Why, when 'all hope is gone', we should remember Ernest Shackleton

‘Hope Cross’, built in the memory of Ernest Shackleton by his crew and put on display from today at Dundee’s Discovery Centre, is a physical reminder of a story worth repeating until the end of time

"When disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton,” said Raymond Priestly, a member of Ernest Shackleton’s 1907-1909 expedition to Antarctica, when the great explorer got within 97 miles of the South Pole before turning back in appalling conditions. “I thought you’d rather have a live donkey than a dead lion,” he told his wife Emily.

However, it was his extraordinary leadership in 1915, when his ship, Endurance, was crushed by sea ice that won him lasting fame. Despite losing their ship, the crew survived, riding an ice floe and sailing in lifeboats to Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton and five others sailed more than 800 miles to get help at South Georgia, where Shackleton died in 1922 during another expedition.

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Ernest Shackleton and other explorers from the team that reached a point 97 miles from the South Pole in 1909, a record at the time (Picture: Spencer Arnold Collection/Hulton Archive)Ernest Shackleton and other explorers from the team that reached a point 97 miles from the South Pole in 1909, a record at the time (Picture: Spencer Arnold Collection/Hulton Archive)
Ernest Shackleton and other explorers from the team that reached a point 97 miles from the South Pole in 1909, a record at the time (Picture: Spencer Arnold Collection/Hulton Archive) | Getty Images

His men built a cross from salvaged timber in his memory. From today, the public will be able to see ‘Hope Cross’ at the Discovery Centre in Dundee. It is a physical reminder of an extraordinary human being, a truly great leader and a story worth repeating until the end of time. When disaster strikes, remember Shackleton.

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