Personnel of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was an attempt to cross the Antarctic continent led by Ernest Shackleton. The personnel were divided into two groups: the Weddell Sea party which consisting of the men who would attempt the crossing and their support, and the Ross Sea party whose job it was to lay stores on the far side of the Pole for the members of the Weddell Sea party who would make the crossing. Both arms of the expedition had a final complement of 28 men. The Weddell Sea party's ship Endurance was crushed in pack ice and the crossing attempt was never made. All the Weddell Sea party were rescued, but several members of the Ross Sea party perished after their support ship Aurora broke free from its mooring and drifted, leaving the shore party stranded.

Names and dates of birth are included where known. After Endurance was lost, the Weddell Sea party spent some months camped on the ice before making for Elephant Island in the three lifeboats salvaged from the vessel, the James Caird, the Dudley Docker and the Stancomb Wills. The boat each man was assigned to for the crossing is listed.

Some of the original crew left the expedition to sign up when war was declared with Germany,^[1] and others returned to England after the ship put in at Buenos Aires.

Weddell Sea party

Name	Born	Died	Boat	Position	Additional information
Sir Ernest Shackleton	1874	1922	James Caird (Capt.)	Commander	James Caird rescue crew
Frank Wild	1873	1939	James Caird	2nd in Command
Frank Worsley	1872	1943	Dudley Docker (Capt.)	Captain of Endurance	James Caird rescue crew
Frank Hurley	1885	1962	James Caird	Photographer
Huberht Hudson[2]	1886	1942	Stancomb Wills	Navigator	Original Captain of the Stancomb Wills, but replaced by Crean due to illness.
Lionel Greenstreet	1889	1979	Dudley Docker	1st Officer
Tom Crean	1877	1938	Stancomb Wills (Capt)	2nd Officer	James Caird rescue crew
Alfred Cheetham	1867	1918	Dudley Docker	3rd Officer
Lewis Rickinson	1883	1945	Stancomb Wills[3]	Chief Engineer	Suffered a suspected heart attack while on Elephant Island
Alexander Kerr	1892	1964	Dudley Docker	2nd Engineer
James McIlroy	1879	1968	Stancomb Wills	Surgeon
Alexander Macklin	1889	1967	Dudley Docker	Surgeon
Robert Clark	1882	1950	James Caird	Biologist
Leonard Hussey	1891	1964	James Caird	Meteorologist
James Wordie	1889	1962	James Caird	Geologist
Reginald James	1891	1964	James Caird	Physicist
George Marston	1882	1940	Dudley Docker	Artist
Thomas Orde-Lees	1877	1958	Dudley Docker	Storekeeper and Motor Expert
Harry "Chippy" McNish[4]	1874	1930	James Caird	Carpenter	James Caird rescue crew. Not recommended for the Polar medal
Charles Green	1888	1974	James Caird	Cook
William Stephenson	1889	1953	Stancomb Wills	Fireman/Stoker	Not recommended for the Polar medal
Ernest Holness	1892	1924	Dudley Docker	Fireman/Stoker	Not recommended for the Polar medal
John Vincent	1879	1941	James Caird	Able Seaman	James Caird rescue crew. Not recommended for the Polar medal
Timothy McCarthy	1888	1917	James Caird	Able Seaman	James Caird rescue crew
Walter How	1885	1972	Stancomb Wills	Able Seaman
William Bakewell	1888	1969	Stancomb Wills	Able Seaman	Recruited in Buenos Aires. An American who falsely claimed to be Canadian in order to be hired. Bakewell helped Blackborow stow away on the ship.
Thomas McLeod	1869	1960	Dudley Docker	Able Seaman
Perce Blackborow[5]	1894	1949	Stancomb Wills	Steward	Stowed away in Buenos Aires. Had the toes of his left foot amputated by Macklin and McIlroy on Elephant Island after gangrene set in.
Sir Daniel Gooch	1869	1926	-	Dog Handler (temporary)	Never considered a permanent member of the expedition he helped Shackleton out when the original dog handler resigned from the expedition at the last moment. He returned to England when the Endurance stopped at South Georgia
Mrs. Chippy		1915	-	Mascot	McNish's cat. Was shot the day after Endurance sank

Ross Sea party

Shore party

Name	Born	Died	Position	Additional information
Aeneas Mackintosh	1879	1916	Commander	Died during the expedition
Ernest Joyce	1875	1940	Sledging Equipment and Dogs
Ernest Wild	1879	1918	Storekeeper
Reverend Arnold Spencer-Smith	1883	1916	Chaplain and Photographer	Died during the expedition
John Lachlan Cope	1893	1947	Biologist and Surgeon
Alexander Stevens	1886	1965	Chief Scientist
Richard W Richards	1893	1985	Physicist
Andrew Keith Jack	1885	1966	Physicist
Irvine Gaze	1890	1978	General Assistant
Victor Hayward		1916	General Assistant	Died during the expedition

Aboard the Aurora

Name	Born	Died	Position	Additional information
Aubrey Howard Ninnis		1956	Motor Tractor Specialist	Intended for the shore party but stranded when the Aurora broke adrift
Lionel Hooke	1895	1974	Wireless Telegraph Operator	Intended for the shore party but stranded when the Aurora broke adrift
Joseph Stenhouse	1887	1941	1st Officer (subsequently Captain)
Leslie Thompson			2nd Officer
Alfred Larkman		1962	Chief Engineer
C. Adrian Donnelly/Donolly[6]			2nd Engineer
James Paton	1869	1918	Boatswain
Clarence Maugher/Mauger[7]			Carpenter
Sydney Atkin			Able Seaman
Arthur Downing			Able Seaman
William Kavanagh			Able Seaman
A. "Shorty" Warren			Able Seaman
Charles Glidden			Ordinary Seaman
S. Grady/Grade[8]			Fireman
William Mugridge			Fireman
Harold Shaw			Fireman
Edward Wise	1872	1943	Cook
Emile d'Anglade			Steward

Notes and references

1. Among these were Douglas George Jeffrey, who later joined Shackleton's final expedition; Courtney Brocklehurst and F. Dobbs who would have been in charge of the dog sections; and V. Studd, the original geologist.
2. Often seen as Hubert
3. Accidentally omitted from Worsley's list
4. McNeish and MacNish are commonly seen
5. Blackborrow or Blackboro often used for Blackborow and Percy occasionally seen for Perce
6. Donolly spelling used in South
7. Mauger spelling used in South
8. Referred to as Grade in South

• Alexander, Caroline (1998). Endurance. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 0-7475-4123-X.
• Shackleton, Ernest (1919). South: The story of Shackleton's 1914–17 expedition. Project Gutenberg.
• Tyler-Lewis, Kelly (2006). The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-7972-4.
• Worsley, Frank A. (1998) [1933]. Shackleton's Boat Journey. W.W. Norton & Company.
• Rajala, Elizabeth Anna Bakewell (2004). The American on the Endurance: Ice, Seas, and Terra Firma Adventures of William Bakewell. Munising, MI: Dukes Hall Publishing. ISBN 0-9749134-0-5.

External links

• The Endurance Obituauries, The story of the men of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship S.Y. Endurance, at Enduranceobituaries.co.uk.
• Crew member biographies, including sizeable entries on some of the least well-known, at Coolantarctica.com.