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Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition Timeline

Home > Blog > Antarctica > Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition Timeline

Last updated on November 27 th , 2019

Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition Timeline

When Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition left South Georgia Island on 5 December 1914 to assist his bid to be the first to cross the Antarctic continent, he had no idea that a year and a half later he would end up on a rescue mission trekking across the very same subantarctic island where he started. Having not so much as set foot on the Antarctic continent, the expedition’s story, outlined below, remains one of the most remarkable polar survival sagas of all time.

5 December 1914

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition departs Grytviken whaling station, aboard the Endurance, in a bid to cross Antarctica from the Weddell Sea coast to the Ross Sea coast. This is the last time crew would touch land for 497 days.

30 December 1914

The Endurance crosses the Antarctic Circle, 66 33 degrees south.

10 January 1915

First sighting of the Antarctic continent (Coats Land).

18 January 1915

The Endurance becomes beset in pack ice in the Weddell Sea.

22 June 1915

Crew celebrates Midwinter’s Day with a feast on the Endurance.

2 September 1915

Pressure ice makes the Endurance, according to Perce Blackborow, “literally [jump] into the air and [settle] on its beam.”

27 October 1915

Shackleton gives order to abandon the Endurance.

1 November 1915

Shackleton and his crew set up camp on the pack ice, drifting north for another five months from November 1915 to April 1916 until the melting ice finally released them into the Southern Ocean.

21 November 1915

With a single cry of “She’s going, boys!” Shackleton and his crew watch Endurance sink.

23 December 1915

The crew begin to haul the three lifeboats (James Caird, Dudley Docker, and Stancomb Wills) westward over the ice, but the men are able to go only a short distance.

29 December 1915

Shackleton abandoned the march and set up ‘Patience Camp’ on the ice.

21 January 1916

A blizzard blows the floating camp north across the Antarctic Circle.

29 February 1916

In honour of Leap Year Day, the crew enjoys three full meals.

31 March 1916

The ice floe the crew are camped on splits in two, separating them from the three lifeboats, which they eventually get back.

7 April 1916

Elephant Island, a bleak and remote island home only to colonies of Elephant seals and penguins, appears on the horizon.

9 April 1916

The crew launches the three lifeboats into the Southern Ocean bound for Elephant Island.

16 April 1916

After several harrowing days at sea, the 28 men and three lifeboats land safely on Elephant Island.

17 April 1916

Shackleton moves camp seven miles to the west, to a spot that comes to be known as ‘Cape Wild’—after Frank Wild, the crew member who discovered it.

20 April 1916

With the long dark winter looming, and his men half-starved and desperate, Shackleton realised he would have to go for help or all would die. Shackleton announces that he will attempt to sail the 22-and-a-half-foot James Caird 800 miles to South Georgia.

24 April 1916

Shackleton and five of his men – Worsley, Crean, McNish, McCarthy, and Vincent – depart for South Georgia in James Caird.

10 May 1916

After 17 days and 800 miles in stormy seas, and with superior navigation by Frank Worsley, the James Caird miraculously arrives on the west coast of South Georgia.

19 May 1916

After a week of planning and recuperating, Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean set off to climb over the precipitous, heavily glaciated mountains of South Georgia to reach the refuge of the whaling station at Stromness on the other side of the island.

20 May 1916

Having trekked without a break for 36 hours over glacier-clad mountains thousands of feet high, Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean arrive at Stromness whaling station.

23 May 1916

Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean depart on the English-owned Southern Sky to rescue the remaining crew on Elephant Island, but are stopped by ice 100 miles short of the island.

10 June 1916

Uruguayan government loans the survey ship Instituto de Pesca No 1, which comes within sight of Elephant Island before pack ice turns it back.

12 July 1916

Chartered by the British Association, the schooner Emma sets out from Punta Arenas, but gets to within 100 miles of Elephant Island before storms and ice force it to return.

25 August 1916

Chilean authorities loan the Yelcho, a small steamer, which sets sail with Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean for Elephant Island.

30 August 1916

“I felt jolly near blubbing for a bit and could not speak for several minutes,” Wild wrote about seeing Shackleton arrive with the Yelcho, which rescued the party on this day, 22 months after they had initially set out from South Georgia.

3 September 1916

Shackleton and crew arrive at Punta Arenas, Chile. All 28 men survived.

Timeline resources

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/1914/timeline.html 

Shackleton’s Way, Margot Morrell & Stephanie Capparell, 2003

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The Stunning Survival Story of Ernest Shackleton and His Endurance Crew

By: Kieran Mulvaney

Updated: May 2, 2024 | Original: October 21, 2020

All year, the ship had been trapped, ice pushing and pinching the hull, the wood howling in protest. Finally, on October 27, 1915, a new wave of pressure rippled across the ice, lifting the ship’s stern and tearing off its rudder and its keel. Freezing water began to rush in.

“She’s going, boys,” came the cry. “It’s time to get off.”

From the moment Ernest Shackleton and his crew aboard the British expedition ship, HMS Endurance had become immobilized in Antarctica's ice 10 months earlier, they had been preparing for this moment. Now, those on board removed their last remaining belongings from the ship and set up camp on the ice. Twenty-five days later, what remained of the wreck convulsed once more, and the Endurance disappeared beneath the ice.

Incredibly, all 27 men under Shackleton's command would survive the grueling Antarctic expedition, but their ship remained sunk and lost to history—until 106 years later. 

On March 9, 2022, a team of scientists and adventurers announced they had  finally located what remained of the Endurance at the bottom of Antarctica's Weddell Sea. The team made the discovery using submersibles and undersea drones and released stunning photos of the long-lost wooden ship where it had lodged in the seabed nearly 10,000 feet deep in clear and icy waters. 

Endurance Is Locked in by Ice

Endurance had left South Georgia for Antarctica on December 5, 1914, carrying 27 men (plus one stowaway, who became the ship’s steward), 69 dogs, and a tomcat erroneously dubbed Mrs. Chippy. The goal of expedition leader Shackleton, who had twice fallen short—once agonizingly so—of reaching the South Pole, was to establish a base on Antarctica’s Weddell Sea coast. 

From there a small party, including himself, would set out on the first crossing of the continent, ultimately arriving at the Ross Sea, south of New Zealand, where another group would be waiting for them, having laid depots of food and fuel along the way.

