To Strive and Seek

From BBC Radio 4. Written and Presented by Sara Wheeler.

Scott's Terra Nova Expedition famously reached the South Pole on 17th January 1912. When they arrived they discovered that Amundsen had got there 33 days before them. They all perished on the return trip. The stated aim of the endeavour had been "to reach the South Pole and to secure for the British Empire the honour of this achievement".

The expedition was so much more than simply Scott. The others - whose lives were lost or changed forever by the unfolding drama - reveal much about this ultimate moment of human endeavour, this key moment at the end of empire, this tragic catalogue of misjudgement.

In all there were sixty-five men involved in the ship and shore parties. This is the story of five of them. Key individuals, each with their own reasons for being there, their own fascinations and interests, their own Terra Nova Expedition.

Episode 1: Herbert Ponting.

Episode 2: Tom Crean.

Episode 3: Raymond Priestley.

Episode 4: Lawrence Oates.

Episode 5: Apsley Cherry-Garrard.