An Unsung Hero

This story reveals the remarkable Tom Crean, who ran away to sea aged 15 and played a memorable role in Antarctic exploration. He spent more time in the unexplored Antarctic than Scott or Shackleton, was one of the few to serve both and outlive both. Among the last to see Scott alive only 150 miles from the South Pole he was in the search party which found the frozen body. Tom joined Shackleton's Endurance expedition as the first shots of World War 1 were fired. In a most extraordinary feat of survival, Crean sailed the violent Southern Ocean in an open boat and made the first crossing of the glaciers of South Georgia to rescue his stranded comrades 800 miles away. Crean returned to Ireland, married and built a pub, the South Pole Inn in Anascaul, Co.