HERO IRISH EXPLORER’S
Images from great Antarctic exploration get modern touch up
THESE extraordinary newly colourised photos show Irish hero explorer Ernest Shackleton’s incredible Antarctic mission.
They were taken on January 21, 1916 when a fierce blizzard swept across Shackleton’s camp.
He was leading the Imperial Trans-Arctic Expedition attempting to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent.
One photo shows Thomas Crean, an Irish seaman from Annascaul, Co Kerry, who was awarded the Albert Medal for Lifesaving.
He was the second officer on the expedition, having first joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15.
He later returned to his naval career in Chatham, England after his Antarctic adventures.
Another photo shows the crew walking on the ice with their ship, the Endurance in the background.
History student Ross Day (25) colourised these images, giving a new life to Shackleton and his crew.
He said: “It was the story of ultimate survival that against all odds everyone made it home alive despite being stranded in Antarctica with no communication with the outside world.
“To see it in colour would give such a deeper understanding to those trials and tribulations that the men went through.”
In December 1914, the Endurance had become trapped in ice.
Over the next few months, the progress of the ship was slow as it was continually halted and trapped within the freezing ice.
The Endurance eventually sank on November 21, 1915, with the expedition’s beloved sled dogs tragically lost.
Shackleton wrote in his diary “we felt their loss keenly”.
The crew returned to the UK in May 1917. The wreck of the Endurance was rediscovered last year.
Depth
Discovered in the Weddell Sea, at a depth of 2,000 metres, the ship’s name was still clearly visible on the stern.
Ross added: “The Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
“After months spent in makeshift camps as the ice continued its northwards drift, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited Elephant Island.
“Shackleton and five others then made an 800-mile openboat journey to reach South Georgia. From there, Shackleton was eventually able to mount a rescue.”