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| Captain Scott letter goes on display on anniversary of his death | Captain Scott letter goes on display on anniversary of his death |
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| A last letter from Captain Scott, written in the tent that would become his tomb with the Antarctic temperature outside at -40C and food and fuel gone, is revealed in full for the first time on Friday, the 101st anniversary of his death. | |
| The letter was written to his old commanding officer in the navy, Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman. Scott begins: "I fear we have shipped up." | The letter was written to his old commanding officer in the navy, Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman. Scott begins: "I fear we have shipped up." |
| Knowing that the mission to the South Pole and the lives of his men are lost, he anticipates and defends himself against the charge that he was the wrong man to lead the expedition, a point still argued by polar historians today. "I want to tell you that I was not too old for this job. It was the younger men that went under first." | Knowing that the mission to the South Pole and the lives of his men are lost, he anticipates and defends himself against the charge that he was the wrong man to lead the expedition, a point still argued by polar historians today. "I want to tell you that I was not too old for this job. It was the younger men that went under first." |
| Scott was 44; the men who died in the tent with him, Edward Wilson and Henry Bowers, were 39 and 29 respectively. Lawrence Oates, who limped out to die in the snow, one leg destroyed by frostbite, remarking "I am just going outside and may be some time", was 32. | Scott was 44; the men who died in the tent with him, Edward Wilson and Henry Bowers, were 39 and 29 respectively. Lawrence Oates, who limped out to die in the snow, one leg destroyed by frostbite, remarking "I am just going outside and may be some time", was 32. |
| The letter is one of only two of Scott's last letters still in private hands. It was treasured by the Bridgeman family for generations but has now been bought by the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, which is putting it on display to mark the anniversary. | The letter is one of only two of Scott's last letters still in private hands. It was treasured by the Bridgeman family for generations but has now been bought by the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, which is putting it on display to mark the anniversary. |
| Scott's last diary entry, ending in the heartbreaking pencilled lines: "It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. Scott. For God's sake look after our people," was written on 29 March 1912. It is believed he died later that day. | Scott's last diary entry, ending in the heartbreaking pencilled lines: "It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. Scott. For God's sake look after our people," was written on 29 March 1912. It is believed he died later that day. |
| Scott and his colleagues wrote several last letters, which were not recovered until the following November when an expedition found the tent 11 miles short of the next food store. | Scott and his colleagues wrote several last letters, which were not recovered until the following November when an expedition found the tent 11 miles short of the next food store. |
| Scott wrote tenderly to his sculptor wife, Kathleen, to the next of kin of Oates, Wilson and Bowers, and to friends including the writer JM Barrie – though that letter has never been traced. The letter to Bridgeman, by then first sea lord after serving as second-in-command of three different fleets and then commander-in-chief of the home fleet, has been bought from his descendants for £78,816 with grants and donations, and will go on display with the other letters. | Scott wrote tenderly to his sculptor wife, Kathleen, to the next of kin of Oates, Wilson and Bowers, and to friends including the writer JM Barrie – though that letter has never been traced. The letter to Bridgeman, by then first sea lord after serving as second-in-command of three different fleets and then commander-in-chief of the home fleet, has been bought from his descendants for £78,816 with grants and donations, and will go on display with the other letters. |
| When news of the deaths of Scott and his companions finally reached Britain there was a torrent of national mourning. So much money was collected for their families that the Scott Polar Research Institute was founded at Cambridge in 1920 as a memorial to the team, with funds left over. | When news of the deaths of Scott and his companions finally reached Britain there was a torrent of national mourning. So much money was collected for their families that the Scott Polar Research Institute was founded at Cambridge in 1920 as a memorial to the team, with funds left over. |
| Scott's last letter to Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman | Scott's last letter to Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman |
| To Sir Francis Bridgeman | To Sir Francis Bridgeman |
| My Dear Sir Francis | My Dear Sir Francis |
| I fear we have shipped up – a close shave. I am writing a few letters which I hope will be delivered some day. I want to thank you for the friendship you gave me of late years, and to tell you how extraordinarily pleasant I found it to serve under you. I want to tell you that I was not too old for this job. It was the younger men that went under first. Finally I want you to secure a competence for my widow and boy. I leave them very ill provided for, but feel that the country ought not to neglect them. After all we are setting a good example to our countrymen, if not by getting into a tight place, by facing it like men when we were there. We could have come through had we neglected the sick. | I fear we have shipped up – a close shave. I am writing a few letters which I hope will be delivered some day. I want to thank you for the friendship you gave me of late years, and to tell you how extraordinarily pleasant I found it to serve under you. I want to tell you that I was not too old for this job. It was the younger men that went under first. Finally I want you to secure a competence for my widow and boy. I leave them very ill provided for, but feel that the country ought not to neglect them. After all we are setting a good example to our countrymen, if not by getting into a tight place, by facing it like men when we were there. We could have come through had we neglected the sick. |
| Good-bye and good-bye to dear Lady Bridgeman | Good-bye and good-bye to dear Lady Bridgeman |
| Yours ever | Yours ever |
| R. Scott | R. Scott |
| Excuse writing – it is -40, and has been for nigh a month | Excuse writing – it is -40, and has been for nigh a month |
| • This article was amended on 4 April 2013. The original said that Scott's last letter is revealed for the first time on Friday, the 101st anniversary of his death. That should have been revealed in full for the first time, and has been corrected. | |
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