Two days after leaving South Georgia, Endurance entered the pack ice—the barrier of thick sea ice that stands guard around the Antarctic continent. For several weeks, the ship poked and prodded its way through leads in the ice, gingerly making its way south; but on January 18, a northerly gale pressed the pack hard against the land and pushed the floes tight against each other. Suddenly, there was no way forward, nor any way back. Endurance was beset—in the words of one of the crew, Thomas Orde-Lees, “frozen like an almond in the middle of a chocolate bar.”

They had been within a day’s sailing of their landing place; now the drift of the ice was slowly pushing them farther away with each passing day. There was nothing else to do but to establish a routine and wait out the winter.

Shackleton wrote Alexander Macklin, one of the ship’s surgeons, “did not rage at all, or show outwardly the slightest sign of disappointment; he told us simply and calmly that we must winter in the Pack; explained its dangers and possibilities; never lost his optimism and prepared for winter.”

In private, however, he revealed greater foreboding, quietly expressing to the ship’s captain, Frank Worsley, one winter’s night that, “The ship can’t live in this, Skipper … It may be a few months, and it may be only a question of weeks or even days … but what the ice gets, the ice keeps.”

Survival on an Ice Floe

In the time that passed between abandoning Endurance and watching the ice swallow it up completely, the crew salvaged as many provisions as they could, while sacrificing anything and everything that added weight or would consume valuable resources— including bibles, books, clothing, tools and keepsakes. Some of the younger dogs, too small to pull their weight, were shot, as was, to the chagrin of many, the unfortunate Mrs. Chippy.

The initial plan was to march across the ice toward land, but that was abandoned after the men managed just seven and a half miles in seven days. “There was no alternative,” wrote Shackleton, “but to camp once more on the floe and to possess our souls with what patience we could till conditions should appear more favorable for a renewal of the attempt to escape.” Slowly and steadily, the ice drifted farther to the north; and, on April 7, 1916, the snow-capped peaks of Clarence and Elephant Islands came into view, flooding them with hope.

“The floe has been a good friend to us,” wrote Shackleton in his diary, “but it is reaching the end of its journey, and is liable at any time now to break up.” 

On April 9, it did just that, splitting beneath them with an almighty crack. Shackleton gave the order to break camp and launch the boats, and all at once, they were finally free of the ice that had alternately bedeviled and supported them. 

Now they had a new foe to contend with: the open ocean. It threw freezing spray in their faces and tossed frigid water over them, and it batted the boats from side to side and brought brave men to the fetal position as they battled the elements and seasickness.

Through it all, Captain Worsley navigated through the spray and the squalls, until after six days at sea, Clarence and Elephant Islands appeared just 30 miles ahead. The men were exhausted. Worsley had by that stage not slept for 80 hours. And while some were crippled by seasickness, others were wracked with dysentery. Frank Wild, Shackleton’s second-in-command, wrote that “at least half the party were insane.” Yet they rowed resolutely toward their goal, and on April 15, they clambered ashore on Elephant Island.

Marooned on Elephant Island

It was the first time they had been on dry land since leaving South Georgia 497 days previously. But their ordeal was far from over. The likelihood of anybody coming across them was vanishingly small, and so after nine days of recuperation and preparation, Shackleton, Worsley and four others set out in one of the lifeboats, the James Caird, to seek help from a whaling station on South Georgia, more than 800 miles away. 

For 16 days, they battled monstrous swells and angry winds, baling water out of the boat and beating ice off the sails. “The boat tossed interminably on the big waves under grey, threatening skies,” recorded Shackleton. “Every surge of the sea was an enemy to be watched and circumvented.” Even as they were within touching distance of their goal, the elements hurled their worst at them: “The wind simply shrieked as it tore the tops off the waves,” Shackleton wrote. “Down into valleys, up to tossing heights, straining until her seams opened, swung our little boat.”

The next day, the wind eased off and they made it ashore. Help was almost at hand; but this, too, was not the end. The storms had pushed the James Caird off course, and they had landed on the other side of the island from the whaling station. And so Shackleton, Worsley and Tom Crean set off to reach it by foot—climbing over mountains and sliding down glaciers, forging a path that no human being had ever forged before, until, after 36 hours of desperate hiking, they staggered into the station at Stromness.

'My Name Is Shackleton'

There was no conceivable circumstance under which three strangers could possibly appear from nowhere at the whaling station, and certainly not from the direction of the mountains. And yet here they were: their hair and beards stringy and matted, their faces blackened with soot from blubber stoves and creased from nearly two years of stress and privation.

And old Norwegian whaler recorded the scene when the three men stood before the station manager Thoralf Sørlle:

“Manager say: ‘Who the hell are you?’ And the terrible bearded man in the center of the three say very quietly: ‘My name is Shackleton.’ Me – I turn away and weep.”

Rescue Mission to Elephant Island

Once the other three members of the James Caird had been retrieved, attention turned to rescuing the 22 men remaining on Elephant Island. Yet, after all that had gone before, this final task in many ways proved to be the most trying and time-consuming of all. The first ship on which Shackleton set out ran dangerously low on fuel while trying to navigate the pack ice, and was forced to turn back to the Falkland Islands. The government of Uruguay proffered a vessel that came within 100 miles of Elephant Island before being beaten back by the ice.

Each morning on Elephant Island, Frank Wild, whom Shackleton had left in charge, issued the call for everyone to “Lash up and stow” their belongings. “The Boss may come today!” he declared daily. His companions grew increasingly dispirited and doubtful. “Eagerly on the lookout for the relief ship,” recorded Macklin on August 16, 1916. “Some of the party have quite given up hope of her coming.” Orde-Lees was clearly one of them. “There is no good in deceiving ourselves any longer,” he wrote.

But Shackleton procured a third ship, the Yelcho, from Chile; and finally, on August 30, 1916, the saga of the Endurance and its crew came to an end. The men on the island were settling down to a lunch of boiled seal’s backbone when they spied the Yelcho just off the coast. It had been 128 days since the James Caird had left; within an hour of the Yelcho appearing, all ashore had broken camp and left Elephant Island behind. Twenty months after setting out for the Antarctic, every one of the Endurance crew was alive and safe.

While Shackleton's crew miraculously made it back to England, his ship did not. For more than a century, the Endurance remained among history's most elusive shipwrecks. But in 2022, an international team of marine archaeologists, explorers and scientists located the Endurance at the bottom of the Weddell Sea, approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded when Endurance sank. 

“We have made polar history with the discovery of Endurance, and successfully completed the world’s most challenging shipwreck search,” said John Shears , the leader of Endurance22, the expedition team that used submersibles and drones to locate the wooden ship.

