An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean - Antarctic Survivor

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Evans, who was unable to attend, had arranged by telegraph, upon hearing the sad news, for the floral tribute to be sent through Crean’s former Terra Nova colleague, Robert Forde. The Discovery expedition was famed as one that laid the marker for future attempts to break the records for reaching farthest South yet it was also noted for being the one that was to divide the two leaders. Crean prepares for the trek to the South Pole with Captain Scott in 1911. (Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge) Tom Crean did have a life away from the ice of Antarctica and on September 5th 1917 he married Ellen Herlihy who, like Tom was also from Annascaul. He continued to serve in the Navy, throughout World War 1, and beyond. The last ship Crean would serve on was the Hecla, and it was during this service he suffered a serious fall. As a result of this accident he would retire from the Navy on March 24th 1920, and return to Annascaul where he opened a pub, which he named The South Pole Inn. Over the following three years, Crean would repeatedly find himself thrust into international incidents in an era when rebellions and battles for territory were commonplace across the countries and islands in an area that stretched from the Arctic to the Antarctic Circles.

The following report of a correspondence sent by an officer of Ringarooma during the mission does not detail how certain tribal customs impacted on the minds of crew members who encountered evidence of them. The mental wellbeing of such witnesses was, in the Victorian era, of little concern. In a sad twist of fate, when his own hour of need arrived, there was no one available with the life-saving skills he himself had displayed on many occasions. The safe return and recovery of one Evans was offset by the loss of another, his friend Taff Evans who, with Scott and the rest of the Polar party, had lost their lives on the return trip from the pole. Edgar “Taff” Evans had earlier confided in his friend Crean about his ambitions on his return to the Gower Peninsula. He was to buy a public house and name it The South Pole. Although not documented, I believe Tom Crean’s gesture to his great friend came in the form of The South Pole Inn, he himself opened in 1929, nine years after his retirement from the Navy. From a young age Tim had been left fascinated by the heroic tales of Tom Crean, whose story he discovered while spending much of his time in his father’s birthplace near Castlemaine in County Kerry, Ireland.

Later Life

Tom Crean in 1915 on board Endurance, ice-bound in the Weddel Sea. (Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge) On the Discovery expedition, Tom Crean also experienced being caught out in temperatures as low as -54 C, falling through thin ice into frigid waters, twice almost losing his life as a result and of course living on a ship that is completely entrapped by ice, for almost two years. When Discovery finally slipped from its icy hold and returned to Portsmouth in September 1904, Tom had firmly established himself as one of the most reliable and valuable crew members aboard, so much so that Scott singled him out for special mention for his ‘ meritorious service throughout‘ and promoted him to Petty Officer 1st Class. It was a firm discipline that Crean maintained for the rest of his life. While today a famous polar explorer might employ a smooth-talking public relations executive to promote his image or generally raise his profile, Crean remained tight-lipped and spoke to no one about his life. In 1927 he opened a pub in Annascaul. Obviously feeling that the passions of the war had cooled by then, he felt able to call it the South Pole Inn. But when visitors dropped in to see the renowned explorer Crean would politely make his excuses and leave. Tom Crean lived in Annascaul until his death in 1938, and all those alive today who remember him share one common memory—that he never spoke about his life as an explorer. Never once did Tom Crean give an interview to a journalist or an author. Even his two surviving daughters were told precious little about his adventures. Crean’s politics

Of the final eight men that reached within 170 miles of the pole after an arduous trek across Antarctica’s unforgiving terrain, five would be chosen to basque in the glory of being the first to reach the South Pole. Scott chose to disappoint his second in command Lieutenant Evans, William Lashly, another hardy polar veteran and a tearful Tom Crean. As Crean waved goodbye to his colleagues little was he to know that it would be the last time he would see them alive again. The bowl of flowers sent by Evans, served as a timeless reminder of the debt of gratitude owed to a man who, on a number of documented occasions, had put the lives of others above his own. His strong faith, it seems, had seen him through a host of perilous and historic journeys most ordinary humans could not have survived.It was probably a wise decision not to speak of his exploits. Tragically Tom’s brother Cornelius, who was a serving RIC officer, was killed in an IRA ambush, in Ballinspittle, Co. Cork on the 25th of April 1920. Antarctica cruise: We have seen whales – their spouts and breaches, their mournful wails – in abundance ] His fledgling years in the British navy had been a baptism of fire and, in February 1900, yet another long-distance assignment awaited as he boarded HMS Diana, bringing him and 450 fellow sailors to Sydney to man the ships of the Australian Station. On this date, and after 5 years of intense research, the most complete biography ever written about Tom Crean was released under the highly reputable publishing house, Irish Academic Press, under its imprint, Merrion Press.

In 2010, Tim created a Facebook campaign dedicated to achieving official recognition for the Annascaul born explorer. After leaving New Zealand in November, Terra Nova was fortunate to survive a violent hurricane, as it voyaged southwards, but by January 1911 the men were on the ice. Tom Crean never spoke of his exploits, never gave interviews and sadly left no memoirs of his exploits. Later, Crean was one of the large group that departed with Scott in November 1911 for the attempt at the South Pole. This journey had three stages: 400 statute miles (640 km) across the Barrier, 120 statute miles (190 km) up the heavily crevassed Beardmore Glacier to an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above sea level, and then another 350 statute miles (560 km) to the Pole.*

It sits there still today, a timeless reminder of the debt of gratitude owed to a man who, on a number of documented occasions, had put the lives of others above his own.