The Antarctic journals of Reginald Skelton : another little job for the tinker
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書誌事項
The Antarctic journals of Reginald Skelton : another little job for the tinker
Reardon Pub., c2004
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注記
"Reginald Skelton was chief engineer and official photographer to Captain Scott's Discovery expedition."
"British National Antarctic Expedition, centenary of the expedition's return 1904-2004"--T.p. verso
Includes index
内容説明・目次
内容説明
Reginald Skelton Was Chief Engineer, And Offical Photographer To Captain Scott's Discovery Expedition; My memories of my grandfather are of an old, but still fit and upright, man who had a deep gravelly voice and chuckled a lot. I was only ten when he died in 1956 and he never, as far as I can remember, told me anything about his time in the Antarctic. Forty two years after his death we had, in a sense, changed places and I was getting the full story. By then into my fifties, seated in the library at the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) in Cambridge, I began reading the Antarctic journals of Reginald Skelton, not yet out of his twenties, who had been chosen as Scott's chief engineer on the Discovery Expedition. Directly outside the window in front of my desk was the building site which was to become the bright, airy Shackleton Memorial Library.
The archivist, Bob Headland, apologised for the terrible noise of the construction work, which he feared would frustrate any attempt to concentrate, but all I could hear was the sound of the Discovery's bows scrunching through the pack ice and the howl of the Antarctic wind as the ship fought to hold her own in the teeth of storm force Southerly squalls off Coulman Island. Since then I have been back to Cambridge to read the seven volumes of Reginald Skelton's Discovery Journals, and his sledging diaries, more times than I can keep track of but every time something new catches my attention. There is a freshness in this account, written by a young man describing events even as they take place, as he experiences them without knowing what is to follow, which is lost in any retrospective telling of the tale. Through the publication of this book I hope many other people, who would not otherwise have the opportunity to read the original journals, will be able to share the pleasure of vicarious participation in the Expedition. There is another purpose in bringing this book to the public.
Skelton, whose name is by no means universally known, was, nevertheless, an important member of the Expedition and many books about Discovery include quotations from his journals. Since becoming familiar with the journals, I have found out that not all these passages are faithfully reproduced. I am aware of at least two supposedly scholarly books which contain misquotations from Skelton's journals. Whereas innocent mistakes can be made in interpreting hand-written documents, the distortion in some instances is of an order which suggests deliberate misrepresentation. The present book gives all serious students of the history of Antarctic exploration access to the full authentic text.
目次
- Introduction 8
- Editor's Note 14
- Part 1: Dundee to Antarctica (1900 to 11th January 1902) 15
- In which: Discovery is built, provisioned and feted before setting sail for the unknown south
- the expedition reaches the Antarctic continent five months later having visited Madeira, South Trinidad, South Africa, Macquarie Island and New Zealand en route for coaling, reprovisioning, repairs and scientific purposes, being met everywhere with generosity and hospitality. Part 2: In the Ross Sea (12th January to 10th March 1902) 43
- in which: Discovery steams south in search of a safe winter haven
- land is discovered on the far side of the 'Great Ice Barrier', the ship reaching further East than any previous expedition
- the first Antarctic flight is made by hydrogen balloon
- the expedition establishes Winter Quarters in McMurdo 'Bay' to the South West of Ross Island
- a number of preliminary sledging journeys are undertaken. Part 3: The Fading of the Light (10th March to 30th April 1902) 64
- In which: the Cape Crozier party fails to reach the message post and the return of Barne's party ends in tragedy
- the ship is frozen in and preparations are made for winter
- the engineering department is kept very busy, not least by the troublesome windmill intended to light the ship through the months of darkness
- the 'Great Emperor penguin hunt' provides good sport
- and spirits are raised with the first issue of the 'South Polar Times'. Part 4: The First Winter (1st May to 31st August 1902) 82
- In which: the windmill is finally blown to smithereens, to the relief of the engineering department
- all types of scientific endeavour continue, only suspended in the wild worst of weather
- Bernacchi and Skelton almost perish in a blizzard within a quarter of a mile of the ship
- many forms of entertainment are devised to while away the time on board
- all hands take exercise outside when they can and experience the magic of the aurora and the profound silence of calm moonlit days
- preparations begin for the forthcoming sledging season. Part 5: Sledging Near and Far (1st September to 29th November 1902) 106
- in which: the expedition's sledgers develop their skills, through numerous short reconnaissance and depot-laying outings, in preparation for the epic journeys to come later in the season
- Royds' party succeeds in reaching the Cape Crozier message post with information of Discovery's whereabouts for the relief ship
- Skelton, with Evans and Quartley, discovers the first Emperor penguin colony seen by humans and takes the first photographs of Emperor chicks
- Scott's party start on their journey to explore as far South as possible
- Armitage organises sports to celebrate the King's birthday. Part 6: Discovery of the Polar Plateau (27th November 1902 to 19th January 1903) 135
- in which: Armitage's 12-man party, including Skelton, set out for the Western Mountains
- having ascended the Blue Glacier, they find further progress blocked by high mountains and are obliged to negotiate a steep descent to the Ferrar Glacier
- a number of seal carcases are found at mystifyingly high altitudes
- a plateau is reached at 9,000 ft
- Armitage and the fitter members of the party venture as far across the plateau as time allows, but their hope of finding its far side is not fulfilled
- all then return to the ship with one man, Macfarlane, seriously unwell. Part 7: Relief, but no Escape (19th January to 23rd September 1903) 158
- in which: Discovery rejoices at the arrival of the relief ship Morning, bringing mail, coal and other provisions
- Scott, Shackleton and Wilson return from their furthest South journey, no dogs having survived
- all efforts to free Discovery from the ice fail and her ship's company face a second year in Antarctica
- Morning returns to New Zealand with ten of Discovery's men, including Shackleton who is invalided home, his place in the Ward Room being taken by Mulock of the Morning
- food supplies are augmented by catching seals, skuas and fish
- Skelton sets up acetylene lighting, the winter passing quietly with scientific work and sledging preparations continuing as before. Part 8: Final Sledging, then Home Again (23rd September 1903 to 8th September 1904) 186
- in which: Skelton accompanies Scott on a second Western journey but is obliged to return prematurely when two members of the party are taken ill
- human efforts to free Discovery, before and after the relief ships Morning & Terra Nova arrive, fail until a swell breaks the ice up
- all three ships set sail for New Zealand, stopping briefly at the Auckland Islands where the ship is cleaned up and repainted, and the ship's company enjoy good hunting
- Discovery spends two months in New Zealand, during which time Skelton becomes engaged to Sybil, before voyaging home via South America, the Falkland Islands and the Azores. Acknowledgements 223
- Discovery Ship's Company in the Antarctic 224
- List of Illustrations 226
- Index 230
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