
On his return in 1909 Shackleton was considerably in debt, and had to raise money by giving a lecture tour about his adventures. Shackleton was widely regarded as a hero, and the tour was a great success.
We present an early wax cylinder record from this period, titled 'My South Polar Expedition' by Lieut. E.H. Shackleton, recorded on 30 March 1909, with the location of the recording apocryphally given as being the Albert Hall. In any event, Shackleton describes here the hazards of crossing the Beardmore Glacier: only ten men in recorded history have ever managed this crossing.
You can hear this historic recording (3m 47s) in MP3 format by clicking here. Please note that although the sound quality is at the pinnacle of Edwardian audio technology (an Edison Amberol Cylinder) it will be considerably less clear than you are accustomed to.
The recording (8.6MB) will open in a new window.
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Sir Ernest Shackleton is widely known as one of the most inspirational leaders of the twentieth century. The Shackleton Foundation is a new charitable trust.
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"Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all." - EHS 1909
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