This statue of Robert Falcon Scott stands at the entrance to Portsmouth Naval Dockyard. It was sculpted by Kathleen Scott, his widow, a well known British sculptor of the time 2 years after his death in 1912.
Robert Falcon Scott was born in 1868. He joined the Navy and went to active service following training in 1883 at the age of 15. In 1893 he qualified as a torpedo officer and spent his active service on torpedo boats, He led his first Antarctic expedition in 1901. This was both a scientific and an exploration and during their time in the Antarctic much was achieved. Although they reached the Polar plateau there was no attempt to reach the pole. They returned home in 1904.
Scott returned to the Antarctic in 1910 and finally reached the South pole with 4 companions on 17th January 1912 only to find that a Norwegian expedition had arrived there 4 weeks earlier. Tragically on the return journey Scott and his 4 companions perished.
Scotts 5 man party on the 1912 expedition
From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/recuerdosdepandora/
The statue of Scott in Christchurch New Zealand, the port from which the 1910 expedition departed for the Antarctic
Photo by Kool (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kool_skatkat/)
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