An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean - Antarctic Survivor by Michael Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

it ranked him many weeks ahead of Lashly and Wild, two men who were to establish their own formidable reputations as sledge travellers in the South.

    Crean accompanied Lt Barne on three notable sledging trips, which were a mixture of exploration and depot laying of supplies for other parties. These trips also provided early examples of the difficulties of sledge travel in the South and the serious dangers posed by the hostile polar climate, which brought him several narrow escapes. Crean endured a tough test of character in those early days on the ice as the party struggled to come to terms with the environment – and he passed with flying colours.

    He also formed a close friendship with Evans and Lashly, two fellow sailors who, with Crean, were to become aninfluential triumvirate in the Age of Polar Exploration. Crean, Lashly and Evans, with their background in the navy, formed a strong bond as soon as fate threw them together at Lyttelton in New Zealand and before long the trio were inseparable. In time they would become the backbone of Scott’s sledging parties.

    Crean remained unflappable and phlegmatic in most situations, even though he had an unhappy reputation for accidents and mishaps. But the imperturbable Irishman was rarely shaken despite finding himself in some nasty and potentially fatal tight spots on all three expeditions on which he sailed. Throughout his career in the South, colleagues remarked on his unending cheerfulness and constant habit of launching into a song at the slightest excuse. One fellow traveller said he had the ‘heart of a lion’.

    The
Discovery
expedition was Crean’s Antarctic apprenticeship and there is little doubt that without the experience of those early years he would never have made the outstanding contribution to polar exploration which was to become so apparent in later journeys. Both Shackleton and Scott clearly recognised the Irishman’s qualities even at this early stage in his polar career and both readily took the Irishman on subsequent trips south.

    Ice anchors had secured the
Discovery
in its temporary berth, but as an insurance against the threat of being crushed by the ice, the ship’s boilers were kept permanently lit. The theory was that, in the face of any threat from the ice, the ship could make a quick getaway. The reality was different.
Discovery
became trapped and would remain a prisoner of the ice.

    However, Wilson said that
Discovery
’s winter quarters were the ‘most perfect natural harbour’, helped by the abundant stocks of Weddell seals. Wilson’s hope was that the regular supply of fresh meat would eliminate scurvy, the debilitating disease which is caused by lack of vitamin C and for centuries had plagued sailors on long voyages. But, rather like the wishful thinking over
Discovery
’s quick getaway from the ice,Wilson’s hope of avoiding scurvy was to prove optimistic. Indeed, it is likely that even in their winter quarters, the
Discovery
party suffered from the early effects of scurvy because they did not get enough fresh meat or vegetables. The men disliked the strong fishy taste of seal meat and instead preferred tinned meat. It is likely, therefore, that the party was weakened even before it began exploring.

    Meanwhile, two observation huts were erected nearby and the men began the necessary but bloody business of slaughtering seals and penguins to provide food for the winter, despite their misgivings about the taste. Short reconnoitring trips across the ice were undertaken as the party began to familiarise themselves with the surroundings. Ski practice continued, although even at this early stage in proceedings Scott doubted their value. By contrast, some of the party had adapted well and Scott noted that Skelton, the chief engineer, was by far the best of the officers. He added that ‘some of the men run him close’ but he curiously did little to encourage their use. Scott’s discomfiture with skis may have been further hardened