Return to Antarctica: The Amazing Adventure of Sir Charles Wright on Robert Scott's Journey to the South Pole

by Adrian Raeside

By 1910, the Antarctic was the last place on earth that had never been explored, and British naval officer Robert Scott was obsessed that an Englishman - specifically himself - should conquer the pole. Despite being under-funded, under-equipped and unprepared, Scott sailed south in the antiquated whaling ship, Terra Nova, in what everyone assumed would be a cracking good adventure. The expedition was made up entirely of British adventurers, gadabouts and scientists, the exception being one Canadian, Charles Seymour (Silas) Wright. Born 1887 in Toronto, Charles Wright was studying physics in Cambridge when he heard Scott was looking for a physicist to join the expedition to the pole. By the time Wright inquired, Scott had chosen a physicist for the team but was short a glaciologist. Who else but a Canadian would know about glaciers? Wright became the expedition's glaciologist. Halfway through the rough passage to the Antarctic, Scott got word that a rival explorer, Norwegian Roald Amundsen, was also making a run for the pole and was close on their heels. What started out as a stroll to the South Pole became a race between two very determined and different men. Arriving at their base camp on Cape Evans in January 1911, Scott's team soon discovered they were unprepared for the Antarctic, while equipment failures and food shortages compounded the hardship. For the final race to the pole, Scott stripped the team down to four men, and Wright did not make the cut. Scott reached the geographic South Pole only to find that Amundsen had beaten them by days. Bitterly disappointed, Scott and his companions returned to base camp, but were caught in a fierce Antarctic blizzard that raged for days. Too weak to pull their sleds and out of food and fuel, they froze to death. Ironically, as if to underscore the litany of errors that dogged the expedition, they perished only a few miles from a cache of food and fuel. Next spring Wright led a search party to look for the remains of Scott and his party, and it was the sharp-eyed Wright who spotted a small patch of green on a snowy landscape - the tent containing Scott and his companions' frozen bodies. Wright returned to England and went on to do even more extraordinary things, including inventing trench wireless in WWI, and working closely with Winston Churchill, developing the technology to assist in the allied invasion of Europe in WWII which included developing the first radar installations and inventing the technology that neutralized German magnetic sea mines After a stint as naval attaché to Washington, D.C., and Director of Scripps Oceanographic institute in La Jolla, California, he retired to Salt Spring Island, BC, passing away in 1975. Typically Canadian, Wright was modest about his accomplishments, with few Canadians aware of his amazing life and the extraordinary impact he had on the 20th century.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2009

Reviews

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author’s grandfather and great-uncle were part of the notorious Scott expedition to Antarctica in 1911. The author tried to add on a layer of memoir by travelling by ship to a couple of the locations — this journey did not contribute very much to the book. I would rather have heard more of the history of the objects Raeside mentions; a fossil and a watch now apparently on his desk.

Very hard to get into this text because the author at first uses a very jokey juvenile tone at odds with the serious exploration. Checked his bio and, well, he’s a famous cartoonist. That creative aspect should have been put aside for this project. As well, there are many sidebars and boxes, some of which merely repeat the text or add something discursive and irrelevant (and sometimes something very interesting—I guess it is hard to know). There were also many printing errors and typos, such as when the sled was described in a photo caption as being “too small” to fit into the house.

However, it was an ambitious heartfelt effort, and gives a voice to a couple of the quieter members of the expedition. I’ve read many books about the golden age of exploration in Antarctica and yet I did learn a few things from this account. There was a personal tone I appreciated, rather than the glorifying tenor of many other versions.

So 4 stars despite the project being slightly unfocused.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Scott's trek to the South Pole has been told many ways, and this is another interesting view. The book's author is the grandson of Charles (Silas) Wright, who accompanied Scott almost to the pole but was not chosen among the final 4 to be with him on the last leg of the journey. The author not only has Silas's diaries, but also traveled to Antarctica to see the buildings where the polar parties overwintered near the shore. The insights from Silas's diaries give new perspectives on some of the personalities in the party. He also felt strongly that the whole operation was lacking adequate provisions. Since Silas never wrote a book (except about his scientific Antarctic work), this book contains one more person's interpretation of the events surrounding the deaths of Scott and his four companions on their way back from the pole. Every different view is useful in fleshing out the true story of that quest, particularly since the earlier books were highly "edited."

[Jill]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkqHw6...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwLSGj...

Adrian Raeside is the editorial cartoonist for the Victoria Times-Colonist, and related to three of the individuals who went on this expedition over a hundred years ago.

[Saturn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fascinating book that goes in-depth on Silas’ experience during the Terra Nova Expedition. Lots of photos I hadn’t seen before!

My new fav fun facts include:
-Silas and Griff Taylor faked cutting ice steps in the footage from A Great White Silence
-The sledging party shown near the end (from same film) comprises of Keohane, Cherry, Atch, Silas
-the sledgerunner bookcase

Loses a star for having incorrect and inaccurate information in some places
The text boxes were fun but they also distracted from the main story, and I felt they could have been utilized better