Photos released from the Endurance22 expedition revealed the sunken, three-masted ship in mesmerizing detail, including an image of its stern where its name "ENDURANCE" was visible above a five-pointed star.

Shackleton's Early Death

Ernest Shackleton never did reach the South Pole or crossed Antarctica. He launched one more expedition to the Antarctic, but the Endurance veterans who rejoined him noticed he appeared weaker, more diffident, drained of the spirit that had kept them alive. On January 5, 1922, with the ship at South Georgia, he had a heart attack in his bunk and died. He was just 47.

With his death, Wild took the ship to Antarctica; but it proved unequal to the task, and after a month spent futilely attempting to penetrate the pack, he set a course for Elephant Island. From the safety of the deck, he and his comrades peered through binoculars at the beach where so many of them had lived in fear and hope. 

“Once more I see the old faces & hear the old voices—old friends scattered everywhere,” wrote Macklin. “But to express all I feel is impossible.”

And with that, they turned north one last time and went home.

Alexander, Caroline,  The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition  ( Alfred A. Knopf , 1998) Heacox, Kim,  Shackleton: The Antarctic Challenge ( National Geographic Society, 1999) Huntford, Roland,  Shackleton ( Hodder & Stoughton, 1985) Lansing, Alfred,  Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage ( Perseus Books , 1986) Shackleton, Ernest,  South  ( Macmillan , 1920) Worsley, F.A.,  Shackleton’s Boat Journey ( Hodder & Stoughton, 1940)

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The History of Shackleton’s Endurance

In 1914, famed explorer Ernest Shackleton, along with a skilled crew, sailed ‘Endurance’ towards the South Pole, hoping to be the first to cross Antarctica from sea to sea via the South Pole.

Endurance was a barquentine, three-masted ship that was designed by Ole Aanderud Larsen and built at the Framnæs shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway. The ship was completed on December 17, 1912, and is best remembered for its last voyage, carrying Ernest Shackleton, Captain Worsley, and their crew on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The ship was trapped in and later crushed by the polar ice in the Antarctic. It was lost for 107 years before finally being discovered in March 2022. 

Who was Ernest Shackleton? 

Ernest Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish explorer born in February 1874. He is remembered for three British expeditions that he led into the Antarctic.  His first voyage was abroad Discovery , accompanying Robert Falcon Scott from 1901 to 1904. Later, he and his companions on the Nimrod set a new record for the “farthest South latitude” in 1909. He was knighted by King Edward VII for his early achievements.

Shackleton was famous for his accomplishments, becoming a public hero well-loved by the British public and a well-respected explorer who was praised by the likes of Roald Amundsen and others. 

It was in 1911 that Shackleton set a new goal—to cross Antarctica from sea to sea via the South Pole (which had recently been reached by Roald Amundsen). Shackleton leaned on his prestigious and previous successes in order to fund the expedition, raising £10,000 from the British government (close to £1,000,000 or $1,312,000 today). Sailors from around the world applied to become part of his journey (reportedly, he received more than 5,000 applications).

The expedition became known as the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, and it lasted from 1914 to 1917. It was this fateful voyage onboard Endurance, that doomed the ship and led to a series of catastrophic events that have been described as the most incredible survival story in history. 

The Last Voyage of the Endurance 

While Shackleton is the best-remembered member of the Endurance crew, the ship was actually captained by Captain F. Worsely. He was an incredibly experienced seaman who is usually credited with navigating the crew to safety, especially in the small boats (a skill that Shackleton was lacking). The crew also included the second in command, Frank Wild, carpenter Harry McNish, Alexander Macklin (a surgeon), the meteorologist Captain L. Hussey, and famously, a male cat named Mrs. Chippy. 

Timeline of Events 

Below is a timeline of events leading up to and following the loss of the Endurance : 

Setting Sail

The crew set sail from Plymouth

Start of the Journey

The ship left Buenos Aires, stopping at Grytviken, a whaling station on South Georgia Island

Grytviken Departure

Endurance  left Grytviken

Slowing Progress

Two days later, the ship ran into the polar ice pack, and progress slowed

Several Weeks of Slow Progress

The ship moved slowly through the pack for several weeks (around 30 miles a day)

Nearing Vassal Bay

Endurance  was 300 miles from Vassal Bay, the crew’s destination

Endurance  set sail briefly before becoming trapped again

The ship was icebound as far as the crew could see

Unsuccessful Attempt of Removing Ice

The crew tried unsuccessfully to break the ship free from the ice manually

Impassable Route through the Ice

The water opened for a quarter of a mile ahead, but the pack around the open area was solid and impassable

Winter Begins

Antarctic winter begins, and the sun rises and sets for the last time

Drifting (March-May)

Worsley estimates that the ship is drifting with the ice, moving more than 100 miles to the northwest

Blizzard Breaks Ice (July 14th-16th)

A blizzard moves the ship and breaks the ice into smaller pieces

Movement in the Ship from Ice

Movement in the pack tilts the ship, allowing it to float for the first time in six months. Movements continue, moving and compressing the ship violently and dangerously

Leak Discovery

Shackleton and the crew attempt to move the ship and take advantage of an opening, but a leak is discovered. The ice closed in again two days later

Departing off the Ship (October)

The ship continued to be damaged by the ice, with the pressure steadily increasing. The deck of the ship buckled upward, and the men were ordered out of the ship and onto the ice for their own safety

Endurance Sinks with Crew Stranded

Endurance  was lost beneath the icy waters of the Antarctic, and the crew’s situation became even more perilous

How the Crew of Endurance Survived

The crew of the E ndurance , after losing their ship to the polar ice flows, took to the ice in a desperate bid for survival. The crew recovered some critical items from the ship, but the dangers of remaining on board were too great, and the bow was crushed on November 13, 1915, and the remaining wreckage was hit by another pressure wave a few days later. The next day, Endurance had sunk, obliterating any trace of the ship. What happened next has long been regarded as one of the most remarkable feats of survival in the history of exploration. 

The crew camped on the ice for nearly two months while Shackleton and Worsley hoped that the ice would drift towards a known island more than 400 km away. Eventually, Shackleton, against the wishes of his captain, decided that the crew’s best hope of survival was to pack their crucial belongings onto the lifeboats and drag them across the ice. This trek didn’t last more than a few days or make it more than a few miles. Noting the dangers of damage to the lifeboats, Shakulton decided to make another camp, known as “Patience Camp, “on another ice flow. Again, the crew hoped that the ice would take them closer to a safe harbor.

