Birdie Bowers: Captain Scott's Marvel

by Anne Strathie

Overview

Henry ‘Birdie’ Bowers realised his life’s ambition when he was selected for Captain Scott’s Terra Nova expedition to the Antarctic, yet he also met his death on the return journey from the South Pole in 1912. Bowers was born in 1883 on the Firth of Clyde to an entrepreneurial sea-faring father and Gloucestershire-born missionary-teacher mother, His boyhood obsession with travel and adventure took him round the world several times, including to Australia, America, Africa, India, Burma and the Persian Gulf, and his life appears, with hindsight, to have been a ceaseless preparation for his ultimate, Antarctic challenge. A stocky 5 foot 4 inches tall, he was a bundle of energy; knowledgeable, indefatigable and the ultimate team player. In Scott’s words, he was ‘a marvel’. This new biography, drawing on Bowers’ correspondence and journals, previously unpublished material, sheds new light on Bowers and tells the full story of the hardy naval officer who could always lift his companions’ spirits.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780752494449
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	08/01/2013
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Anne Strathie is a freelance writer and researcher.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 10

Prologue 12

1 Family Roots 14

2 Learning the Ropes 21

3 Sailing the Seven Seas 26

4 Entering New Worlds 36

5 In Captain Bowers' Footsteps 44

6 Scotland, Dangerous Waters and a Beautiful Island 53

7 Uncertain Times and a New Beginning 63

8 Heading South 74

9 To the Point of Departure 82

10 Down to the Ice 90

11 The Depot Journey 100

12 Deepest Winter 113

13 Getting Ready 125

14 Across the Barrier to the Beardmore 133

15 To the Pole 145

16 The Long Haul Back 160

17 Breaking the Silence 174

Epilogue 188

Appendices 190

A Expedition Personnel 190

B Glossary 192

C Notes on Measurements 193

Notes and Sources 194

Selected Bibliography 218

Index 221

Maps

1 The Irrawaddy, Burma (now Myanmar) 43

2 Antarctica, showing surrounding countries 89

3 McMurdo Sound, showing the scene of the pony 'disaster' on the depot journey, April 1911 99

4 Ross Island, showing the track of the Cape Crozier journey, June-August 1911 112

5 McMurdo Sound, showing Cape Evans and the Ferrar Glacier 124

6 Southern journey from Cape Evans to the foot of the Beardmore Glacier 132

7 Route to the South Pole (on plateau),January 1912 144

8 Scott and Amundsen's routes to and from the South Pole 159

9 Journey of the search party, October-November 1912 173

Editorial Reviews

"If you like tales of adventure and exploration, Birdie Bowers is the book for you." —The Historical Novels Review

From the Publisher