top of page
Search

McNeish's account of abandoning ship...

Harry McNeish Journal, October 27, 1915


We have left the ship this afternoon as she is going to pieces fast the stern post broke this evening & then the keel was torn out of her then she filled rapidly.


We have passed our first night on the floe & we had to shift our camp about 1 am this morning as the ice split about 1 yard from our tent I am in a tent with with Mr Wild Dr McIlroy & Mr Wordie it is Thursday night [28th] now & we have shifted our camp 3 times we got a seal today I am busy getting the two boats fixed on sledges we have all been fitted out with a new rig out of warm clothing & 1 pound of tobaco & sleeping bags there was only 18 skin bags & we cast lots for them & I was lucky for the first time in my life for I drew one.


NOTE: Shackleton and some of the senior officers arranged for the reindeer skin sleeping bags - perceived as the better, warmer sleeping bags - to go to the crew members. The rest made do with Jaeger woolen sleeping bags and they were also provided with floorcloths to prevent the melting snow from seeping through.


#Shackleton #Leadership #ServantLeadership


Recent Posts

See All

As the days darken earlier in the northern hemisphere, we can relate to Shackleton's words in South and marvel at the extraordinary cheerfulness of the Endurance crew... "A fine aurora in the evening

NOTE: An unidentified person who knew Shackleton early in his career characterized the Boss as a "Viking with a mother's heart." In this anecdote from Dr. Macklin's journal, we get a glimpse of that t

bottom of page