Historic voygge in

wake of Dis

THIRTEEN years
after it was first
s u 3 g e s t e d , a
Bn ge woman has
published the
story of one of
Britain's best-
known ships.

Ann Savours -— wife of
former Bridge county
councillor Lawrence Shir-
ley — tells the vivid tale
of Scott’s ship Discovery
and its various adven-
tures, particularly in the
polar regions.

In a highly-readable
manner she portrays the
heroism and detem1ina-
tion of the explorers and
scientists who sailed in
her to meet the challenge
of the unknown —- and
the men who made sure
she got there safely and
got back again.

Whether it was con-
fronting the turbulent
Southern ocean, or
tvintering in-shore with
Discovery locked in eight
feet of ice, the story of
the little ship and her
myriad crews almost
eclipses the importance
of the pioneering work of
those who travelled
aboard her.

Built in 1900 in Dundee
—-— where she retumed in
the 19803 to become a
floating museum — the
Discovery had a
chequered career.

Ann Savours has found
out much more than was

I‘

‘T

Sa — boooe of a

   

discovery in itself

previously known, espe-
cially the period between
1905 and 1924 when the
vessel was owned by the
Hudson Bay Company.

“Her ownership by the
Hudson Bay Company
was the longest of any
owner and I was able to
look at all the logs and
the other manuscripts in
the company's archives in
Winnipeg,” she ex-
plained.

In the public’s mind,
Discovery is best-known
as the ship which carried
brave Capt Scott and,his
team on their Antarctic
expedition of 1901 to
1904.

‘I 0'

Yet it was another
ship, the Terra Nova,
which was to carry Scott
on his ill-fated journey
and into British folklore.

Indeed, it might be
argued that Terra Nova
should have been the ship
of legend. It was one of
those which went to the
rescue of Scott when Dis-
covery and his first expe-
dition became stuck in
the ice.

Between several polar
trips the Hudson Bay
Company used the Dis-
covery as its annual
supply ship from London
and, during the First
World War, she ferried

'. a

vital food and supplies to
the Atlantic ports of
France.

In 1915 she made a
hazardous voyage to
Archangel in north
Russia, braving the
rigours of the White Sea
and the danger of
German mines to trans-
port munitions to the
EastemFront.

In 1916 she was sent,

south once more in a
dramatic bid by the
Admiralty to rescue
Shackleton’s men,
marooned on Elephant

Island after the sinking of ‘

Endurance. She offically
retired in 1931.

’ The idea of the book
came when Ann Savours
was in charge of the Arc-
tic Gallery at the National
Maritime Museum at
Greenwich.

A distinguished polar
historian, she had previ-
ously worked for. many
years at the Scott Polar
Research Institute in
Cambridge. _

She was closely
involved in staging
hibition in the hold of the
ship after the Maritime
Trust took over the Dis-
covery from the
Admiralty and it was dur-
ing this time the idea of
the book was formed.

“Writing this book has

-1 1 1

8.Il8X- '

Covery

been something of a dis-
covery in itself," she says.

. Over the years, many
of those who helped with
information have died,
among them Capt Scott's

zson Sir Peter who

f provided a foreword.

. Another contributor is
the Duke of Edinburgh,
who praises Ann Savours
for a scholarly record
which he says makes “in-

iteresting reading to both

;the expert and the
uninitiated”.

Said Miss Savours: “I
;‘would like to think the
lgeneral reader will enioy
.it just as much as the
ischolar. I hope readers
‘find it tells a good tale.”
‘—David Rose.

‘C The Voyages of the
Discovery — The Illus-
‘ tmted History of Scott’s
iship, by Ann Savours,
and with a foreword by
the Duke of Edinburgh
{ and a preface by Sir Peter
Scott, is published by Vir-
E gin Publishing, price £25.