The Yr 13 geographers though, were lucky enough to "meet" Tom Crean - sometimes referred to as the "Unsung Hero" of Polar exploration, via a videoconference with the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich last week.
Crean, who grew up near Annascaul, a small village in Co. Kerry, was part of three major South Pole expeditions - Discovery and Terra Nova with Scott, and Endurance with Shackleton. Unlike Scott and Shackleton, who both died on expeditions, however, Crean returned to Annascaul, where he married Nell and opened a pub called the South Pole Inn. He died in Annascaul in 1938, from a burst appendix...
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There's a picture of the South Pole Inn at Annascaul in County Kerry, which Tom Crean bought when he returned home here:
http://www.geographypages.co.uk/spole.jpg
Tom was a forgotten hero - I recommend Michael Smith's book all about him: "An Unsung Hero" - a lot of this was down to the fact that he wasn't an officer...
Thanks GeoBlogs! I will add the book to my increasingly long list - only just finished "Welcome to Everytown"!!
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