On April 9, 1916, Shackleton ordered the crew into their meager lifeboats with the hope of sailing toward Elephant Island. Their destination was a small, rocky, and inhospitable destination that would take around five days to reach. While sailing, the crew endured unimaginable conditions. This included the freezing cold, seasickness, lack of food, unsuitable clothing and provisions, and frostbite.

During this period, Shackleton is described as caring for his crew in every way possible, including giving his mittens to the famed photographer of the expedition. Captain Worsley, whose skill in small boats saved the crews’ lives more than once, was almost entirely responsible for navigating them to the small Elephant Island. The crew, against all odds, reached the island. But they were far from safe. 

A select few, including Shackleton, Worsely, and Harry McNish, set off once more in the James Caird, one of the three small lifeboats. The crew outfitted it, breaking down the other two lifeboats, in order to ensure that it would survive the 720-mile journey to the South Georgia whaling station they departed from nearly a year earlier. The captain’s second in command, Frank Wild, was left on Elephant Island along with the remaining members of the crew to wait for Shackleton’s and Worsley’s return with help.

Shackleton packed supplies for around four weeks, refusing to take more from his stranded crew. He was well aware of the risks of the journey and knew that if they did not make it to South Georgia within the four-week time period that everyone would be lost. It took from April 24th-May 8th to reach South Georgia Island. By this point, Shackleton and his small band were near death.

Unfortunately, the small boat landed on the wrong side of the island. Rather than set sail again, part of the small group traveled 32 miles over dangerous, unmapped alpine mountain terrain for 36 hours straight in order to reach a whaling station on May 20. 

Shackleton and Worsley immediately organized a rescue for the twenty-two other crew members on Elephant Island. The crew was successfully rescued, after four failed attempts, on August 30, 1916. Amazingly, every member of Shackleton’s crew survived their harrowing months in the Antarctic. 

The Discovery of the Endurance Wreck 

Incredibly the wreck of Endurance was discovered in the Antarctic by The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, using the South African icebreaker Agulhas II, on March 5, 2022, exactly 100 years after the funeral of Ernest Shackleton and 107 after the ship was crushed by the polar ice. 

The ship was found upright and in what scientists are calling remarkably good condition. It is in, as the director of the exploration Mensun Bound noted, “a brilliant state of preservation.” It’s even possible to make out the name “Endurance” on the stern. The wreck is considered one of the most important shipwreck discoveries in modern history.

Was the ship Endurance ever found?

Yes, Endurance was recently discovered on March 5, 2022. It was lost for 107 years in the Antarctic waters and, amazingly, was found in excellent condition. The rock is now considered one of the most important maritime discoveries in recent history.

Did the crew of Endurance survive?

Yes, the entire crew of the Endurance survived their ordeal. Their survival story is harrowing and incredibly hard to imagine. Today, it is considered one of the most remarkable survival stories in the history of exploration.

Where did Endurance sink?

Endurance sank in the Antarctic. Captain Worsley recorded it at 68° 38.5’S 52° 58’W in the middle of an impassable ice flow. 

How long were Shackleton’s crew on Elephant Island?

Shackleton’s crew was on Elephant Island from April 15, 1916, until they were rescued on August 30, 1916. All told the crew’s journey lasted more than two years. 

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Endurance Expedition: Shackleton's Antarctic survival story

The Endurance Expedition was a failed mission to cross the Antarctic on foot, leaving 28 explorers stranded.

Endurance Expedition

Shackleton's rescue mission, fate of the second crew, shackleton's earlier expeditions, additional reading, bibliography.

The Endurance Expedition was a British mission to cross the Antarctic on foot in 1914-17. Launched in August 1914, the expedition became one of the most famous survival stories of all time after the expedition's ship, Endurance, became stranded and then sank during the voyage to the Antarctic. 

The Endurance's crew became stranded on the remote Elephant Island and were only rescued over four months later, in August 1916, after expedition leader Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922) left to seek help. The miraculous survival of the Endurance expedition crew earned Shackleton worldwide fame though his goal to cross the Antarctic on foot was never achieved. 

The location of the sunken ship Endurance was lost for 107 years until being rediscovered on March 5, 2022. 

Formally known as the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, the Endurance Expedition to Antarctica began in August 1914. The crew sailed to the Weddell Sea via South Georgia. "His expedition would consist of two ships: one would drop supply depots for him and the other from the other side of the continent, which he would personally lead," British explorer and Shackleton biographer Sir Ranulph Fiennes told All About History magazine. "He hoped to cross Antarctica and make a famous name for himself over and above Scott." On the other side of the continent, the second crew, called the Ross Sea Party, planned to drop off depot supplies from their ship Aurora. With a crew of 28 (including Shackleton), Endurance entered the Weddell Sea but became trapped in pack ice during Dec. 1914. Stuck fast in the ice, with the crew unable to break Endurance free, the ship drifted to within approximately 30 miles (48km) of Antarctica in January 1915, before drifting north. 

Endurance was slowly crushed by the moving ice, until Shackleton ordered the crew to abandon ship on Oct. 27, 1915. The ship sank shortly afterwards and the crew escaped with three lifeboats and limited supplies. Shackleton led his men through the shrinking ice pack for months while they tried to reach land. 

On April 9 1916, the Endurance Expedition crew left the ice floe in the lifeboats, reaching the uninhabited and remote Elephant Island on April 14. Ten days later, Shackleton set off to find help. He selected five crew members to join him and set sail in the 22.5-foot-long (6.9-meter-long) lifeboat called the "James Caird". He left the remainder of his men in the care of his second-in-command Frank Wild, who upturned the two remaining lifeboats to use as shelter. 

Related: When did Antarctica become a continent?

Shackleton and his small crew sailed over 800 miles (1,300 km) across the Southern Ocean to a group of whaling stations in South Georgia. The audacious rescue mission later became known as the Caird voyage after their small lifeboat. "It was the most amazing suffering over a long period. There were constant rebuffs and to be wet and cold is utterly debilitating," Fiennes said. "How none of them went completely mad over that period of floating is just incredible. I have never experienced hot or cold suffering that reminded me in an even miniscule way of Shackleton’s Caird voyage."

Shackleton and his men endured heavy seas, Force-9 winds and ice build-ups on the hull that threatened to capsize their vessel. Shackleton later recounted that the waves reached heights of over 100 feet (30 meters) and moved at speeds of 50 mph (80kmph). On May 5, 1916, the boat was even struck by a tidal wave that Shackleton initially mistook for the sky. He later wrote: "I have never seen a wave so gigantic."

