An unsung hero : Tom Crean - Antarctic survivor

This is the story of the remarkable Tom Crean who ran away to sea aged fifteen and played a memorable role in Antarctic exploration. He spent more time in the unexplored Antarctic than Scott or Shackleton, and was one of the few to serve and outlive both. An unforgettable story of triumph over unparalleled hardship and deprivation ?Ireland's War of Independence generated a wealth of published material but very little from a British perspective. Yet many British servicemen left accounts of their time in Ireland from 1918 to 1921. They describe military operations, the IRA, the Irish, the actions of their own forces, morale and relationships with local communities. There is Brigadier Vinden's strange tale of a drinking session with Michael Collins and humour in the sending of Gaelic-speaking Highlanders into a public house to eavesdrop in the belief that Sinn Féiners always spoke Irish to each other. The author has gone deep into British military archives to unearth these never-published accounts. Supplemented with unpublished photographs from the Imperial War Museum and the Irish National Library, these accounts form a landmark oral history told through the personal experiences of men from across the ranks. The story of the remarkable Tom Crean who ran away to sea aged 15 and played a memorable role in Antarctic exploration. He spent more time in the unexplored Antarctic than Scott or Shackleton, and outlived both. Among the last to see Scott alive, Crean was in the search party that found the frozen body. An unforgettable story of triumph over unparalleled hardship and deprivation. Tom Crean explored the Antarctic with both Shackleton and Scott on the Endurance and Discovery expeditions respectively as well as Scott's fateful attempt on the South Pole. This biography details his life and the explorations he took part in