Erected with funds collect by the 42nd coy Senior Cadets to commemorate the patient, stubborn, invincible courage, the loyal comradeship, and brilliant achievement of
Captain Robert Falcon , C.V.O., RN
Dr. Edward Adrian Wilson, F.Z.S
Captain Lawrence E.G. Oates,
Inniskilling Dragoons.
Lieut. Henry R. Bowers, R.I.M.
And
Petty Officer Edgar Evans, R.N.
Who reached the South Pole on 17th January 1912, and perished on the return journey.
They rest I the great while silence of Antarctica amid the scenes of their triumphs, wrapped in the winding sheets of the eternal snows.
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THE LAST MESSAGE
. . . . . . . . . We arrived within eleven miles of our old One Ton camp with fuel for one hot meal and food for two days. For four days we have been unable to leave the tent, the gale is howling about us. We are weak, writing is difficult, but, for my own sake, I do not regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one another, and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in the past. We took risks; we knew we took them. Things have gone out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of providence, determined still to do out best to the last.
Had we lived I should have had a take to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman.
These rough notes and out dead bodies must tell the tell.
R. SCOTT, 25th March, 1912
A HERO’S END
Captain Scott writes: —
“He was a brave soul. He slept through the night, hoping not to wake, but awoke in the morning, it was blowing a blizzard. Oates said, ‘I am just going outside, and may be some time.’ He wnet out into the blizzard, and we have not seen him since”.
Captain Oates realised that he could march no more, and that his comrades would not willingly leave him. By going out to meet death, he left them free to push on and take the chance of life that remained to them.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”