Base H from screen
Base H - Signy Island Antarctica

  ©Copyright - Crown, expired, photograph - Skilling, G. (general assistant) - picture taken 02.031949

The "Screen" in question is a Stevenson Screen, or a wooden box-like structure used to house meteorological instruments. Weather watching or meteorology is a fundamental part of Antarctic observations, but was often used by national programmes as an excuse to put a manned presence on Antarctica.

It is extravagant to have a group of people living on a base requiring regular ship supplies to simply collect weather data. Though the original reason was often political, the men themselves and in particular scientists who took such observations would start to extend their science to make better use of their time if only for the sake of their own sanity!