|
Thomas Crean (1877-1938) - Biographical notes
|
Tom Crean with puppies
Roger, Nell, Toby and Nelson
Endurance expedition
Tom Crean on the
Endurance, 1914
Tom Crean (right) with
Alf Cheetham, on the Endurance, 1914 |
Thomas Crean
Able seaman
Discovery 1901-04
Petty officer
Terra Nova 1910-13
Second officer Endurance
Endurance 1914-17
Tom
Crean served both Scott and Shackleton and outlived them both.
He was what is often described as "hardbitten" tough,
and determined, he had been disrated in the Navy for drunken and inappropriate
behaviour for his station and had a less than satisfactory character
reference from the Navy. He frequently came across as heavy handed and
tactless - forthright - to be more charitable.
His first encounter with Antarctic exploration came
with Scott's expedition on the Terra Nova and was a somewhat opportunistic
accident. Crean was in Christchurch, New Zealand serving aboard HMS
Ringarooma when Scott's "Discovery" was also in port and was in need
of an extra crewmember. It was December 1901 and Tom left his own ship
to join as a volunteer able seaman. He played a full role in activities
ashore including several sledging journey's.
Scott was impressed with Crean's performance, he was
promoted to Petty Officer 1st class on his return. Five years later,
when Scott was assembling a crew for what was to become his last expedition
aboard the Terra Nova, Crean was one of the men he chose first and was
appointed as an expert sledger and pony handler.
Tom Crean had thought that he might have been chosen
as one of Scott's party to make the final push to the South Pole, but
was overlooked in favour of Bowers, a great disappointment to him. As
it was, Crean was one of the last men to Scott alive and he was one
of those who buried him and his companions in the snow a month later.
He accompanied the polar party up the Beardmore Glacier, on the return
journey he walked the last difficult 35 miles alone for 20 hours in
appalling conditions to get help for a companion (Teddy Evans). For
this life saving feat he was awarded the Albert Medal on return to England.
On return from the Terra Nova expedition, he resumed
his Naval duties at Chatham, Kent until Shackleton began to recruit
for his attempt to cross the continent of Antarctica from coast to coast
via the South Pole. Shackleton knew Crean from the Discovery expedition
and had no hesitation in taking him south with the expedition. He selected
Crean to be one of the party of 6 to make the crossing, it looked like
Crean was going to have a chance to reach the pole after all after his
disappointment at not being selected by Scott.
The crossing was never to be however, in fact, like
Shackleton, Crean was not to even set foot on Antarctica again. The
Endurance was trapped in sea-ice and sank leading to the crew needing
to reach safety which they did so partly when they arrived at Elephant
Island. Crean was one of the men Shackleton selected for the epic boat
journey to South Georgia and also to accompany him and Worsley across
South Georgia to the whaling station from where the alarm could raised
and help begun to be organized for the men trapped on Elephant Island. |
|
Tom Crean: Unsung Hero
biography by Michael Smith
USA
UK
Tom Crean An Illustrated Life
USA
UK
The Ice Man: The Antarctic Adventures of Tom Crean for
younger readers
USA
UK
Tom Crean's Rabbit: A True
Story from Scott's Last Voyage
for ages 4-8
USA
UK
|
Endurance
Personnel
Summary
Bakewell, William
Able Seaman
Blackborow, Percy
Steward (stowaway)
Cheetham, Alfred
Third Officer
Clark, Robert S.
Biologist
Crean, Thomas
Second
Officer
Green, Charles J.
Cook
Greenstreet, Lionel
First Officer
Holness, Ernest
Fireman
How, Walter E.
Able
Seaman
Hudson, Hubert T.
Navigator
Hurley, James F.
(Frank)
Official Photographer
Hussey, Leonard D. A.
Meteorologist
James, Reginald W.
Physicist
Kerr, A. J.
Second
Engineer
Macklin, Dr. Alexander
H.
Surgeon
Marston, George E.
Official Artist
McCarthy, Timothy
Able Seaman
McIlroy, Dr. James A.
Surgeon
McLeod, Thomas
Able
Seaman
McNish, Henry
Carpenter
Orde-Lees, Thomas
Motor Expert and Storekeeper
Rickinson, Lewis
First Engineer
Shackleton, Ernest
H.
Expedition Leader
Stephenson, William
Fireman
Vincent, John
Able
Seaman
Wild, Frank
Second in
Command
Wordie, James M.
Geologist
Worsley, Frank
Captain |
|
Tom Crean and the pony "Bones",
just before his 400 mile march
across the Great Ice Barrier.
Scott's Terra Nova Expedition 1910-13 |
Tom was one of ten children, he was born on the family
farm at Annascaul on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland. Life
was hard and so Tom joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15, by the age
of 22 in 1899, he had worked his way up to the rank of Petty Officer.
