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The Death of Robert Falcon Scott
Scott was to become a national hero when he perished on the British Antarctic Expedition (1910-13). He had aimed to undertake scientific observations whilst being the first to the South Pole. Scott and his party did achieve the South Pole, but they were not the first to do so, beaten by Amundsen and his team; this was to result in controversy in Britain. British explorers relied on man-hauling to transport their equipment across the ice; romanticised in many accounts as the noble and manly thing to do. Amundsen, on the other hand, used dogs to pull his sledges and so made things slightly easier for his men. It is easy to judge the British for not using dogs; they had deliberately made things more difficult for themselves. However, if we look at this more deeply, dogs may not have helped the British who had not developed the Norwegians’ skills in dog handling; without this experience dogs may not have made the going any easier. Even today, explorers do not always choose the easiest option available to them. Many undertake unaided expeditions, foregoing modern luxuries such as supply planes, instead wanting to experience a more self-reliant form of exploring.
When the news of the deaths of Scott and the South Pole party reached Britain, there was a mass outpouring of grief. Unfortunately for Amundsen, his achievements in many ways were eclipsed by the death of Scott and his companions. In dying, Scott and his men had lived up to the heroic ideal, they had sacrificed themselves for the advancement of their country, and had done so in a noble, gallant and gentlemanly way. Newspapers were quick to pick up on the story, resulting in a media storm across the world. A memorial service was held at St Paul’s Cathedral in London; the cathedral was so full that some members of the men’s families had problems getting in. Whilst the memorial service was underway The Immortal Story of Capt. Scott’s Expedition - How Five Brave Englishmen Died by Arthur Machen was read to children in schools across Britain. Scott was to be an example of all things heroic.
Scott’s final letters echo the ideals of the heroic age, suggesting that he hoped that their journey could be used as an example to the rest of Britain.
Scott wrote:
“Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman.” (Extract from Message to the Public)
“He [Edward Wilson] died as he lived, a brave, true man.” (Extract from letter to Oriana Wilson, Edward Wilson’s wife)
“I am finishing it [the journey] in company with two gallant, noble gentlemen.” (Extract from letter to Mrs Bowers, Bowers mother)
“We are showing that Englishmen can still die with a bold spirit, fighting it out to the end. It will be known that we have accomplished our object in reaching the Pole, and that we have done everything possible, even to sacrificing ourselves in order to save sick companions. I think this makes an example for Englishmen of the future.” (Extract from letter to Sir J.M. Barrie)
“After all we are setting a good example to our countrymen, if not by getting into a tight place, by facing it like men when we were there. We could have come through had we neglected the sick.” (Extract from letter to Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Charles Bridgeman)
What was especially significant about their deaths was the documentation that was left. Diaries had been kept and letters written as the men lay dying in their tent, Scott concluding his diary stating ‘It seems a pity but I do not think I can write more’. In particular, Scott had written a message for the public outlining the reasons why they had not succeeded. These written accounts demonstrate how the men lived up to the heroic ideal - it was not necessary to make assumptions as the facts were written down.
One member in particular was seen as having lived up to the demands of the heroic age, Captain Lawrence Oates. Very badly frostbitten, Oates knew he could not go on and was slowing the others’ return journey. One morning, he left the tent, uttering the now immortal words ‘I am just going outside and may be some time.’ He sacrificed himself, reaching the most heroic heights, so that his friends would have a better chance of living, echoing the recent tragedy of the Titanic and the men who had given up lifeboat places for women and children. Scott recorded in his diary that this was the act of an English gentleman, whose last thoughts were of his mother, but that immediately before that he took pride in thinking that his regiment would be pleased with the bold way he met his death. Scott’s diary was edited by Leonard Huxley and published in November 1913, running though four editions in four months. Commemorative pamphlets were made to raise money and sold in the thousands; in addition, Scott’s message to the public was sent to British troops in the trenches during the First World War. It was thought that Scott’s example of heroism and courage would offer support and comfort to the men.
Scott’s final letters reveal his concern that the families of the men who had died would be properly looked after. He believed the country for which they had sacrificed their lives should look after those left behind. The public obviously shared this view and the Mansion House Scott Memorial Fund raised £75,000, the equivalent of £4,500,000 today. Of this money £34,000 was for the bereaved families, £5,100 to pay off the expedition’s debts, £17,500 to publish scientific results and £18,000 to erect memorials in honour of the South Pole party (figures, Jones 2003).
The money was not distributed to the families equally, but rather was based on the earning potential of each of the men over their lives and so was a reflection of the Edwardian social hierarchy. This meant that Edgar Evans’ (the only below decks man to perish) wife Lois received substantially less than Scott’s wife, Kathleen, even though Lois and Edgar had three children and Scott and Kathleen had one. Kathleen and her son Peter received a lump sum of £2,676 and a yearly pension of £325. In contrast, Lois Evans and her three children received a lump sum of £96 and a yearly pension of £91 and the income from a trust fund of £1250. Furthermore, Lois had to prove that her children were alive each year to receive the pension. In addition, Lois was also made an offer (which she turned down) by an orphanage offering to take one of her children! This highlights the very fixed social structures of the heroic age, something further reflected in the expeditions themselves. When the northern party during the British Antarctic Expedition 1910-13 were left unexpectedly to over-winter on the ice, they built themselves an ice cave. The men and officers followed the same naval discipline in their cave as if they were onboard ship. As the men and officers would have not usually shared the same space they would not have heard what the others had to say on board ship. The men inhabited one side of the cave, the officers the other and both pretended not to hear the other when on their own side. In a society so tightly bound by social hierarchies and one in which everyone knew their place, it is thought such elements of normality helped them to survive the difficult winter.
In 1925 The Mansion House Scott Memorial Fund was closed and the remaining balance of £12,000 was passed to the University of Cambridge. A permanent and living memorial to Scott was established in the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. Today the Institute still carries out research in the Arctic and Antarctic. The Institute has a museum dedicated to the history of polar exploration, which has recently undergone a major refurbishment. The new museum was opened in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Scott’s departure for the Antarctic on board Terra Nova in June 1910.
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