Tom Crean Biography

A physically tough and agile youth, he ran away, aged 15, to join the Navy. He soon gained a reputation for reliability on hazardous missions.

By virtue of his amazing toughness, Crean ended up being on three of the four major Antarctic expeditions: the 'Discovery' (1901 - 1904), the 'Terra Nova' (1910 - 1913) and on the 'Endurance' (1914 - 1916).

For the ‘Terra Nova’ expedition of 1910-13, Scott wanted only people that he could trust - Bill Lashly, Edgar Evans and Tom Crean. With Evans taken down with scurvy, Crean single-handedly walked 35 miles in 18 hours in a blizzard, to rescue the rest of the expedition from Hut Point.

In the ‘Endurance’ voyage in 1914-16, Crean made it from their sinking ship to Elephant Island in a small lifeboat, and took the "James Caird" 800 miles to South Georgia.

Crean also fought in the First World War, and retired from the Navy in 1920, after 27 years of service.

However, a year later, not even a personal request from Shackleton could persuade him to join the Quest.

Instead, Crean returned to Ireland and opened a pub, ‘The South Pole’, with his wife Ellen. The pub still remains. A private man, Crean never publicly spoke of his exploring, and never undertook a single interview.

Complaining of stomach pains, Crean’s appendix burst and his liver failed, in 1938. He died on the 27th July 1938, at the age of 61.

A truly great explorer, he spent more time in the Antarctic region than either Scott or Shackleton, and outlived them both.

His legacy lives on in the form of Mount Crean in Victoria Land (at 2550 meters) and the Crean Glacier in South Georgia, extending more than 6 kilometres.