Shackleton's Journey: 1

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McNish had clashed with Shackleton during the time when the party was stranded on the ice, but, while Shackleton did not forget the carpenter's earlier insubordination, Shackleton recognised his value for this particular job.

In 1898, Shackleton joined Union-Castle Line, the regular mail and passenger carrier between Southampton and Cape Town. Two years later, he had obtained his first mate's ticket, and in 1898, he was certified as a master mariner, qualifying him to command a British ship anywhere in the world. The reality was that the expedition had left Shackleton deeply in debt, unable to meet the financial guarantees he had given to backers. Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton's Antarctica Expedition.In 1905, Shackleton became a shareholder in a speculative company that aimed to make a fortune transporting Russian troops home from the Far East. After a period of rest and recuperation, rather than risk putting to sea again to reach the whaling stations on the northern coast, Shackleton decided to attempt a land crossing of the island.

His father, Henry Shackleton, tried to enter the British Army, but his poor health prevented him from doing so. In August 1894, he passed his examination for second mate and accepted a post as third officer on a tramp steamer of the Welsh Shire Line. The party was in high spirits, despite the difficult conditions; Shackleton's ability to communicate with each man kept the party happy and focused. Shackleton's Last Voyage: the Story of the Quest, by Frank Wild, published 1923 by Cassell (via archive.

There also was Perce Blackborow who was a Welsh sailor who stowed away on the journey; although Shackleton was annoyed by this, there was no reason to turn back by the time the situation was discovered, and Blackborow was made a steward. A few weeks later, on 21 November 1915, almost a year after they had set out, the Endurance finally sank. In August 2016 a statue of Shackleton by Mark Richards was erected in Athy, sponsored by Kildare County Council. The initial plan was to march across the ice toward land, but that was abandoned after the men managed just seven and a half miles in seven days. For several weeks, the ship poked and prodded its way through leads in the ice, gingerly making its way south; but on January 18, a northerly gale pressed the pack hard against the land and pushed the floes tight against each other.