On the 19th February 1912, a disheveled, frost bitten, exhausted figure, trundled through the door of Scotts base camp hut in Antarctica and slumped to the ground. The man had just undertaken one of the most heroic feats in history on the coldest and harshest place on the planet. In a historic, humanitarian act of self sacrifice, Tom Crean had marched 36 miles in 18 hours to bring about the safe rescue of his scurvy stricken commander, Lieutenant Teddy Evans. For his actions he received the highest honour for bravery, the Albert Medal along with the eternal gratitude of Lieutenant Teddy Evans and his descendants who, to this day, make an annual trip to the birthplace of Tom Crean in Annascaul, County Kerry, to pay tribute to the man who saved the life of their father and grandfather. It wasnt the first nor the last time that Tom Creans bravery had been called upon to save the lives of his comrades. This remarkable man went on to become a primary participant in saving the lives of 25 of his colleagues on his following expedition aboard Endurance.yet it wast until almost a century later that readers were able to learn more of his astonishing, heroic feats. In a corner of Ballinacourty cemetery, not far from his birthplace, is the tomb that Tom Crean himself built. Sat on top of the tomb lies a glass bowl of porcelain flowers. They arrived via a White Rolls Royce in 1938 at his funeral and were sent by the then Admiral Teddy Evans as an eternal reminder of his gratitude to the man he owed his life to. An inscription on the side of the tomb reads Home is the Sailor, Home from the Sea but its evident that he never received the homecoming his epic story deserved from his home County. We can all play a part in putting that right at a place where a worldwide audience could learn more about this great Irish Hero, whose story still largely remains unsung. Kerry Airport would go some way to realising this if it was to be renamed in his honour but until then its up to us, admirers and fans of this great man, to spread the word. Please share and help bring home our Antarctic Marine. Growing numbers liking our page can help bring this about so if you agree, please press like on our main page image and jump on board our ship.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 23:15:38 +0000
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