Tragedy And Triumph: The Story of Polar Exploration
August 24, 2026 10:00 am
Art Society Lecture
Tragedy And Triumph: The Story of Polar Exploration
Tragedy And Triumph: The Story of Polar Exploration
Apollo International Hotel
PART 1: Robert Scott, Roald Amundsen and the Race to the South Pole.
With the help of the evocative photographs of Scott’s photographer, Herbert Ponting, and some of Edward Wilson’s watercolours, this session focuses on the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration, in particular, the journeys by Scott and his rival, Amundsen to be first at the South Pole.
PART 2: Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition.
We focus on one of the most dramatic escapes from disaster in polar history. Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, got trapped and eventually crushed in the pack ice. With the help of the expedition’s photographs by Frank Hurley, we follow a saga of survival against the odds.
Morning tea will be available between parts 1 and 2.
Mark Cottle
Born on the Isles of Scilly and educated at Truro School, Cornwall, and Birmingham University, Mark has enjoyed a career in education and training at home and abroad. He has lectured at Exeter College on Medieval and Tudor history, St Mark’s & St John’s University College, Plymouth, and at Bath University on Anglo Saxon and medieval England. Currently Mark runs two small companies providing training and study breaks.
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