Post by Administrator on Jun 19, 2017 20:24:17 GMT
On 15th June 1910, the Terra Nova (Scotts's Expedition to the South Pole) sailed from Cardiff.
The Terra Nova Expedition also known as the British Antarctic Expedition was led by Robert Falcon Scott with the objective of being the first to reach the geographical South Pole. However when they reached the pole on 17th January 1912, they found that the Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen had beaten them to it. All of Scott's party subsequently perished on the return journey and a memorial lighthouse, erected in 1915, still exists on Roath Park Lake in their memory.
Lieutenant. E.R.G.R (Teddy) Evans whose grandfather was born in Cardiff, was Scott's second in command and had been planning his own Antarctic expedition before he heard about Scott’s plans. The Cardiff connection with the expedition owes much Evans's efforts as he decided that Wales could play a valuable fund-raising role for the expedition. It was estimated that £60,000 would be needed to fund the expedition and with no government funding, the money had to be raised by public donation. The Western Mail gave him publicity and he spent much of 1909 at speaking engagements in the Cardiff area, eventually raising £2500, from mainly Cardiff's ship owners and industrialists, which was more than any other city in Britain raised. On the evening of June 13, Scott and his officers were given a spectacular farewell dinner at the Royal Hotel in St Mary's Street, however, the rest of the crew had to make do with dinner in the Barry Hotel. Then at one o'clock on, June 15 1910, in front of a huge crowd the Terra Nova was towed out of Roath Dock, flying the flag and coat of arms of Cardiff and the Welsh dragon. Scott promised that the Terra Nova would return to Cardiff, which she did on June 14, 1913, but under the command of Teddy Evans. Evans later had a distinguished naval career and was created Lord Mountevens in 1946.
The expedition built its headquarters on a rocky cape on Ross Island, which Scott named Cape Evans, after Lieutenant Teddy Evans.
Edgar Evans from Middleton Rhossili was a member of the expedition and was selected for the final expedition push that attained the Pole on 17 January 1912. He is described as "a huge, bull-necked beefy figure" who was "running a bit to fat" and was nearly left in New Zealand when he drunkenly fell into the water while boarding the ship. However, he was held in such high regard by Scott that he decided to overlook the incident.
Evans cut his hand in an accident and the wound did not heal and subsequently began to deteriorate mentally and physically on the return journey. As well as suffering from frostbite, he is also thought to have suffered a head injury in a fall into a crevasse, sustaining serious concussion which caused his condition to rapidly worsen. Then according to Scott's diary, on 16 February 1912, Evans collapsed and was unable to continue. The remainder of the party made it to the next supply depot, but when they returned to collect him, Evans's condition was critical and he died in the tent that night.
His widow, Lois (they had married in 1904 and had three children), had a memorial plaque placed, in the church at Rhossilli and he is also remembered, with the Edgar Evans Building at the naval establishment on Whale Island, Portsmouth.