Tom Crean
Tom Crean with sled dog puppies, circa 1914
Born	20 July 1877 Annascaul, Co. Kerry Ireland
Died	27 July 1938 Republic of Ireland
Occupation	Explorer

Tom Crean (20 July 1877 – 27 July 1938) was an Irish Antarctic explorer. He was born in the town of Annascaul in Co. Kerry. He joined the Royal Navy when he was 15 years old, lying about his age to get in. Image File history File links Tom_Crean. ... is the 201st day of the year (202nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Annascaul, or Anascaul, (Abha na Scáil in Irish) is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. ... Statistics Province: Munster County Town: Tralee Code: KY Area: 4,746 km² Population (2006) 139,616 Website: www. ... is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland. ... See also explorations, sea explorers, astronaut, conquistador, travelogue, the History of Science and Technology and Biography. ... Thomas Joseph Crean (VC, DSO) Born Northbrook Road, Dublin, 19 April 1848. ... Tom Crean (born March 25, 1966 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States) is the current head mens basketball coach at Marquette University. ... is the 201st day of the year (202nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ... See also explorations, sea explorers, astronaut, conquistador, travelogue, the History of Science and Technology and Biography. ... Annascaul, or Anascaul, (Abha na Scáil in Irish) is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. ... Statistics Province: Munster County Town: Tralee Code: KY Area: 4,746 km² Population (2006) 139,616 Website: www. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ...

Tom Crean was on three of the four major British expeditions to Antarctica. Two of these were expeditions led by Robert Scott aiming (amongst other more scientific goals) to reach the South Pole: the 1901-1904 National Antarctic Expedition on Discovery and the 1911-1913 expedition on Terra Nova . The third was the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition on Endurance led by Ernest Shackleton. For other persons named Robert Scott, see Robert Scott (disambiguation). ... Discovery Expedition (1901 - 1904) Robert Falcon Scott headed this Antarctica expedition, spending two winters on Ross Island and treks to the South Pole. ... The RRS Discovery was the last wooden three-masted ship to be built in the British Isles, and was launched on 21 March 1901, designed for Antarctic research. ... The Terra Nova Expedition (1910–1913) was a British expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott with the purpose of undertaking scientific research and exploration along the coast and interior of Antarctica. ... The Terra Nova (Latin for Newfoundland) was built in 1884 for the Dundee whaling and sealing fleet. ... The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was the fourth British Antarctic exploration of the 20th century, and aimed, but ultimately failed, to be the first to cross the Antarctic continent from one side to the other. ... The Endurance was the three-masted barquentine in which Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. ... Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO, OBE (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Irish explorer who was knighted for the success of the 1907-09 British Antarctic Expedition under his command. ...

Terra Nova

On this expedition in 1911, Captain Scott said he could only really trust a handful of people, William Lashly, Edgar Evans and Tom Crean. Crean and Lashly, along with Lieutenant E.R.G.R Evans formed the last support party to leave Scott on his way to the South Pole, while Edgar Evans, Wilson, Bowers and Oates continued with Scott. Crean, Lashly and Evans turned back 146 miles (268 km) from the pole on 4 January 1912, and faced a 750 miles (1206 km) return journey back to the camp. William Lashly (1868? - 1940) was a Royal Navy seaman who was a member of both of Robert Falcon Scotts Antarctic expeditions. ... Petty Officer Edgar Evans (1876 - February 17, 1912) was one of Robert Falcon Scotts companions on his ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1911-1912. ... Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans (1881-1957), known as Teddy Evans, was a British naval officer and Antarctic explorer. ... For other uses, see South Pole (disambiguation). ... Edward A. Wilson Dr. Edward Adrian Wilson (Uncle Bill) (July 23, 1872 – March 29, 1912) was a notable English polar explorer, physician, naturalist, painter and ornithologist. ... Lieutenant Henry Robertson (Birdie) Bowers (1883 - March 29, 1912) was one of Robert Falcon Scotts companions on his ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1910-1912. ... Lawrence Edward Grace Oates (March 17, 1880 – March 17, 1912) was a British Antarctic explorer. ... is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Around the beginning of February, Lieutenant Evans became seriously ill with scurvy. Starting on the 13 February, while still 100 miles (160 km) from the safety of the camp, Crean and Lashly had to pull Evans on the sledge, slowing the trio down further while their food supplies were getting dangerously low. Evans asked to be left behind as he feared all three would otherwise die, but Crean and Lashly refused (Evans would later say that this was the only time in his naval career where his orders were disobeyed). With 35 miles (56 km) left (4-5 days of travel with only two pulling the sledge), and not more than 1-2 days of food left it was decided one of the two had to walk for help while the other stayed behind with Evans. Tom Crean volunteered. It took him 18 hours to walk the 50 miles over the ice to reach the camp, and, with only three biscuits and some chocolate to eat, he collapsed just after reaching the camp at 3:30am on the morning of 19 February. He had arrived at the camp only half an hour before a fierce blizzard which probably would have killed him, and which delayed the rescue party by a day and a half. The rescue was successful however and Lashly and Evans were both returned to camp alive, unlike Scott's polar party. Crean and Lashly were both awarded the Albert Medal for saving Evans' life. Scurvy (N.Lat. ... The Albert Medal for Lifesaving was instituted by Royal Warrant on 7 March 1866 and discontinued in 1971. ...

