Edgar Evans ( English Edgar Evans ; 1876-1912) - the quartermaster of the Royal Navy of Great Britain , a traveler - a member of two Antarctic expeditions led by Robert Scott on the Discovery and Terra Nove . During the second expedition he joined the Pole Party , consisting of five people, which was supposed to conquer the South Pole . The goal was achieved on January 17, 1912, but later the group of Royal Amundsen for 34 days. On the way back, at the foot of Birdmore Glacier, Edgar Evans died of the effects of a concussion and general physical exhaustion.
| Edgar Evans | |
|---|---|
| Edgar evans | |
 Edgar Evans | |
| Date of Birth | March 7, 1876 |
| Place of Birth | Swansea , Wales , UK |
| Date of death | February 17, 1912 (aged 35) |
| Place of death | |
| Citizenship |  Great Britain |
| Occupation | UK Quartermaster , traveler |
| Spouse | Lois evans |
| Children | three kids |
| Awards and prizes |
|
Content
Youth
Edgar Evans was born March 7, 1876 in the small village of , Wales [1] . He was the son of a sailor. From six to thirteen years old, he studied at St. Helena's School for Boys. In 1891 he entered the service of the British Navy. In 1899, he was sent to the battleship Majestic , where Robert Scott served as a torpedo lieutenant. Later he served in the Navy as a sports coach [2] .
Discovery Expedition
During the preparation of Scott's first British Antarctic expedition, Evans applied for his admission to the state. Together with William Lashley, he accompanied Scott during the entire long western toboggan trip to the interior of Victoria Land in 1903 [2] .
Terra Nova Expedition
Journalist biographer Roland Huntford described Edgar Evans as "a huge, fat man with a bovine neck and a beer belly ." According to Huntford, when loading an expeditionary ship in New Zealand , Evans, being dead drunk, fell into the water, for which he was almost expelled from the expedition.
However, Robert Scott gives another description of his companion:
Edgar Evans is a hero worker with a truly remarkable head. Only now did I realize how much I owe him. He is responsible for every sled and sled equipment, for tents, sleeping bags, harness, and I do not remember anyone ever expressing displeasure with all this equipment. This shows how invaluable he is to me [3] .
Scott chose Evans as one of the five members of the polar party , which was supposed to go directly to the pole itself [4] . On January 17, 1912, 11 weeks after leaving the base camp, the goal was achieved, but 34 days [5] later than the group of Royal Amundsen . The return return, as Scott suggested [6] , turned into a desperate struggle. Even on the way to the pole, Evans cut his arm badly, the wound did not heal, and on the way back it was festering [4] . Edgar Evans suffered from frostbite of his cheeks, nose and fingers, snow blindness and extreme physical exhaustion, which made itself felt even on the way to the pole [4] . One of the expedition members, geologist Sir Raymond Priestley , believed that “ from a psychological point of view, being among the four officers was a heavy burden for poor Evans. Spiritually, he was alone and, of course, broke first ” [7] . On February 4, Evans and Scott fell into a crack, and, as expedition doctor Edward Wilson later suggested, Evans hit his head hard and got a concussion . A few hours later, Scott wrote in his diary “ Evans is somehow getting dull and becoming incapable of anything ” [8] . From February 4 to 17, Scott's diary notes contain evidence of Evans' daily deterioration in well-being. At the foot of Beardmore Glacier , February 17, Evans twice lost his skis, greatly delaying the satellites [9] . Scott then writes the following [9] :
Along with the rock, nicknamed the Monument, they stopped. Seeing that Evans was far behind, they made a halt. At first we were not worried, brewed tea, had breakfast. Evans, however, did not show up - he was still visible far behind. Here we were seriously alarmed, and all four ran skiing towards him. I was the first to approach him. The sight of the poor thing scared me a lot. Evans was on his knees. His clothes were in disarray, his hands were naked and frostbitten, his eyes were wild. When asked what was happening to him, Evans answered, stammering that he did not know, but thought that he had fainted. We lifted him to his feet. Every two or three steps, he fell again. All signs of complete exhaustion. Wilson, Bowers and I ran back for the sled. Ots stayed with him. Returning, we found Evans almost unconscious. When they brought him to the tent, he was unconscious and died quietly at 12.30.
The four surviving companions of Evans left the place of his death and continued on only two hours after what happened [10] , although what was done to the body was not recorded in the diaries. A little later, Scott will write the following lines: “ As for Edgar Evans, when we had positively no food and he was lying unconscious, then, for the sake of saving the others, it seemed necessary to leave him. Providence graciously removed him at the most critical moment. ” [10]
Biographer Harry Ludlam believes that the death of the most powerful member of the detachment shook the morale of his companions and brought them all closer to his death on the Ross Glacier [7] . Scott in his “ Message to the Public ” also indicates that he and his comrades were “ amazed ” by the death of Evans, and what happened “ left the squad in frustration ” [11] .
