The island is most famous as
the desolate refuge of Ernest Shackleton. In
1916, following the loss of the ship Endurance in
His second in command, John
Robert Francis “Frank” Wild remained in charge of the 21 other men on
Elephant Island for more than four months while Shackleton led attempts to
return with a rescue ship. In his memoir, Wild recalled ‘We gave them three
hearty cheers and watched the boat getting smaller and smaller in the distance.
Then seeing some of the party in tears, immediately set them all to work.”
Indeed, there was much work
for the stranded party. Because the island had no natural source of shelter,
they constructed a shack and wind blocks from their remaining two lifeboats and
pieces of canvas tents Blubber lamps were used for lighting.
They hunted for penguins and
seals, neither of which was plentiful during the autumn and winter months. The
crew, many of whom were already ill and frostbitten, were now also in danger of
starvation. After four and a half months of waiting, one of the stranded men
spotted a ship on
According to Frank Worsley,
Shackfeton’s captain, the men pronounced the