Once again on his return to England, Crean resumed
his naval career at Chatham. He married Nell Herlihy in 1917 back in
his home town of Anascaul, Nell had been his childhood sweetheart, though
they were aged 40 and 36 by the time they married. For the rest of the
First World War, Crean served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Colleen.
Shortly after the war ended, Crean was given early retirement at the
age of just 42 in 1920 following a bad fall on his ship.
Shackleton wanted Crean to return to Antarctica with
him once again on the Quest expedition, but the offer was declined and
Tom settled down to married life and raising his family of four daughters.
In 1927 Tom opened a pub in Annascaul that he called
"The South Pole Inn", he ran the pub with Nell until 1938 when after
falling ill with stomach pains, he was admitted to hospital in nearby
Tralee. Acute appendicitis was diagnosed, but no one was available for
the simple routine appendectomy and he was transferred to hospital in
Cork 80 miles away. The delay led to infection setting in and he died
a week later on 27th July 1938 at the age of 61.
He was interred in a tomb he had built himself in
the village of Ballynacourty near where he was born. Almost the entire
population of Annascaul turned out to show their respect for one of
their most famous sons.
The South Pole Inn is still in business as an inn,
it is decorated inside with Shackleton and Crean memorabilia. It can
be found in the village of Annascaul, County Kerry on the main road
between Tralee & Dingle.
|
|
References to
Tom Crean
in Shackleton's book "South!"
buy USA
buy UK
|
Later in the day
Crean and two other men
were over the side on a stage chipping at a large piece of
ice that had got under the ship and appeared to be impeding
her movement. The ice broke away suddenly, shot upward and
overturned, pinning Crean between the stage and the haft of
the heavy 11-ft. iron pincher. He was in danger for a few
moments, but we got him clear, suffering merely from a few
bad bruises. The thick iron bar had been bent against him to
an angle of 45 degrees. |
|
On February 24 we ceased to
observe ship routine, and the Endurance became a
winter station. All hands were on duty during the day and
slept at night, except a watchman who looked after the dogs
and watched for any sign of movement in the ice. We cleared
a space of 10 ft. by 20 ft. round the rudder and propeller,
sawing through ice 2 ft. thick, and lifting the blocks with
a pair of tongs made by the carpenter.
Crean used the blocks to make an ice-house for
the dog Sally, which had added a little litter of pups to
the strength of the expedition. |
|
The new quarters became known as
"The Ritz," and meals were served there instead of in the
ward room. Breakfast was at 9 a.m., lunch at 1 p.m., tea at
4 p.m., and dinner at 6 p.m. Wild, Marston,
Crean, and Worsley
established themselves in cubicles in the wardroom, and by
the middle of the month all hands had settled down to the
winter routine. |
|
The dogs had been divided into
six teams of nine dogs each. Wild,
Crean, Macklin, McIlroy, Marston, and Hurley each
had charge of a team, and were fully responsible for the
exercising, training, and feeding of their own dogs. |
|
Crean had
started to take the pups out for runs, and it was very
amusing to see them with their rolling canter just managing
to keep abreast by the sledge and occasionally cocking an
eye with an appealing look in the hope of being taken aboard
for a ride. As an addition to their foster-father,
Crean, the pups had
adopted Amundsen. They tyrannized over him most
unmercifully. It was a common sight to see him, the biggest
dog in the pack, sitting out in the cold with an air of
philosophic resignation while a corpulent pup occupied the
entrance to his "dogloo." The intruder was generally the pup
Nelson, who just showed his forepaws and face, and one was
fairly sure to find Nelly, Roger, and Toby coiled up
comfortably behind him. At hoosh-time
Crean had to stand by Amundsen's food, since
otherwise the pups would eat the big dog's ration while he
stood back to give them fair play. Sometimes their
consciences would smite them and they would drag round a
seal's head, half a penguin, or a large lump of frozen meat
or blubber to Amundsen's kennel for rent. It was interesting
to watch the big dog play with them, seizing them by throat
or neck in what appeared to be a fierce fashion, while
really quite gentle with them, and all the time teaching
them how to hold their own in the world and putting them up
to all the tricks of dog life. |
| I was
appointed starter, Worsley was judge, and James was
timekeeper. The bos'n, with a straw hat added to his usual
Antarctic attire, stood on a box near the winning-post, and
was assisted by a couple of shady characters to shout the
odds, which were displayed on a board hung around his neck6
to 4 on Wild, "evens" on Crean,
2 to 1 against Hurley, 6 to 1 against Macklin, and 8 to 1
against McIlroy. |
| "This
afternoon Sallie's three youngest pups, Sue's Sirius, and
Mrs. Chippy, the carpenter's cat, have to be shot. We could
not undertake the maintenance of weaklings under the new
conditions. Macklin, Crean,
and the carpenter seemed to feel the loss of their friends
rather badly. We propose making a short trial journey
to-morrow, starting with two of the boats and the ten
sledges. The number of dog teams has been increased to
seven, Greenstreet taking charge of the new additional team,
consisting of Snapper and Sallie's four oldest pups. We have
ten working sledges to relay with five teams. Wild's and
Hurley's teams will haul the cutter with the assistance of
four men. The whaler and the other boats will follow, and
the men who are hauling them will be able to help with the
cutter at the rough places. We cannot hope to make rapid
progress, but each mile counts.
