Kadens Info Report

Introduction
Robert was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led 2 expeditions to the Antarctic region. He was born on the 6th of June, 1868. Unfortunately he died  on the 29th of March 1912 at the age of 43. He died of starvation on the way back from his journey to the South Pole at the Ross ice shelf. His partner was Kathleen Bruce. Kathleen was born on the 27th March 1878 and sadly died on the 25th July 1947 at the age of 69. Before he died he had one child name Peter Markham Scott, born on the 14th September 1909 when Scott was 41.

Early Life
Robert Falcon Scott was educated at the Navel Cadet Programme, HMS Britannia. His family history goes like this: He was the 3rd child out of 6 and oldest son out of John Edward and Hannah Scott of Stoke Damerel, near Devonport, Devon. Although his father was a brewer and a magistrate, there were navel and military traditions in the family, Scott's grandfather and four uncles all having served in the navy. John Scott's good fortune came from the ownership of a small Plymouth brewery which he inherited from his father and afterwards sold. In later years when Scott was establishing his navel career, his family would suffer severe financial misfortune, but he spent his childhood in comfort.

Agreeing with his family tradition, Archibald and his elder brother Robert were chosen in advance for a career in the armed services. Robert spent four years at a local day school before being sent to Stubbington House School in Hampshire, a cramming establishment preparing candidates for the entrance examinations to the navel training ship HMS  Britannia at Dartmouth. Scott passed these exams at the age of 13, when he began his navel career in 1881 as a cadet.

Details of Journey
A party set out first with supplies with the motor sledges while the others with ponies and dogs followed behind. One machine soon gave out while the other was abandoned shortly afterwards.

On November the first 1911, twelve men, each with a pony to carry the gear and a sledge left Cape Evens in detachments. This included the final party of 5 that would push on towards the pole. The other men were supportive to help carry supplies and were not to reach the pole. They would then return to the winter quarters at Hut Point.

The distance from the winter quarters at Hut Point to the Pole and back was 1766 statute miles. They travelled by night for the benefit of the ponies, temperatures never rise above -18°C. Fighting constant snowfalls, the team reached One Ton Camp on the fifteenth day. There was a consistent worry that the ponies wouldn't make it all the way, and upon the reaching of camp number twenty the first pony was killed. Four camps later, on December the first, unfortunately the second pony had to be shot :(.

The weather that season was particularly bad, extreme cold and harsh winds. The ponies continued to have a difficult time  sinking all the way up to their stomach making them totally exhausted. Unfortunately they had to be shot and left behind as a depot. Leaving the remainder of the travelling to man hauling. They each began to pull 200pounds (90kgs) of sledge through the soft snow.


Scotts final entry before he perished
Every day we have been ready to start for our depot 11 miles away, but outside the door of our tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write any more.
R. Scott.
Last Entry
For God’s sake look after our people.’ (29th March 1912