The James Caird somehow survived the voyage, which Fiennes credits to Shackleton’s leadership. "They had already experienced Endurance sinking and lived on ice floes for months before trying to work out the safest way out. Whatever way Shackleton chose, death was the likely outcome but he kept cheerful."

After 17 days at sea, the James Caird landed on the southern coast of South Georgia — the opposite side of the island from their destination. After recovering from the voyage, Shackleton and two of his crew trekked for 36 hours across the island, reaching Stromness station on May 20. Shackleton next arranged a rescue ship to collect the remaining 22 crew stranded on Elephant Island.

After several aborted rescue attempts, Shackleton was lent a tugboat called Yelcho by the Chilean government and he finally reached Elephant Island on August 30, 1916. A smoke signal was sent from the shore while Shackleton approached the beach in a small boat. Figures emerged from the capsized lifeboats and when he was within earshot Shackleton called out: "Are you alright?"

“All well!” Came the reply. All the men on the island had survived. "It is an absolutely incredible survival story,” Fiennes said.

The story of the Endurance's crew is a supreme example of survival against the odds. However, the neglected Ross Sea Party became stranded off Antarctica until January 1917. "Shackleton was criminally negligent in his planning for the other side," Fiennes said. "Three of the party (including the commander Aeneas Mackintosh) died and of course there was no way of knowing that the Endurance had sunk. The three men died horribly for nothing. They had actually managed to drop most of the food off, even though their ship with most of their kit had been caught in the ice and taken away before they had unloaded properly. It was a disaster.”

Because the story of Endurance has become so famous, the sufferings of the Ross Sea Party and the fact that Shackleton achieved none of his actual objectives during 1914-17 have almost been forgotten.

It wasn’t until Sir Vivian Fuchs’s Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1955-58 that the first overland crossing of Antarctica was completed. Fuchs achieved this by using tracked snow vehicles and it wasn’t until Fiennes’ own mission, named the Unsupported Antarctic Continent Expedition (1992-93) that a crossing of Antarctica by foot was successful.

In 1901 Shackleton served as Third Officer under the command of Captain Robert Falcon Scott on the British National Antarctic Expedition, named after the expedition's ship 'Discovery'. The expedition  was a milestone in British polar exploration, and the group conducted extensive scientific and geographical research into what was then a largely unexplored continent. 

The Discovery Expedition also included an early attempt to reach the South Pole. Shackleton accompanied Scott and Dr Edward Wilson on this journey and they reached a ‘Farthest South’ record of 420 miles from the Pole on Dec. 30 1902. 

During the attempt to reach the South Pole, Shackleton suffered from ill health, though this did not stop him continuing with the journey. “Shackleton did show an incredible willpower and it had to be greater than anybody else because of his illnesses," said Fiennes. "He had a weak heart and knew it so he wouldn’t allow anyone to test it. He also had lung problems, which were exacerbated by altitude… On all of his expeditions most people would have withdrawn with that state of health.”

In 1907, Shackleton returned to the Antarctic but this time he was in command of what was known as the ‘Nimrod’ Expedition. Along with fellow explorers Jameson Adams, Eric Marshall and Frank Wild he achieved the record for reaching the furthest south, in his attempts to once again reach the South Pole. "Shackleton got much further south by finding an inlet at Mount Hope to get to the Beardmore Glacier," Fiennes said. "He then got to within 97 miles of the South Pole, which was amazing. This was a world record and I would call it a success on the way to the ultimate success. It wasn’t a failure but Shackleton realised that his critics would deem him a failure because he hadn’t quite reached the Pole."

As well as reaching the farthest south, a separate group from the expedition reached the estimated location of the South Magnetic Pole. The expedition also achieved the first ascent of Antarctica’s second-highest volcano, Mount Erebus, and Shackleton was knighted by Queen Victoria upon his return.

Historian Dan Snow spoke to Ranulph Fiennes about his research into Shackleton's expedition and his own Antarctic exploring. The Royal Geographical Society has a wealth of fantastic home-schooling, classroom or personal study resources on Shackleton's Antarctic expeditions.  

• " Shackleton: A Biography " Ranulph Fiennes (Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, 2021)
• Alfred Lansing, Endurance. The true story of Shackleton’s incredible voyage to the Antarctic (Phoenix, 2003)
• Shackleton Endurance Expedition - Timeline, Royal Geographic Society 
• Ranulph Fiennes' expeditions and challenges , Marie Curie 
• Navigation of the James Caird on the Shackleton Expedition , Records of the Canterbury Museum, 2018 Vol. 32: 23–66 Canterbury Museum 2018
• THE ANTARCTIC PHOTOGRAPHS OF FRANK HURLEY, HERBERT PONTING AND CAPTAIN SCOTT  

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Tom Garner is the Features Editor for History of War magazine and also writes for sister publication All About History . He has a Master's degree in Medieval Studies from King's College London and has also worked in the British heritage industry for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust , as well as for English Heritage and the National Trust . He specializes in Medieval History and interviewing veterans and survivors of conflicts from the Second World War onwards. 

• Timothy Williamson Editor-in-Chief, All About History

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Reliving Shackleton’s Epic Endurance Expedition

Tim Jarvis’s Plan to Cross the Antarctic in an Exact Replica of the James Caird

K. Annabelle Smith

Legend has it that Antarctic adventurer Ernest Shackleton posted an advertisement in a London paper before his infamous Endurance expedition:

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.”

Although no one has been able to find the original ad , the sentiment, at the very least, should serve as a strong warning to Tim Jarvis, the British/Australian adventurer who is attempting to recreate the expedition as authentically as possible.

“For Shackleton it was a journey into the unknown made out of desperation,” Jarvis says. “For us it will not be that different.”

Shackleton was a leader of an era of polar exploration, but his misadventure began in 1915, when his ship sank just 15 months into the Antarctic journey, stranding him and 28 men. Their once-proud journey was reduced to a sad hamlet of windblown tents on the ice. Desperate, Shackleton and five others embarked on the 800-mile mission across the Southern Ocean in the James Caird , a dinky, 22.5-foot, oak-framed lifeboat . Seventeen days of frigid winds and treacherous seas later, they landed on the remote island of South Georgia where they clambered over the rocky, glaciated mountains to find refuge. It would take more than four months for Shackleton to return to Elephant Island and rescue the 23 men left behind. Despite the odds against them, all 28 survived.

