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 Originally made to coincide with the museums exhibition in 2012, the videos are none the less, a must watch collection.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.
The harrowing stories of the Winter Journey and The Northern Party, have long been overshadowed by the tragedy of Scott and his team, perishing on the Ross Ice Shelf, but they are fascinating tales of endurance, resolve and survival in their own right. Apsley Cherry Garrard documented the immense hardships he, along with Wilson and Bowers, would endure on the Winter Journey in his excellent book, The Worst Journey In The World.
The videos below give an insight into these stories and the scientific aspect of the quest.
Another story from the expedition that is so often overlooked is that of Tom Crean’s epic solo march of 36 miles, to save the life of Lt. Edward Evans, at the end of their 1,500 mile Polar trek. Sadly but perhaps not unsurprisingly it does not feature in this collection of videos either. That however is probably down to the fact that it did not occur on one of the scientific excursions of the expedition.
On the plus side though… if you look closely enough you will discover where Tom Crean’s bunk was positioned inside Scott’s hut at Cape Evans, and who bunked either side of him!
Take a virtual tour of Scott’s Hut.
Tom Crean Discovery – Video Embedding Policy
Other Documentaries on Tom Crean Discovery