, and one month later, Lawrence Oates also met his untimely demise. Oates took matters into his own hands and gallantly walked to his death, deeming his afflicted presence a burden upon the survival chances of his comrades. Continue Reading →
The Ice Of Antarctica
The Ever Changing Continent
If you have ever wondered as to how the crew of the Endurance, suddenly found themselves completely ensnared in the ice of the Weddell Sea, before they had even made landfall on the Antarctic continent, bearing in mind the prior experience of men like Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean, to mention but two, then take a look at this fascinating video, on the amazing and rapid formation of the regions sea ice.
Shackleton – Death Or Glory
“The Shackleton Epic began in 2008, when Alexandra Shackleton, granddaughter of Sir Ernest, approached Tim Jarvis with the idea of an expedition to honour one of the greatest leadership and survival stories of all time.
A crew of five British and Australian adventurers joined expedition leader Tim Jarvis AM FRGS, and on 11 February 2013 became the first to authentically re-enact Sir Ernest Shackleton’s perilous voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia and the dangerous crossing of its mountainous interior.
The Shackleton Epic were the first to successfully re-enact Shackleton’s complete ‘double’ journey across sea and land using traditional gear. British/Australian adventurer Jarvis, 47, a veteran of multiple polar expeditions, believes it was the most challenging expedition of his life.”
From The Shackleton Epic
Scott’s Last Expedition
From The Terra Nova Expedition
An excellent collection of 14 videos from the Natural History Museum, giving a great insight into Scott’s tragic Terra Nova expedition. Originally made to coincide with the museums exhibition in 2012, the videos are none the less, a must watch collection. The Terra Nova expedition sailed to Antarctica with the objectives of both scientific research, and of being the first to stand at the South Pole.
Much has been written about the Polar Party reaching the Pole to find they had been beaten to the accolade by Roald Amundsen, and subsequently dying on their return march. But the men of the Terra Nova also completed an extraordinary amount of scientific work, and undertook several perilous expeditions across the ice to do so.
Race For The Poles
Video
The Race For The North & South Poles
Excellent documentary about the race for both the North and South Poles.
See playlist in top left of viewer for part 2 of this documentary, and Shackleton’s Voyage Of Endurance, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
Secrets Of The Dead – Scott’s Polar Party
Video
Tragedy At The Pole
Secrets of the Dead is an ongoing PBS television series produced by Thirteen/WNET New York, which began in 2000. The show generally follows an investigator or team of investigators exploring what modern science can tell us about some of the great mysteries of history. Most programs incorporate primary source material, first hand accounts, dramatic reenactments, and computer-generated imagery (CGI) to tell the story.*
This episode entitled Tragedy At The Pole was first aired in the USA on 15th January 2003. It was Episode 5 in Season 3 (2002-2003) of the series.
The Story Of Tom Crean
Video
The Story of Tom Crean, in five parts. Irish language television programme from TG4, with English subtitles and some English commentary.
The programme contains original footage and images from the expeditions. Continue Reading →
The Endurance – Documentary
Video
The Endurance Expedition Documentary
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
An excellent documentary on the unbelievable story of survival and endeavour, of the crew of Shackleton’s Endurance, on the ill fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. This is simply a must see documentary, and it is narrated by Liam Neeson.
From historical-oracle.
90º South
Video
Footage from the Terra Nova Expedition
90º South 1933
Herbert Ponting was the official cameraman on Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s British Antarctic Expedition, 1910- 1913, capturing for posterity some fascinating footage of Scott’s legendary and ultimately tragic campaign. He originally released the material as a silent documentary called The Great White Silence, in 1924, but with the coming of sound to film making, he decided to narrate the footage himself and released this version, named 90º South in 1933.
Tom Crean Discovery – Video Embedding Policy