Intrepid Shackleton is in the frame

A photo of The Endurance carried by Sir Ernest Shackleton on his 750-mile voyage to save his marooned crew was expected to fetch up to £20,000 when it was set to go on sale today.

The picture was among the major attractions at The Polar Sale hosted by London auction house Christie’s.

Here are some other facts about the legendary explorer:

:: Ernest Henry Shackleton was born in Co Kildare in 1874. one of 10 children born to a Quaker doctor and his wife.

:: The family motto was Fortitudine Vincimus - By Endurance We Conquer.

:: In 1901, Shackleton joined the British National Antarctic Expedition to the South Pole led by Robert Falcon Scott, sailing on the ship Discovery.

:: Scott, Shackleton, and British zoologist Edward Wilson reached a latitude further south than anyone had previously but ill-health forced Shackleton to return home.

:: He made a second attempt on the Nimrod between 1907 and 1909 but had to abandon that attempt when food supplies ran out.

:: In 1909, he was knighted for setting the record for the farthest southern latitude reached.

:: Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole in 1911, followed a month later by Scott who died with his team on the journey home.

:: Shackleton’s next challenge was to cross Antarctica. He set off in 1914 on the Endurance but the ship became trapped in ice for 10 months then sank.

:: He and the crew survived on the floating ice for six months before reaching the uninhabited Elephant Island in three small boats.

:: The explorer and five crew then set off to seek help at a whaling station on the island of South Georgia. Their perilous journey is regarded as one of the most heroic feats of navigation.

:: After three unsuccessful attempts Shackleton finally rescued his men in August 1916.

:: In 1921, he led another Antarctic expedition but died of a heart attack aboard his ship.