It’s an astonishing journey that has yet to be authentically replicated. But in January, Jarvis and his crew will set out in a replica of the Caird and venture on the same 800-mile journey, titled the “ Shackleton Epic ,” and they plan on doing it exactly as Shackleton did—down to the reindeer skin sleeping bags and Plasmon biscuits .

In fact, the only concession to using period equipment will be modern emergency gear on board as stipulated by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea .

When Jarvis commissioned the replica from master boat builder Nat Wilson, it was nothing short of a challenge—exact record of sail rig and hull construction does not exist—the only surviving reference is the boat itself, now on permanent display at Dulwich College in London. ‘Replicas’ of varying kinds exist from IMAX films and other mission reenactments, but according to Sebastian Coulthard, the Petty Officer aboard the Alexandra Shackleton , this lifeboat is the most accurate copy of the Caird ever constructed. All of the dimensions were taken from the original—at an accuracy of a quarter of an inch.

The original James Caird had an open top, exposing its inhabitants to the elements. All of the seams were caulked with wax and plugged with a blend of oil paint and seal blood. When the hatch was open and the waves were pouring in, the crew had very little protection from the sea.

Like the  Caird , there is little legroom in the  Alexandra Shackleton —the masts, spars and oars are tied to the rower’s seat .  Damp and dank, the space available will be used more for supplies than the comfort of its inhabitants.

“It was extremely claustrophobic, cold and noisy [in the  James Caird ]. With the sounds of the waves on the hull, in rough sea it would’ve been like a washing machine,” Jarvis says. “The cold comes through the hull. The Southern Ocean’s temperatures range from 28 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.”

There have been many attempts to trace Shackleton’s steps in the past, but the journey to South Georgia Island hasn’t become any less harrowing than it was 96 years ago. Trevor Potts, the leader of a 1994 expedition that recreated the  James Caird  journey with modern equipment, can vouch for that.

“The risks of such an expedition are very high,” Potts says. “It would be very easy to get swamped or rolled over. In severe weather in the open ocean, an escort ship would be very little help until the conditions moderated.”

On their journey, Potts and his crew fought gale winds up to 50 miles per hour across the Southern Ocean. They dropped anchor in South Georgia at a derelict whaling station—one of three used by hunters during Shackleton’s era. On land, faced with heavily crevassed terrain and little visibility, their attempt to retrace Shackleton’s mountaineering leg of the journey in reverse was halted. The following is an excerpt from Potts’s entry into a logbook at the Cumberland Bay station:

“Left to do Shackleton’s crossing both ways, not surprising we did not make it. Crossed the stream off the  König  [glacier] a bit deeper and very fast, not a pleasant experience. Chris nearly ruined a perfectly hideous pair of underpants with fear.”

Potts knows the list of risks with using period equipment is a long one: Crevasse fall, climbing injury, frostbite, exposure to the elements and capsizing—to name a few. Many of Shackleton’s men were frostbitten; records from those left on Elephant Island note the amputation of one man’s toe and part of an ear.

“Shackleton only had Burberry windproof clothing suitable for the dry, frozen continent. Once that type of clothing is wet, it will stay wet for the whole journey,” Potts says. “Shackleton and his men were hardened to it after a year on the ice and still some of them were more dead than alive when [the five men] returned [to Elephant Island].”

The key to making it through the journey in one piece—besides a healthy dose of luck—Jarvis says, is in the training of his crew. Prior to embarkation, they will complete crevasse rescue training and man-overboard drills and consult with other expert sailors.

“We will keep Shackleton’s story alive by attempting the journey. If successful, we will not claim to truly have done what he did, as our chances for rescue will be better than his were,” Jarvis says. “Nevertheless, we will have gotten as close as we can to doing what he did.”

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K. Annabelle Smith is a writer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico who covers a wide variety of topics for Smithsonian.com. Her work also appears in OutsideOnline.com and Esquire.com.

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Shackleton’s Journey – Planning Overview

Written by Dan

Last updated March 8, 2024

The story of Ernest Shackleton’s incredible journey has captivated audiences for over a century. An endurance feat like no other, the famous Antarctic explorer faced impossible odds and unfathomable perils to survive his remarkable voyage – but with strong leadership, carefully crafted plans, and an unwavering determination, he ultimately gave future generations a heroic tale of resilience that still resonates today.

For teachers looking to introduce this extraordinary story in their classrooms, it can seem overwhelming to cover such an expansive topic effectively.

However, by breaking down the essential elements of Shackleton’s journey into manageable planning points, you, too, can traverse the icy terrain and deliver an inspiring lesson your students will never forget!

Related : For more, check out our article on  Harry The Poisonous Centipede  here.

Table of Contents

Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill

Shackleton’s journey is a beautiful and inspiring children’s book written and illustrated by William Grill. The book tells the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew as they set out on a dangerous expedition to cross Antarctica in 1914.

The journey began when Shackleton and his men sailed from England on the ship Endurance. They encountered many challenges, including treacherous weather conditions, thick ice, and hungry polar bears. Despite these obstacles, they persevered and continued on their journey.

However, disaster struck when the Endurance became trapped in ice for months. The crew was forced to abandon the ship and camp on an ice floe. They had limited supplies and were far from any civilization.

Despite these dire circumstances, Shackleton remained optimistic and determined to save his men. He led rescue missions over several months, braving freezing temperatures and dangerous terrain to reach safety.

All of Shackleton’s men survived thanks to his leadership and determination. The story of Shackleton’s Journey is a testament to the human spirit, showing that even in the face of extreme adversity, we can find hope and strength within ourselves.

Critical Themes In Shackleton’s Journey

Perseverance:.

This theme is evident throughout the story as Shackleton, and his crew face numerous challenges on their journey, including treacherous weather conditions, thick ice, and hunger. Despite these obstacles, they continue their mission, showing remarkable perseverance and determination.

Leadership:

Shackleton’s leadership skills are on full display in this story. He remains calm and focused even in the most challenging situations, inspiring his men to follow him and trust his decision-making abilities. His leadership ultimately leads to the successful rescue of his crew members.

The Endurance crew must work together to survive in harsh conditions with limited resources. They rely on each other for support and encouragement, demonstrating the importance of teamwork in achieving a common goal.

Even when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges, Shackleton never loses hope that he will be able to save his men. His unwavering optimism inspires those around him to keep going despite the odds.

