Information AboutTom Crean |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT TOM CREAN | |
| 1877 births | |
| 1938 deaths | |
| irish explorers | |
| imperial trans-antarctic expedition | |
| explorers of antarctica | |
| recipients of the polar medal | |
| people from county kerry | |
Not to be confused with Victoria Cross recipient Thomas Joseph Crean Tom Crean ( 20 July 1877 – 27 July 1938 ) was an Irish Antarctic Explorer . He was born in the town of Annascaul in Co. Kerry . He joined the Royal Navy when he was 15 years old, lying about his age to get in. Tom Crean was on three of the four major British expeditions to Antarctica: ''Discovery'' (1901-1904) and ''Terra Nova'' (1911-1913), led by Robert Scott , and ''Endurance'' (1914-1916), led by Ernest Shackleton . TERRA NOVA On this expedition, Captain Scott said he could only really trust a handful of people, William Lashly , Edgar Evans and Tom Crean. Crean and Lashly, along with Lieutentant E.R.G.R Evans formed the last support party to leave Scott on his way to the South Pole , while Edgar Evans continued with Scott. On their return journey, Lieutenant Evans became seriously ill with Scurvy and could not travel any further. The other two men refused to leave him behind. It was decided that one of them would have to walk the last 35 miles across the ice to fetch help. Tom Crean volunteered. It took him 18 hours to walk through a Blizzard to get to the hut for rescue. Crean and Lashly were both awarded the Albert Medal for saving Evans' life. ENDURANCE Like Scott, Shackleton deeply trusted Tom Crean. After their ship was destroyed in the ice, the crew had to sail the life boats across the Weddell Sea pack and then boat to Elephant Island . When they arrived, they rebuilt one of the lifeboats - the James Caird and five of the men including Shackleton and Crean sailed for help in South Georgia . This has become known as one of the most extraordinary small open boat journeys in history. Because they landed on the uninhabited south coast of South Georgia, three of the men, again including Shackleton and Crean, had to walk across to the other side in a remarkable 36 hour journey which was the first crossing of the mountainous island. They arrived at the Whaling station at Grytviken , tired and dirty, and prepared for the rescue of the other 22 men still on Elephant Island, 22 months after sailing from South Georgia. LATER LIFE After returning home, Crean saw service in the First World War , and retired from the navy in 1920 . He married and opened up a small pub called "The South Pole Inn". Throughout his life, Crean remained an extremely modest man. When he returned to Kerry, he put all of his medals away and never again spoke about his experiences in the Antarctic. He died from a burst appendix in 1938. LEGACY Crean is commemorated in at least two place names: Mount Crean (2550 m) in Victoria Land , and the Crean Glacier on South Georgia . Crean is also commemorated as the inspiration for Endurance Brewing's signature Pale Ale {Link without Title} EXTERNAL LINKS REFERENCES
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