From Roderick Rhys Jones, Chairman of the British Antarctic Monument Trust
The pursuit of science in Antarctica has continued to come at a cost to lives ever since Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his companions died on their return from the South Pole still hauling 15 kilograms of rock samples (14 January, p 24). From the time the British established a permanent research presence in Antarctica in 1943, 29 Britons engaged in scientific exploration have died on the continent.
Last year a memorial “to all those who lost their lives in Antarctica in the pursuit of science” was dedicated in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral, London, and a monumental sculpture was installed in the grounds of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. As Julian Dowdeswell, director of the institute, said: “It is fitting that there should be a public monument for those who died, unknown names to the outside world, but who have helped to create the enviable polar reputation that the UK enjoys.”
London, UK