Resilience:

The crew demonstrates incredible resilience as they endure months of living on an ice floe with limited supplies and uncertain prospects for rescue. They find ways to adapt to their circumstances and persevere through difficult times.

Main Characters in Shackleton’s Journey

Here are the main characters in Shackleton’s Journey:

• Sir Ernest Shackleton – The expedition’s leader and the story’s protagonist.
• Frank Hurley – The photographer who documents the journey through photographs.
• Tom Crean – A skilled seaman who becomes one of Shackleton’s most trusted men.
• Frank Worsley – The captain of the Endurance, responsible for navigating the ship through treacherous waters.
• The crew of the Endurance – A group of 27 men from various countries who join Shackleton on his journey to cross Antarctica.

Teaching Opportunities

The story of Shackleton’s Journey can be an excellent tool for improving children’s writing skills in several ways:

• Vocabulary: The story is rich with descriptive language and technical terms related to sailing and exploration, which can help expand children’s vocabulary. Please encourage students to identify unfamiliar words and look up their meanings.
• Character development: The characters in the story are well-developed and complex, allowing students to analyze their motivations, actions, and relationships. Students can practice describing character traits and using evidence from the text to support their claims.
• Narrative structure: The story follows a clear narrative arc with a beginning, middle, and end. Students can study how the author builds tension and suspense throughout the story, using foreshadowing, imagery, and pacing techniques.
• Persuasive writing: Shackleton was known for his ability to inspire his crew members even in the most challenging circumstances. Students can analyze his leadership style and practice writing persuasive essays or speeches to motivate others toward a common goal.
• Research skills: The story of Shackleton’s Journey is based on actual events, providing an opportunity for students to conduct research on topics such as Antarctic exploration, sailing technology, or the history of polar expeditions. They can use this research to enhance their understanding of the story and incorporate factual information into their writing.

Key Vocabulary

Here are some key vocabulary words that children may encounter when reading Shackleton’s Journey, along with their definitions:

• Expedition – A journey or voyage taken for a specific purpose, often involving exploration or research.
• Antarctica – The southernmost continent on Earth, known for its extreme cold and ice-covered landscapes.
• Endurance – The name of the ship that Shackleton and his crew sailed on their expedition to Antarctica.
• Iceberg – A large piece of ice floating in the ocean, often dangerous to ships because it can be challenging to see.
• Navigation – The process of planning and directing the course of a ship or other vehicle.
• Arctic – The region around the North Pole, characterized by extreme cold and frozen landscapes.
• Sledging – Traveling over snow and ice using a sled pulled by dogs or humans.
• Blubber – A layer of fat beneath the skin of marine mammals, such as whales, used as a fuel source by Arctic explorers.
• Aurora Australis – Also known as the Southern Lights, a natural phenomenon where colourful lights appear in the sky over Antarctica due to solar activity.

By becoming familiar with these key vocabulary words, children will be better equipped to understand and appreciate Shackleton’s Journey story while expanding their language skills.

Lesson Plans

Lesson plan 1:.

Vocabulary Development Objective:  Students can identify and define key vocabulary words from Shackleton’s Journey.

Materials Needed:

• Copies of Shackleton’s Journey or access to the text online
• Whiteboard or chart paper
• Introduce students to the concept of key vocabulary words, explaining that these are important words that they may frequently encounter in a particular text.
• Provide students with a list of key vocabulary words from Shackleton’s Journey (or have them create their own list as they read).
• Have students work in pairs or small groups to research the definitions of each word using dictionaries or online resources.
• As a class, discuss each word and its purpose, recording them on the whiteboard or chart paper.
• Please encourage students to use these words in writing and discussing the text.

Assessment:

Have students write short paragraphs using several key vocabulary words from Shackleton’s Journey, demonstrating their understanding of their meanings.

Lesson Plan 2:

Character Analysis Objective:  Students will be able to analyze and describe characters from Shackleton’s Journey.

• Graphic organizers for character analysis (such as a character web or Venn diagram)
• Introduce students to character analysis, explaining that this involves studying a character’s traits, motivations, and relationships with other characters in a story.
• Please choose one or more characters from Shackleton’s Journey for students to analyze (such as Shackleton himself, Frank Worsley, or Tom Crean).
• Provide students with graphic organizers for character analysis and have them fill in details about each character based on evidence from the text.
• As a class, discuss each character and compare/contrast their traits and actions with those of other characters.
• Please encourage students to use what they’ve learned about these characters when writing about leadership, teamwork, or perseverance themes.

Have students write short essays describing one character from Shackleton’s Journey and how he contributed to the expedition’s success (or failure).

Lesson Plan 3:

Research Skills Objective:  Students can research topics related to Antarctica exploration and incorporate this information into their writing.

• Computers with internet access
• Research prompts/questions related to Antarctica exploration
• Introduce students to some basic facts about Antarctica (location, climate, wildlife) and explain why it is an important area for scientific research.
• Provide students with research prompts/questions related to Antarctic explorers (Shackleton, Amundsen), sailing technology used during polar expeditions, or modern-day scientific research conducted in Antarctica.
• Have students work independently or in pairs/small groups using computers and online resources (such as National Geographic Kids) to research their chosen topic(s).
• Please encourage students to take notes on essential facts/details they discover during their investigation.
• Have students incorporate this information into their writing about Shackleton’s Journey – for example, by including historical context/background information at the beginning of an essay or incorporating scientific findings into a persuasive speech advocating for further exploration of Antarctica.

Have students present summaries of their research findings along with examples of how they incorporated this information into their writing about Shackleton’s Journey

Website Resources

Literacy Shed Plus: “Shackleton’s Journey” by William Grill This website offers a comprehensive set of resources for teaching Shackleton’s Journey, including lesson plans, activities, and worksheets. The resources are organized by key themes such as exploration, survival, and leadership. There are also links to relevant videos and websites for further research.

Link:  https://www.literacyshedplus.com/en-us/resource/shackleton-s-journey-by-william-grill-en-gb

TES: 22-Lesson English Unit – Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill (Year 4/5/6) This resource provides a detailed unit plan for teaching Shackleton’s Journey throughout 22 lessons. The lessons are designed to cover a range of skills, including reading comprehension, writing, and speaking/listening. Each class includes learning objectives, activities, and assessment opportunities.

Link:  https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/22-lesson-english-unit-shackleton-s-journey-by-william-grill-year-4-5-6-english-planning-12691208

Teachwire: KS2 Book Topic – Shackleton’s Journey This website offers a brief overview of Shackleton’s journey and some ideas for related activities and discussion topics. It includes suggestions for incorporating the book into cross-curricular studies such as history and geography.