Endurance

Like Scott, Shackleton deeply trusted Tom Crean. After their ship, the Endurance, was destroyed in the ice during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, the crew had to sail the life boats across the Weddell Sea pack ice and then travel by boat to Elephant Island. When they arrived, they rebuilt one of the lifeboats - the James Caird and six of the men including Shackleton and Crean sailed to South Georgia for help. This has become known as one of the most extraordinary small open boat journeys in history. Because they landed on the uninhabited south coast of South Georgia, three of the men, again including Shackleton and Crean, had to walk across to the other side in a remarkable 36 hour journey which was the first crossing of the mountainous island. They arrived at the whaling station at Stromness, tired and dirty, and prepared for the rescue of the other 22 men still on Elephant Island, 22 months after sailing from South Georgia. The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was the fourth British Antarctic exploration of the 20th century, and aimed, but ultimately failed, to be the first to cross the Antarctic continent from one side to the other. ... The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean. ... A NASA satellite photograph of Elephant Island Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands in the Southern Ocean. ... Rendition of the James Caird nearing South Georgia The James Caird is a 30-foot (7 m) whaleboat in which Sir Ernest Shackleton and five companions made the epic open boat voyage of 800 miles (1,480 km) from Elephant Island, 500 miles (800 km) south of Cape Horn, to... Motto Leo Terram Propriam Protegat(Latin) Let the Lion protect his own land or May the Lion protect his own land Anthem God Save the Queen Capital Grytviken (King Edward Point) Official languages English Government British overseas territory  -  Head of State Queen Elizabeth II  -  Commissioner Alan Huckle Area  -  Total 3... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch. ... Stromness is a former whaling station on the northern coast of South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic. ...

Later life

After returning home, Crean saw service in the First World War, and retired from the navy in 1920. He married and opened up a small pub called "The South Pole Inn." Throughout his life, Crean remained an extremely modest man. When he returned to Kerry, he put all of his medals away and never again spoke about his experiences in the Antarctic. It has been speculated that this may have been because it was seen as dishonorable for an Irishman to have served in the British Military at that time. He became ill with a burst appendix in 1938. He was taken to Cork which was the nearest hospital where such a condition could be treated but he died before he reached the hospital there. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

Legacy

Crean is commemorated in at least two place names: Mount Crean (2550 m) in Victoria Land, and the Crean Glacier on South Georgia. Categories: Antarctica geography stubs | Geography of Antarctica | Ross Dependency ... Crean Glacier () is a glacier 4 miles (6 km) long, flowing northwest from Wilckens Peaks to the head of Antarctic Bay on the north coast of South Georgia. ... South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina. ...

Crean is also commemorated as the inspiration for Endurance Brewing's signature Pale Ale [1]

He is also remembered in the 2001 TG4 Documentary 'Ciarraíoch san Oighir' (A Kerryman in the Ice).

External links

• Tom Crean Society's Website
• Tom Crean Biography
• More reading on Tom Crean
• Tom Crean Obituary

References

• Cherry-Garrard, Apsley: The Worst Journey in the World. ISBN 0-88184-478-0
• Huntford, Roland: The Last Place on Earth. ISBN 0-689-70701-0
• Huntford, Roland: Shackleton. ISBN 0-689-11429-X
• Preston, Diana: A First Rate Tragedy. ISBN 0-618-00201-4
• Smith, Michael, Tom Crean: Unsung Hero of the Scott and Shackleton Antarctic Expeditions. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 0-89886-870-X