One of the few genuine rarities from the Heroic Age of Antarctic endeavour.
William Lashly (1867-1940) was a working class sailor from Hampshire who joined the Royal Navy in 1889. He saw service as a stoker in India and the West Indies before volunteering in 1901 for Sir Robert Falcon Scott's British National Antarctic Expedition. He proved himself an invaluable member of the Discovery crew, and in particular rose to the gruelling physical and mental challenge of man hauling a sledge through the Antarctic terrain. When, in 1903, Lashly was on a sledging trip with Captain Scott and Petty Officer Edgar Evans, the latter two men fell through the ice into a deep crevasse. Lashly acted quickly, and with his characteristic strength, saved both of their lives. It's little wonder that when Scott was putting together a crew for his 1910 Terra Nova expedition, he selected Lashly again from amongst the thousands of applicants.
The diary was kept by Lashly during the sledge march towards the South Pole, in the winter of 1911-1912. Appointed second engineer servicing the experimental motor vehicles intended to give Scott's expedition a technological edge, the unsuitability of this machinery meant they were soon abandoned. Thereafter, Lashly was paired in a harness with Lieutenant Evans, hauling together for three months.
Serving as a support unit to the Polar Party, it was with some disappointment that Lashly, Tom Crean and Lieutenant Evans said farewell to Scott and the four other men at latitude 87º32'S. Their return journey to Hut Point was forestalled by Evans' worsening health. When it became apparent that Evans was suffering from scurvy, the two sailors loaded the ailing man onto their sledge and bore his weight as far as they could manage towards safety. At a distance of thirty miles they decided Tom Crean should proceed for help alone, and that Lashly should remain with Evans awaiting a rescue party. The fortitude and endurance of these two men undoubtedly saved Evans' life, and they both received the Albert Medal in recognition of this feat. Evans dedicated his book South with Scott to their bravery.
Unlike the ranking officers whose accounts provided the traditional record of these expeditions, the voices of heroic seamen like Lashly offer a below-decks perspective, invaluable to a complete picture of these extraordinary journeys. The early decades of the twentieth century saw massive changes in the rigidity of British class and social mobility, which of course was further shaken by the experiences of the First World War. Described as an example of the "dependable, uncomplaining, ever ready 'other rank', upon whom Scott build two Antarctic expeditions" (ODNB) the later appreciation of Lashly's literary output perhaps illustrates this shift.
This charming book was set by printing apprentices and designed and illustrated by students of book production at Reading University, under the superintendence of Robert Gibbings, the noted wood engraver associated with the Golden Cockerel Press. The result is a very pleasing publication. While there is plenty of ephemera relating to the expedition, this book was published in a limited edition of 75 copies and is one of the few genuinely rare books from the Heroic Age. Lashly died not long after the publication, and we have never seen a copy signed or inscribed by him.
OCLC locates copies at Alexander Turnbull Library, Dartmouth, Columbia & Colorado State. Libraryhub adds Reading. SLNSW also has a copy. There are six copies on auction records, one of which was the printer's proof.
Rosove, 197.A1; Spence, 685; Taurus, 87.