Link:  https://www.teachwire.net/news/ks2-book-topic-shackletons-journey/

Q: What age group is Shackleton’s Journey suitable for?

A: The book is generally recommended for children in grades 4-6 but can also be adapted for younger or older students.

Q: What critical themes in the book can be explored in the classroom?

A: Some key themes include exploration, leadership, perseverance, teamwork, and survival.

Q: Are there any films or videos that can supplement the book?

A: Yes! There are several documentaries about Shackleton’s expedition that can provide additional context and visuals. “Endurance” and “Shackleton” are two popular options.

Q: How can I incorporate writing into my lessons on Shackleton’s Journey?

A: There are many opportunities for writing throughout the book. For example, students could write journal entries from the perspective of one of the crew members, create persuasive speeches advocating for different courses of action during the journey, or write reflective essays on what they learned from reading about this historic expedition.

Q: Can Shackleton’s Journey be used to teach other subjects besides English/Language Arts?

A: Absolutely! The book relates to many other subjects, such as history (exploration and polar expeditions), geography (mapping and climate), science (biology and ecology), and even math (calculating distances and supplies needed).

Q: How long does teaching a unit on Shackleton’s Journey typically take?

A: This will depend on how much time you have available in your curriculum. Some teachers may focus only on certain aspects of the book over a few days or weeks, while others may plan a more extended unit lasting several months.

Q: Are any online resources available to help me plan my lessons on Shackleton’s Journey?

A: Yes! Several websites offer lesson plans, activities, videos, and other resources related to teaching this book. Examples include Literacy Shed Plus, TES, and Teachwire (links provided in this article).

Related Posts

About The Author

I'm Dan Higgins, one of the faces behind The Teaching Couple. With 15 years in the education sector and a decade as a teacher, I've witnessed the highs and lows of school life. Over the years, my passion for supporting fellow teachers and making school more bearable has grown. The Teaching Couple is my platform to share strategies, tips, and insights from my journey. Together, we can shape a better school experience for all.

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Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition Timeline

Home > Blog > Antarctica > Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition Timeline

Last updated on February 17 th , 2020

Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition Timeline

When Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition left South Georgia Island on 5 December 1914 to assist his bid to be the first to cross the Antarctic continent, he had no idea that a year and a half later he would end up on a rescue mission trekking across the very same subantarctic island where he started. Having not so much as set foot on the Antarctic continent, the expedition’s story, outlined below, remains one of the most remarkable polar survival sagas of all time.

5 December 1914

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition departs Grytviken whaling station, aboard the Endurance, in a bid to cross Antarctica from the Weddell Sea coast to the Ross Sea coast. This is the last time crew would touch land for 497 days.

30 December 1914

The Endurance crosses the Antarctic Circle, 66 33 degrees south.

10 January 1915

First sighting of the Antarctic continent (Coats Land).

18 January 1915

The Endurance becomes beset in pack ice in the Weddell Sea.

22 June 1915

Crew celebrates Midwinter’s Day with a feast on the Endurance.

2 September 1915

Pressure ice makes the Endurance, according to Perce Blackborow, “literally [jump] into the air and [settle] on its beam.”

27 October 1915

Shackleton gives order to abandon the Endurance.

1 November 1915

Shackleton and his crew set up camp on the pack ice, drifting north for another five months from November 1915 to April 1916 until the melting ice finally released them into the Southern Ocean.

21 November 1915

With a single cry of “She’s going, boys!” Shackleton and his crew watch Endurance sink.

23 December 1915

The crew begin to haul the three lifeboats (James Caird, Dudley Docker, and Stancomb Wills) westward over the ice, but the men are able to go only a short distance.

29 December 1915

Shackleton abandoned the march and set up ‘Patience Camp’ on the ice.

21 January 1916

A blizzard blows the floating camp north across the Antarctic Circle.

29 February 1916

In honour of Leap Year Day, the crew enjoys three full meals.

31 March 1916

The ice floe the crew are camped on splits in two, separating them from the three lifeboats, which they eventually get back.

7 April 1916

Elephant Island, a bleak and remote island home only to colonies of Elephant seals and penguins, appears on the horizon.

9 April 1916

The crew launches the three lifeboats into the Southern Ocean bound for Elephant Island.

16 April 1916

After several harrowing days at sea, the 28 men and three lifeboats land safely on Elephant Island.

17 April 1916

Shackleton moves camp seven miles to the west, to a spot that comes to be known as ‘Cape Wild’—after Frank Wild, the crew member who discovered it.

20 April 1916

With the long dark winter looming, and his men half-starved and desperate, Shackleton realised he would have to go for help or all would die. Shackleton announces that he will attempt to sail the 22-and-a-half-foot James Caird 800 miles to South Georgia.

24 April 1916

Shackleton and five of his men – Worsley, Crean, McNish, McCarthy, and Vincent – depart for South Georgia in James Caird.

10 May 1916

After 17 days and 800 miles in stormy seas, and with superior navigation by Frank Worsley, the James Caird miraculously arrives on the west coast of South Georgia.

19 May 1916

After a week of planning and recuperating, Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean set off to climb over the precipitous, heavily glaciated mountains of South Georgia to reach the refuge of the whaling station at Stromness on the other side of the island.

20 May 1916

Having trekked without a break for 36 hours over glacier-clad mountains thousands of feet high, Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean arrive at Stromness whaling station.

23 May 1916

Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean depart on the English-owned Southern Sky to rescue the remaining crew on Elephant Island, but are stopped by ice 100 miles short of the island.

10 June 1916

Uruguayan government loans the survey ship Instituto de Pesca No 1, which comes within sight of Elephant Island before pack ice turns it back.

12 July 1916

Chartered by the British Association, the schooner Emma sets out from Punta Arenas, but gets to within 100 miles of Elephant Island before storms and ice force it to return.

25 August 1916

Chilean authorities loan the Yelcho, a small steamer, which sets sail with Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean for Elephant Island.

30 August 1916

“I felt jolly near blubbing for a bit and could not speak for several minutes,” Wild wrote about seeing Shackleton arrive with the Yelcho, which rescued the party on this day, 22 months after they had initially set out from South Georgia.

3 September 1916

Shackleton and crew arrive at Punta Arenas, Chile. All 28 men survived.

Timeline resources

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/1914/timeline.html 

Shackleton’s Way, Margot Morrell & Stephanie Capparell, 2003

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