36 FEBRUARY 2016http://www.stampandcoin.co.ukStamps featuring the Endurance expedition of 1914-16, as told through historic photographs from the
adventure, chart the quest of Ernest Shackleton and his crew to became the first to cross AntarcticaGB Stamps
have known that this ice would imprison
some of them for over a year. The second
stamp (1st) shows the Endurance in
isolated splendour, imprisoned in a
beautiful but lethal sea of ice.
Shackleton and his crew were
eighty miles from their destination
when the Endurance became stuck
in the ice. During their enforced
stop, the captain tried to keep morale
high by establishing a routine which
incorporated both work and leisure
time, including walks, theatrical
performances, and even a celebration
of Empire Day. However, despite the
upbeat mood, it soon became clear that
the ship’s days were numbered.
The desperate attempts to save the
ship are shown on the third stamp (£1),
which has a photo of the crew using
axes, chisels, saws and picks to free the
ship. Sadly, their efforts were to come to
nothing as the ship became embedded
in a pressure crack as the ice shiftedThe age of
Antarctic exploration
D
escribed by Sir Edmund
Hillary as ‘the greatest
survival story of all time’
the Imperial Trans-
Antarctic Expedition of
1914-16 has all the ingredients of a Boy’s
Own adventure story, with exploration
over frozen wastelands, heroic feats
of endurance on land and sea, and an
exciting rescue of the last survivors.
Royal Mail’s tribute to the Endurance
expedition marks the centenary of the
rescue of the last members of the ship’s
crew, some two years after they had
left Plymouth on an exciting quest to
become the first to cross Antarctica.
The eight stamps, featuring images bypioneering photographer Frank Hurley,
record the harsh reality of the expedition
and the conditions the crew had to
endure before they were finally rescued.
The expedition leader was Ernest
Shackleton, an Ireland-born adventurer
who was aged forty when the voyage
began, a veteran of polar expeditions
including the Discovery and Nimrod
trips. Shackleton received more than
5,000 applications to join the Endurance
expedition, which had received widespread
publicity during the adventurer’s quest to
raise funds. The final crew of 28 included
scientists, a geologist, meteorologist, two
surgeons, and photographer Frank Hurley,
whose historic images are featured on the
eight special stamps.
The first stamp (1st) shows members of
the crew onboard the Endurance as the ship
entered the first stretch of pack ice upon
reaching the Antarctic. Although such
conditions were nothing unusual on an
Issue date: 7 January, 2016 expedition of this type, the men could not
Design: Robert Maude and Sarah Davies
Printer: International Security Printers
Print process: Lithography
Perforations: 14 x 14.51st – Entering the Antarctic, December 1914
1st – Endurance frozen in pack ice
£1 – Striving to free Endurance, February 1915
£1 – Trapped in a pressure crack, October 1915
£1.33 – Patience camp, December 1915 to April 1916
£1.33 – Save arrival at Elephant Island, April 1916
£1.52 – Setting out for South Georgia, April 1916
£1.52 – Rescue of Endurance crew, August 1916Stamp details
The eight stamps use
images captured by
Australian photographer
and adventurer Frank
Hurley, who was part
of the 28-man crew.
After the rescue, in
1919, Hurley produced
a documentary fi lm
entitled South about the
dramatic expeditionWIN
THE
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