Perpetuation of memory
The members of the rescue expedition over the resting place of the last members of the campaign to the South Pole erected a pyramid of ice and snow, and the inscription on the established cross contained the words [12] :
Also in memory of their two valiant comrades, the captain of the Inniskilling Dragoon Regiment, L.E. J. Ots, who went to death in a blizzard about eighteen miles south of this point to save his comrades; also the sailor Edgar Evans, who died at the foot of Beardmore Glacier. "God gave, God also took, blessedly the name of the Lord."
Edgar's widow, Lois (they married in 1904 and had three children), set up a plaque in Rossilla’s Romanesque church, where the following words were carved:
To the glory of God and in memory of the foreman of the Royal Navy, a native of this parish who died February 17, 1912 on his way back from the South Pole on the British Antarctic expedition under the command of Royal Scottish Captain Robert Scott. " Fight, seek, find and not give up ."
Edgar Evans' widow, his children, and his mother received £ 1,500 (£ 109,000 by 2009 standards) from the Scott Memorial Fund .
The memory of Edgar Evans is also immortalized by the navy on Portsmouth Whale Island ( Hampshire County), where the Edgar Evans Building was opened in 1968. This is the first time that the building was not named after the admiral, but the foreman of the fleet. There is also a plaque on Scott Lighthouse in Roat Park on Lake Cardiff, South Wales , listing all members of the Robert Scott expedition, including Edgar Evans. In the film “ Scott from the Antarctic ” in 1948, the role of Edgar Evans was played by actor James Robertson [13] . In the mini-series " Last Place on Earth, " Evans was played by Pat Roach [14] .
See also
- Robert Scott
- Lawrence Ots
- Edward wilson
Notes
- ↑ Edgar Evans Collection (inaccessible link) . archivesnetworkwales.info. Date of treatment April 7, 2015. Archived February 6, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Ludlam, 1989 , The Terrible Plateau.
- ↑ Scott, 2007 , Record January 8, 1912.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Ludlam, 1989 , Decisive Assault.
- ↑ Many sources indicate the date of January 18th. Scott camped for half a mile to the pole, and directly reached it only on January 18. Therefore, in many sources, the temporary difference between the Amundsen and Scott groups is indicated at 35, and not at 34 days.
- ↑ Scott, 2007 , entry January 17, 1912.
- ↑ 1 2 Ludlam, 1989 , Why did he fail ?.
- ↑ Scott, 2007 , Record February 4, 1912.
- ↑ 1 2 Scott, 2007 , Record February 17, 1912.
- ↑ 1 2 Scott, 2007 , Record March 16 or 17, 1912.
- ↑ Scott, 2007 , Message to the Public.
- ↑ Scott, 2007 , Comments. How the dead were found.
- ↑ Scott of the Antarctic on the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ The Last Place on Earth on the Internet Movie Database
Literature
- Ludlam G. Captain Scott = Captain Scott / Per. from English B. Golant. - Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1989 .-- 288 p. - ISBN 5-286-00406-7 .
- Scott R. Expedition to the South Pole. 1910-1912 Farewell letters / Per. from English V.A. Ostrovsky, ed. M. G. Deeva. - Moscow: Bustard , 2007 .-- 559 p. - (Travel Library). - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-358-0547.
- Preston, D. A First Rate Tragedy: Captain Scott's Antarctic Expeditions Constable. - London: Constable, 1999 .-- 269 p. - ISBN 0-09-479530-4 . OCLC 59395617
- Huntford, R. The Last Place on Earth. - London: Pan Books edition, 1999 .-- ISBN 0-330-82697. OCLC 12976972
- Huxley, L. Scott's Last Expedition Vols I and II Smith. - London: Elder & Co, 1913. - T. II: Being the reports of the journeys and the scientific work taken by Dr. EA Wilson and the surviving members of the expedition .. - ISBN 1-903464-12-9 . OCLC 1522514
- Fiennes, R. Captain Scott. - London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2003 .-- 508 p. - ISBN 0-340-82697-5 . OCLC 52695234
- Huxley, L. Scott's Last Expedition Vols I and II Smith. - London: Elder & Co, 1913. - Vol. I: Being the Journals of Captain RF Scott, RN, CVO. - ISBN 1-903464-12-9 .