December 5 commemorates the 100th anniversary of the beginning of Anglo-Irish explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton’s ill-fated ‘Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition’ to the South Pole. Leaving from the British overseas territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean, Shackleton’s ship, the ‘Endurance’ became trapped in ice close to Antarctica.
After 15 months of isolation on large slates of ice, the crew eventually reached Antarctica’s Elephant Island. From here, Shackleton and five others made a daring open-boat journey back to South Georgia where he found help to rescue the remaining men on Elephant Island.
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© Flickr / Internet Archive Book
Sir Earnest Shackleton, explorer of the Antarctic region, and Mr. Frank Hurley {at the left), who photographed the expedition. The picture at the left is Patience Camp, where the party spent three months on an ice cake.
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© Photo : Rex Features
Sir Ernest Shackleton Antarctic Expedition 1914-1916
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Members of an expedition team led by Irish explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton at work at a camp site.
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© Flickr / Boston Public Library
Shackleton's ship Endurance at South Pole
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© Photo : Rex Features
Sir Ernest Shackleton's base camp in Antarctica, 1995
