Sir Ernest Shackleton became a national icon after venturing on four epic voyages of discovery to the Antarctic a century ago, including the famous HMS Endurance expedition. But after the Endurance was trapped by pack ice—and slowly succumbed to its crushing pressure—the expedition's fate, and that of its crew, looked bleak. Hundreds of miles from inhabited territory, and far from any shipping lanes, what followed is one of the greatest stories of endurance and survival ever told. The crew wouldn’t be rescued for more than a year and a half, but incredibly all 28 made it back alive.

More than a century later, the wreck of the Endurance was finally located. In March 2022, a team of scientists released stunning images of the three-masted, wooden ship where it had lodged 10,000 feet deep at the bottom of the Antarctic.

Our speaker is leading polar historian Michael Smith, who books have received wide critical acclaim and he is assisting with the development of a major international film about Shackleton.