January marks a hundred years since Captain Scott and the British Antarctic Expedition arrived on the South Pole on January 17 1912.
With this milestone date in mind, the team at Glamorgan Archives were interested to discover if they had any records linked to the expedition. The team were pleased to find letters sent from Wilfred Bruce, Scott’s brother-in-law, who was also a member of the Expedition, based on board the Terra Nova.
The letters were written by Bruce to Lillian Knowles, between March 1911 and January 1913 and give an insight into the expedition and the hardships which were endured. The letters are written on British Antarctic Expedition official notepaper carrying an illustration of a penguin.
The first letter, dated 7 March 1911, was sent from Victoria Land, Antarctica and describes the voyage of the Terra Nova from New Zealand to Antarctica, including the severe gales in which the ship was nearly lost.
Bruce records that all the crew had to bale out water to save the ship and that all their equipment and everything in the cabins, including their clothes, were soaked. He also goes on to describes the landing and unloading of stores at McMurdo Sound, and an attack by killer whales which threatened Herbert Ponting, the expedition’s photographer.
The final letter was written on 24 January 1913, titled ‘Homeward Bound’ and written after the loss of Scott’s party. Bruce describes his feelings and the reasons for the disaster. Included in his letter is a transcript of a poem written by Dr Edward Wilson, one of the men who died.
The correspondence came to the Archives in 1986 and was donated by the Captain Scott Society.
Cardiff Council’s Executive Member for Sport, Culture and Leisure, Cllr Nigel Howells, said: “Cardiff has a strong connection to Captain Scott and the Antarctic expedition. I’m delighted that documents relating to his expedition are stored in Cardiff, the very place where Captain Scott and his crew set sail from. The letters give a fascinating insight into the expedition and help bring an important historical event to life.”
Glamorgan Archives provides archive services to Cardiff, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taff and the Vale of Glamorgan. See www.glamro.gov.uk for further details.
