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Help Save Scott's Hut
Robert Falcon Scott's British Antarctic Expedition 1910
to 1913 is one of the most famous and stirring stories
of world exploration. Remarkably
the hut and supplies from this expedition still survive
on Ross Island, Antarctica - a unique historic record of
the time Scott and his men explored the frozen
wilderness and prepared to reach the South Pole.
MATCH FUNDING:
Through the generosity of a British
Charitable Foundation we are now able to match every
donation up to a maximum total additional grant of £1
million. A donation of
£100 from you with Gift Aid would be worth £256 to us
Please help us by
making a donation NOW...
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WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP...
The hut structure and 8,000 heroic age artefacts are at
serious risk from rust and decay. We need to take
action now to save them. It's a huge task, which
will take at least five years of work by specialist
conservators. With your help we can conserve and
protect this unique site for a further 100 years.
THANK YOU!
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Two Inspired to Trek Unaided to South Pole to raise
Funds for Scott’s Hut
Gavin Booth and Adam Wilton, two young
men in their early 30’s have just completed a 1130km trek to the South Pole to
raise funds to Save Scott’s Hut. Inspired by news
stories of the plight of the fragile hut, Gavin and Adam
decided to support the cause and achieve a lifetime
ambition, to trek unaided to the Pole.
On a dispatch from the Pole - "It is
only just starting to sink in that we are actually here
and we are over the moon. On reaching the South Pole we
believe that we have become only the 12th/13th Britons
in history ever to make it to the South Pole from the
edge of Antarctica unsupported (no resupply) and
unassisted (man-hauling only). Since the start of our
planning, it has been a five year journey to get here
and we look forward to reflecting on what we have done."
Before the expedition - "This is the
expedition of a lifetime and the effort over the past 5 years - sacrificing holidays to train, negotiating
time off work, organisation, not to
mention getting up in the early mornings to drag tyres,
has been huge.
With less than two months before we set off we
are excited but serious about the challenge.
To reach the
pole unassisted will be an epic adventure and will undoubtedly be the hardest thing we have done. The
opportunity to help raise funds to save such an
important icon of polar history will inspire us to keep
marching on our long haul to the pole.
We are very grateful to our main expedition sponsor,
Propinvest. Their support means that every penny raised
will support the Hut Conservation."
To
find out more about Adam and Gavin's expedition go to their website:
www.BritishSouthPole.com |
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Background: The UK
and NZ Antarctic Heritage Trusts are committed to
preserving the historic huts constructed in the early
years of the 20th century by the expeditions of the
celebrated Antarctic explorers, Captain Robert Falcon
Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, and the Norwegian Captain
Borchgrevink.
The huts contain a wide variety of
equipment and supplies left by the expeditions when they
returned to UK. They are thus a unique legacy of the
heroic era of Antarctic exploration.
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Not surprisingly after so
many years the huts and their contents now urgently need an
extensive programme of conservation. This was begun in 2004 by the New
Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, which has operational
responsibility for the huts in this area of Antarctica, with the
active support of the UK Trust.
 In
recent years exceptionally heavy snow falls have
threatened Scott's hut at Cape Evans (see below). This
underlines the urgency of the project to preserve this
and the other huts on Ross Island. The adverse
climate and difficult working conditions mean that all
such work in Antarctica is expensive. |
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The bulk of the funding required
is being raised in UK, New Zealand, and USA. By May
2006, enough had been raised to secure the future of
Shackleton's hut at Cape Royds. Here in UK donations
have been received from companies, from foundations and trusts, from
individuals, and from the British Government . But we still need £3
million for the remaining huts.
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It thus increases
awareness of the work in the Ross Sea Huts in Britain, and makes it
easier for people in UK to have access to their extraordinary
atmosphere and the stories surrounding them. |
For instance, in 1911 an epic
mid-winter journey was made to find emperor penguin eggs in the
name of scientific research, harrowingly described in Apsley
Cherry Garrard’s book —The Worst Journey in the World. Those
eggs now reside in the Museum’s collection.
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A Strong Tea for Heroes at Tesco
5p from every pack to support UKAHT
At bigger Tesco's: Captain Scott’s Strong Blend, a
strong refreshing tea of history and distinction.
It is the original blend supplied to Scott’s 1910
expedition. For every box of tea purchased, Tesco is
donating 5p towards the campaign to Save Scott’s Hut.
Our
match-funding arrangement means this will double to 10p per
box. The tea is proving very popular and delicious - even if
you think you don't like strong tea!
SOON AVAILABLE - matching tea caddies
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