Remembering a hero of polar exploration

The story of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who beat Plymouth's Captain Scott to the South Pole, was recently recounted at a meeting of the Devon and Cornwall Polar Society in Plymouth. Here, society spokesman Denis Wilkins recounts some of the fascinating insights

THE race to the South Pole between Plymouth’s Captain Robert Falcon Scott and the Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, is a fascinating story.

However, despite getting there first, Amundsen remains the lesser-known adventurer.

Roald Amundsen arrived at the South Pole on December 14, 1912, beating Captain Scott by 33 days. Scott and his party hauled their own sledges for much of the way, whereas Amundsen used huskies, which he killed and used for food as the loads became lighter.

On the journey back to base, Scott and his polar party died, exhausted from starvation and cold, after great suffering. Amundsen and his fellow travellers arrived back at their base, Framheim, in the Bay of Whales, in excellent shape, some of them even having put on weight.

More than 130 books have been writt en about Scott, who has endured as a national hero while, especially in this country, relatively scant attention has been paid to Amundsen.

Bearing this in mind, the Devon and Cornwall Polar Society felt it high time we learned more about this remarkable man – and where better to do so than in Plymouth, home city of his rival, Captain Scott, and with its rich heritage of polar connections?

The University of Plymouth’s Craigie Cinema Theatre, in the Levinsky Building, was generously made available on Saturday, October 28. An audience of approximately 100 from across the UK attended and were welcomed by Paul Davies, local polar historian.