Although the order to abandon Endurance was given by Shackleton on 27th October 1915, the ship sunk to her icy grave on the 21st November but not before all necessary supplies had been retrieved by the men who were now camping on the ice.

Frequent forays back to Endurance, the expedition ship were made in order to retrieve supplies and other items, among them Frank Hurley’s collection of photographs, without which the tale of this historic expedition could never have been enhanced by the images that accompany the famous rescue today.

The Endurance crew had to keep on the move if there were to be any chance of rescue and the drift of the ice pack made their fast progress necessary if they were to have any hope of survival.

At times the some of the crew members became irritable at what they deemed a futile task dragging the boats and supplies over hard to navigate terrain with ice-mounds and crevasses to have to negotiate. Both the carpenter McNish and John Vincent, the former bosun, remonstrated yet were brought back into line after Shackleton reprimanded them.

Three lifeboats, The Stancombe Wills, The Dudley Docker and the largest, The James Caird were hauled by the men across the ice until an opportunity arose whereby they could launch the boats and head for the nearest island. When an opportunity did arise, the crew took to the three lifeboats and headed to Elephant Island.

To read Tom Crean’s full story, the book, published by Merrion Press in May 2023, can be purchased at all good bookstores and is widely available online. The following page provides further details and links to booksellers who offer the biography. You will also find links to purchase the biography Tom The Mighty Explorer,  written for children aged 6-10 years-old.

Biography of Tom Crean – Crean – The Extraordinary Life of an Irish Hero