Crean this afternoon has a bad attack of
snow-blindness." |
|
I had decided to take the
James Caird myself, with Wild and eleven men. This was
the largest of our boats, and in addition to her human
complement she carried the major portion of the stores.
Worsley had charge of the Dudley Docker with nine
men, and Hudson and Crean
were the senior men on the Stancomb Wills. |
|
Most of the people were
frost-bitten to some extent, and it was interesting to
notice that the "oldtimers," Wild,
Crean, Hurley, and I, were all right. Apparently
we were acclimatized to ordinary Antarctic temperature,
though we learned later that we were not immune. |
|
Four other men would be
required, and I decided to call for volunteers, although, as
a matter of fact, I pretty well knew which of the people I
would select. Crean I
proposed to leave on the island as a right-hand man for
Wild, but he begged so hard to be allowed to come in the
boat that, after consultation with Wild, I promised to take
him. |
|
One of the memories that comes
to me from those days is of Crean
singing at the tiller. He always sang while he was steering,
and nobody ever discovered what the song was. It was devoid
of tune and as monotonous as the chanting of a Buddhist monk
at his prayers; yet somehow it was cheerful. In moments of
inspiration Crean would
attempt "The Wearing of the Green." |
|
After 1 a.m. we cut a pit in the
snow, piled up loose snow around it, and started the Primus
again. The hot food gave us another renewal of energy.
Worsley and Crean sang
their old songs when the Primus was going merrily. Laughter
was in our hearts, though not on our parched and cracked
lips. |
|
My examination of the country
from a higher point had not provided definite information,
and after descending I put the situation before Worsley and
Crean. Our obvious
course lay down a snow-slope in the direction of Husvik.
"Boys," I said, "this snow-slope seems to end in a
precipice, but perhaps there is no precipice. If we don't go
down we shall have to make a detour of at least five miles
before we reach level going What shall it be?" They both
replied at once, "Try the slope." So we started away again
downwards. |
|
To go up again was scarcely
thinkable in our utterly wearied condition. The way down was
through the waterfall itself. We made fast one end of our
rope to a boulder with some difficulty, due to the fact that
the rocks had been worn smooth by the running water. Then
Worsley and I lowered Crean,
who was the heaviest man. He disappeared altogether in the
falling water and came out gasping at the bottom. |
| When I
look back at those days I have no doubt that Providence
guided us, not only across those snowfields, but across the
storm-white sea that separated Elephant Island from our
landing-place on South Georgia. I know that during that long
and racking march of thirty-six hours over the unnamed
mountains and glaciers of South Georgia it seemed to me
often that we were four, not three. I said nothing to my
companions on the point, but afterwards Worsley said to me,
"Boss, I had a curious feeling on the march that there was
another person with us." Crean
confessed to the same idea. One feels "the dearth of human
words, the roughness of mortal speech" in trying to describe
things intangible, but a record of our journeys would be
incomplete without a reference to a subject very near to our
hearts. |
|
Our first night at the
whaling-station was blissful. Crean
and I shared a beautiful room in Mr. Sorlle's house, with
electric light and two beds, warm and soft. We were so
comfortable that we were unable to sleep. |
Landmarks named after Thomas Crean
Feature Name:
Crean Glacier
Feature Type: glacier
Latitude: 5408S
Longitude: 03701W
Description: Glacier 4 mi long, flowing NW from Wilckens
Peaks to the head of Antarctic Bay on the N coast of South Georgia.
Surveyed by the SGS in the period 1951-57 and named by the UK-APC. This
glacier lies on the route of the overland crossing from King Haakon
Bay, to Stromness, South Georgia.Feature
Name: Mount Crean
Feature Type: summit
Elevation: 2550
Latitude: 7753S
Longitude: 15930E
Description: Massive, rocky mountain, 2,550 m, forming
the central and highest summit of the Lashly Mountains, in Victoria
Land. Named by the NZ-APC.
|
|
|
Biographical information
- This is a difficult area to research, I am
concentrating on the Polar experiences of the men
involved. Any further information or
pictures
visitors may have is gratefully received. Please email
- Paul, webmaster. |
|
