On 17th January 1912, members of the British Antarctic Expedition or Terra Nova Expedition (Terra Nova means "new land"), led by Captain Robert F. Scott, reached the South Pole. Hoping to have been the first people to achieve that goal, Scott and his companions were devastated to find that a party from Norway, led by Captain Roald Amundsen, had beaten them to the Pole by 34 or 35 days. To get there, the men had endured a gruelling journey across the icy continent of Antarctica. They now faced an equally long and difficult trek back to their base camp. But tragedy would soon follow.

Robert Falcon Scott

Robert Falcon Scott was born in Devonport, England, in 1868. He served on a number of Royal Navy ships in the 1880s and 1890s. The Royal Geographical Society appointed him to command the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901–04. The expedition, which included Ernest Shackleton, reached further south than anyone before them and Scott returned to Britain a hero. He now began to plan an expedition to be the first to reach the South Pole, spending years to raise funds to pay for the expensive trip.

Arrival in Antarctica

The expedition, consisting of 65 men (including seamen, scientists and others), left London on 1st June 1910, sailing on the Terra Nova. It was only when the ship landed in Melbourne, Australia, that Scott discovered Amundsen’s intentions to try for the South Pole. Scott insisted that his own plans would not change, and that he would not sacrifice the expedition's scientific goals to win a race to the Pole.

​​​​​​​The purpose of the expedition was not solely to reach the South Pole: important scientific research was also to be carried out along the coast of Victoria Land on the Ross Ice Shelf. However, Scott felt that the expedition's main objective was to arrive at "the remotest place on Earth, and its southernmost point, first."

​​​​​​​The party built a hut, measuring about 15 by 7.7 metres (50 x 25 feet). It was insulated with seaweed and contained a stove and cooking range. A partition made out of crates was erected between the officers' quarters and the rest of the men's quarters. To keep fit, the men played football outside the hut.

Setting off for the Pole

The main group, a party of 15 men, set off from base camp on 1st November 1911. To haul their supplies, including food and fuel, they had motorized sledges, dogs and ponies. The motorized sledges soon had to be abandoned. The ponies struggled with the cold and the heavy work. They had to be shot, their meat used for food.
​​​​​​​

The Pole

The progress of the "polar party" was delayed by ridges, called sastrugi. These were difficult to cross on skis. On 16th January, as they neared the Pole, Bowers spotted a black flag left at a camp made by Amundsen's party. They knew then that they had been beaten. Their fears were confirmed when they arrived at the Pole the next day to find a tent and a Norwegian flag. Inside, a note informed them that Amundsen had reached the Pole on 16th December 1911, beating Scott's party by 35 days.

​​​​​​​Scott wrote in his diary: "Great God! This is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have laboured to it without the reward of priority." They raised the Union Jack and took photos.

Return journey

The following day, 18th January, the dejected group began their long return journey. A 1300-kilometre (800-mile) trek back to base camp lay before them. At first they made good progress, but gradually the men began to suffer from slow starvation, hypothermia and scurvy. Despite this, they honoured their scientific objectives, taking rock samples whenever possible.

​​​​​​​The worsening weather conditions took their toll. Evans died on 17th February at the base of Beardmore Glacier. Earlier, he had fallen and suffered a blow to his head and this may have been the cause. Leaving Evans's body behind, the men trudged on. They eventually reached a supply depot that had been set up earlier, but they had begun to run short of both fuel and food. They had also expected to meet up with dog teams to take them swiftly back to camp, but these failed to appear.
​​​​​​​

Oates had severe frostbite in his left foot, which slowed him down significantly. On 15th March, while the others sheltered in their tent, he walked out into the blizzard, saying to his companions: "I am just going outside and may be some time..." He sacrificed his life so that the other men could carry on unhindered.

The end

On 21st March the remaining three men—Scott, Wilson and Bowers—were caught in terrible blizzards on the Ross Ice Shelf, just 18 kilometres (11 miles) short of another supply depot. Unable to leave their tent as they waited for the blizzards to end, they were forced to watch their supplies dwindle. They had only enough food for a couple of days and fuel for one hot meal.

By 30th March, all three were dead, from a combination of starvation, exhaustion and cold. The men had each written farewell messages to their families. The last entry in Captain Scott’s diary on 29th March read: "The end cannot be far. It seems a pity but I do not think I can write more. R. Scott. Last entry. For God's sake look after our people."