SHACKLETON.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17420, 3 April 1922, Page 11

SHACKLETON.

AN UNCONQUERABLE SPIRIT

AND HIGH COURAGE, A FRIEND'S TRIBUTE. (lIIUU OUR OWN COKB£dFOM)£NI.) LONDON, February 14. Commander A. B. Armitage, RJK.R-, irho servod as Navigating Officer of tho .Discovery Expedition in 1301, writes from the Karmala, at Marseilles, to the " Morning Post,'* asking space in which to offer a email tribute t»o his one-time pupil, shipmate, and friend. Sir Ernest fc>haokleton. "During iho year in -which he 6PJred on the expedition in the Antarctic, .Sbackleton was a. host in himself in maintaining the cheerfulness and camaraderie which existed in our wardroom all thyse dreary winter months. end when (Scott insisted on h)9 beinp; invalided home in tho Morning, evenmember of the expedition keenly felt his loss. .He left with, so he told me, the determination to return and make good. In New Zealand and in England be did all in his power to aid the expedition."

Later Sir Ernest asked Commander Armitage to be joint, leader on his next Antarctic journey, but thougn private affairs made tins impossible, tho two men kept in touch, and had the Great Barrier ice conditions been favourable on lu9 own first journey ho undoubtedly ■ would have been tho first man at thft Pole. Nature foiled ids intention of 1 asing his attempt from the farthest south landing -place on the Barrier; but his gallant dash from Ross Island astonished vh© world and led to the success of Amundsen and Scott. Again Nature thwarted him in his great project of '."•ossinp the Antarctic Continent, but gave him another opportunity to display Vis marvellous qualities of lpadership, nluck, and endurance.

"The Toyafce'of the Quest, in its romantic conception, rivals the voyage'* of Cook, who also commenced his career ii tha Merchant Service," savs the writer, inl conclusion. "A man of varied attainments, Shackleton was a poet nnd a dreamer gifted with a vivid imagination. Endowed with an unconquerable spirit, and of the highest courage, lie faced all difficulties and dangers with the light-heirtedness of his Irish race, backed by the stubbornness of his Yorkshire anocstry. Adverse criticism, obetructiona, and lack of funds made him only more detei mined to win out. That he could find men willing and glad to seiwe with *iim again and again speaks volumes for him. They knew that he would always lead, that they could ever depend upon him, and that he would spare no &elf-saonfLce to geb them out of the tightest place.** ." Shackleton's Quest." "Shackleton was one of the greatest n'.en in the world," said Prebendary Carlile, in a sermon at St. Mary-at-Hill, "aud it .makes us almost jealom. that hia roruains should be left in the South, mar to the South Pole which he sought. "We-desire here to pay out homage to this great man, who we cannot help loving." Captain Halton, who assisted in the service, recalled one of Sir Ernest Shnckleton's sayings during the war, that "Death is a little, thing; life is a. hW thing." "I believe Shackleton had the right idea of life," he «dded. ''He had said he could not remain confined to small places, but wanted to search for the big things.'. No one can say that Shaekleton had been a failure, although, he did not succeed in getting into the Antarctic. England ia proud of him." Suggested Change of Name. In a letter to "The Times" Mr E. P. Mathers expresses tine view that the idea of burying the great explorer m South Georgia is fine and correct. "Wo oan only do one thing more, and that is, change the name of South Georgia to 'Shackleton.' I need not givo reasons for my suggestion. When, before the South African war, Shackleton was fourth officer under Captain Travers, of the Union Steam Shin Company, he showed ho had a prodigious memory, reciting long poems, to a favoured few,of tlho passengers. That was before officers became part of the machinery of a ship. Shackleton was no ordinary individual, being full of lofty aims and high'endeavours. He scarcely knew then what ho wanted to be, but two years later ho had found his metier when he came to the Cape with Scott in the Discovery, He will sleep well at 'Sliackleton.' " Far on the Eoad to Conquest. The "Matin" publishes nn interview which Sir Ernest gave on Trafalgar Day at Funchal to an official attached to the French Colonial Office. The "Boss" was bareheaded, his abundant hair in disorder, and he wore a thick jersey and big gum boots. He was soaking a biscuit in a large metal bowl full of oafo au lait. It was eight o'clock in the morning. His companions, just as negligently and comfortably dressed, moved about tlio deck, everyone working without the need of orders or surveillance. Sir Ernest said: "The Quest is a. little floating republic; there are no superior officers and no chevrons. You fee© in us seekers after the unknown. We are going to explore that part of the Antarctic which lies to the south of Africa. We are not going only to fix tho lie of tho land or to fix the situation of still unknown islands; we will study the geology, zoology, and meteorology of these, regions." "When the interviewer recalled the exploits of Scott, Oates, Bowers, Erans, and others who sleep beneath the snow, Sir Ernest replied: "Those men are not to be pitied. They went very far on the road to conquest, and they earned their rest. So far from their example being a cause of discouragement, it has in reality exalted the imagination of their compatriots and aroused fresh energy. They call to us to follow thorn, and this truth, applies not only to British explorers b<>> also to all those of other lands who have tho lust of adventure. Honours and wealth are little in comparison with the joy of completing the map of the world and carrying one's plan into the plains of perpetual ice."

Lure of the Unknown. A tribute to tho memory of Sir Ernest Shackleton was paid by Sir Francis Younghusband at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society. Sir Ernest, ho snid. had died in the midway course of his last great endeavour. Shackleton fctood forth in big and generous outline of that tnie type of sea adventurers which thLs island so readily brought forth. Adventure waa to him his very life. While being practical and given to examining every detail, ho was nevertheless driven and guided by a passionate love of penetrating into the unknown. That was he work he felt he ■was built for, and he was not at peat* with himself till he had thrown himself completely into it. It wn3 in leadership that Shackelton finally/ excelled. Not only had he the spirit of adventure, and with it pluck, fortitude, and longenduring resolution, but he had aiftii that far finer quality of loyalty to his followers. He could make them fee! that he -would risk himself utterly for them, and so they in their turn would endure anything tor liim. • Shack&aton's was an example of undaunted spirit, firm leadership, and staunch comradeship, which every future ©xplorar might emulate." \