Tom Crean was born on a remote

hillside farm near the village of

Annascaul on the Dingle
Peninsula on July 20th 1877

He was one of 10 children

He attended the local Roman

Catholic School but left at the
age of 12 to help on the family
farm

At the age of 15, he ran away

from home after an argument
with his father and headed for
cork where he enlisted in the
Royal Navy
 For the next eight
years, he travelled the
world as a Royal Navy
sailor.

He was transferred
from ship to ship and
went from being
ranked as an ordinary
seaman, to an able
seaman, to a petty
officer (second class).
 In Dec 1901 at the age of 23 while in New Zealand he had
a chance encounter with Robert Falcon Scott, a Royal Navy
officer and commander of a major Polar expedition.

He came to learn that Scott was a sailor short as one of his

men had ran into some trouble and fled.

He volunteered to take the place of this man on Captain

Scotts Antarctic Exploration Ship Discovery and was
accepted.

While on board he met Ernest Shackleton, who would go on

to figure greatly in Crean's life in later years
 In Feb 1902, the Antarctic expedition was
made

This was Crean's first experience of the

harsh conditions of Antarctica.

At first he struggled with the icy conditions

but before long he found his feet and took
part in some of man's very first journeys
into the continent

Discovery returned from its Antarctic

expedition in Feb 1904 and Crean returned
to his duties at the naval base

Crean had caught Captain Scott's attention

with his attitude and work ethic on
theDiscoveryExpedition and it was
requested that Crean join him on Terra Nova
which was bound for the South Pole
 Terra Nova set out for the Antarctic in
April 1910 and reached it in Jan 1911

Their goal was to be the first to reach

the South Pole

On reaching the Antarctic they set up

camp. It would be Spring before the
march for the South Pole began

In Jan 1912, barely 150 miles from the

South Pole, Captain Scott splits his team
and decides not to bring Crean. Instead
the Kerry man must return to base with
Bill Lashly and Teddy Evans

After walking for 750 miles the three

men must now turn and walk the 750
miles home.

Evans starts to deteriorate and his two

companions struggle to keep him alive
 Crean decides to go on alone and after 18 hours
reaches base

He returns with a rescue team to bring home his

companions

Crean received a medal from King George for his

heroism
 In Jan 1912 Captain Scott and his four
companions reach the South Pole but
are bitterly disappointed to find a
Norwegian flag and dog tracks there
evidence that Roald Amundsen and his
team have beaten them to it

On the return journey, tragically all five

men perish

Later the same year, Crean returns

towards the Pole with a team to search
for Scott and his men

They find a tent buried under a mound

of snow

Inside Captain Robert Scott and two of

his companions lie frozen

Crean and the team bury the bodies of