In the Bleak Midwinter

This is a group portrait. Captain Oates, reindeer gloves, ski pole, thousand-yard stare into camera. An expert in horseflesh, born in India. He told Scott the horses the expedition brought were old crocks, but spent time with them, more than anyone. Lieutenant Bowers, seated, looking into the distance, no sign of the string he used to pull the camera shutter. Captain Scott in the dead centre, face exposed and red, maybe some frostbite already. The Union flag behind him struggles to lift in the wind or lift their spirits. Amundsen got there first, with his dogs and skis. When a Navy cadet in the Caribbean, Scott met Sir Clements Markham, who instilled ideas about the manliness of enduring and of pulling his own weight, literally. Scott's team may know better than he does the limits of such a philosophy. Next, seated, Dr Wilson, good at keeping spirits up. His drawings of penguins from the earlier expedition on the Discovery when shown were the first time people back home had seen such animals. Petty Officer Evans, to the right, dreams of roast pork. This is the coldest place on Earth. Welcome to the South Pole, 1912.