Sadness, pride and cricket mark Pole anniversary

THE granddaughter of Captain Scott said the anniversary of his arrival at the South Pole brought “a mixture of pride and sadness” for his descendants.

Speaking at an event to mark the 100th anniversary of the first British team reaching the pole, Dafila Scott said she hoped the Terra Nova expedition would be remembered as much for its successes as its tragic end. The team of five led by Scott were famously beaten to the pole by Norwegian Roald Amundsen.

They arrived 33 days after Amundsen on January 17 1912, and died on their return journey.

Dr Scott, who lives near Cambridge, said: “Today is very much a day of mixed emotions.

“We are enormously proud of the wonderful achievements of my grandfather and the rest of the expedition.

“Both in scientific terms and as a feat of human endeavour, the expedition was much more than a simple race to the pole.

“Of course it came to a tragic end and that is something of personal sadness to the families. But enough time has gone by for us to be able to reflect on their legacy and we can share in the national pride in the expedition.”

Descendants, politicians, historians and scientists gathered at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge yesterday morning for a symposium to consider Scott’s scientific, historical and cultural legacy.

The institute was founded as a memorial to Scott and his companions.

Professor Julian Dowdeswell, the institute’s director, said the centenary gave them the perfect opportunity to reflect on Scott’s achievements and his legacy.

The institute has put on display an exhibition, These Rough Notes: Captain Scott’s Last Expedition, which includes manuscript material from the planning of the expedition to the diaries of the men on the search party who discovered the fate of Scott and his men.

Meanwhile, former SAS officer Neil Laughton, leader of a British expedition, said he hoped Captain Scott was looking down as they played a game of “extreme” cricket at the South Pole to mark the 100th anniversary of Scott’s arrival there.

Britain beat a rest of the world team in a match which saw players using a high-visibility orange ball, swathed in bulky clothing, sliding on ice and braving temperatures plunging as low as minus 35C.