The Irish Polar Institute is going to award its first medal in memory of the carpenter on Shackleton's Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917, because ‘Chippy’ from Scotland was denied one by Sir Ernest.
That omission was criticised by the Scott Polar Research Institute, the New Zealand Antarctic Society and one of the founders of the Irish Institute.
Harry McNish, born in 1874, was responsible for much of the work that ensured the expedition crew’s survival after their ship, 'Endurance', was destroyed when it became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea. He modified the small boat, the 'James Caird', which enabled Shackleton and five men (including himself) to make an 800-mile voyage across the Southern Ocean to fetch help for the rest of the crew.
Endurance in the ice
While moving sledges across the ice, McNish refused to take his turn in the pulling harness and was later denied a medal by Shackleton, who awarded Polar Medals to others of the crew in recognition of their survival efforts.
McNish had brought a cat aboard the *Endurance* voyage, where it was known as ‘Mrs Chippy.’ It was shot on Shackleton's order due to his belief that keeping the expedition’s dogs and the cat alive in harsh conditions would be an unnecessary drain on the crew's survival efforts. It was reported that McNish never forgave Shackleton for having his cat killed.
Paddy Barry, Ireland’s high-latitude voyager, sailor and mountaineer, has been telling me that Shackleton’s omission was “rather mean” and explained why the newly formed Irish Polar Institute will rectify this omission at its inaugural Polar Dinner on January 30.
