Frank Wild served widely in Antarctica on various expeditions including the first Scott voyage of Discovery, with Mawson’s 1912-13 expedition, Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic attempt with Endurance, and finally taking over Shackleton’s Quest expedition when Shackleton died. His finest achievement was leading the 22 unhappy explorers marooned on Elephant Island in 1916, for the 105 days while Shackleton was struggling to South Georgia. Mills’ book is a sound if somewhat solemn biography of a remarkable leader.
p. 29: Shackleton decided to publish separately a more light hearted paper and called it ‘Blizzard’. There was only one edition of ten pages and it has not survived. After Shackleton went back on the relief ship in 1903, Bernacchi served as the editor of ‘The South Polar Times’ for the second winter. Wilson took the copies of the magazine [STP] home with him after the expedition and a facsimile edition of the different issues was published in two volumes in 1907. [Copies of the Blizzard do survive and SPRI has two of them.]
p. 40: quoting Wild: One of the books in the Discovery’s library was one written by Dr Cook, describing the voyage of the Belgica in the Antarctic, in 1898…. [Through the First Antarctic Night]
p. 45-47 has an account of Shackleton’s printing press which produced ‘Aurora Australis.’
p. 63, 1908: [Edgeworth] David would often read aloud excerpts from Dickens’ novels which they had with them.
p. 67, Shackleton’s southern party: Included in their personal belongings were some books. Shackleton had Shakespeare’s comedies, Marshall had Borrow’s ‘The Bible in Spain’, Adams took Young’s ‘Travels in France’ and Wild had Dickens’ ‘Sketches by Boz’.
p. 74, during blizzard: Marshall and I are in one tent and do the cooking. We have been reading nearly all the day.