Tom Crean was born in 1877 in Ireland and left school at age 12 to work on his family's farm. At age 15, he ran away and joined the Royal Navy, where he spent the next eight years traveling the world. In 1901, he volunteered to join Captain Robert Falcon Scott's expedition to Antarctica, where he proved his strength and resilience. Crean went on to participate in two more Antarctic expeditions, displaying great heroism by making a solo trek to save his companions and later searching for Scott and his team after they perished reaching the South Pole.

2. •
Tom Crean was born on a remote
hillside farm near the village of
Annascaul on the Dingle Peninsula
on July 20th 1877
•
He was one of 10 children
•
He attended the local Roman
Catholic School but left at the age of
12 to help on the family farm
•
At the age of 15, he ran away from
home after an argument with his
father and headed for cork where
he enlisted in the Royal Navy

3. •
For the next eight years, he
travelled the world as a
Royal Navy sailor.
•
He was transferred from
ship to ship and went from
being ranked as an ordinary
seaman, to an able seaman,
to a petty officer (second
class).

4. •
In Dec 1901 at the age of 23 while in New Zealand he had a chance
encounter with Robert Falcon Scott, a Royal Navy officer and commander
of a major Polar expedition.
•
He came to learn that Scott was a sailor short as one of his men had ran
into some trouble and fled.
•
He volunteered to take the place of this man on Captain Scott’s Antarctic
Exploration Ship ‘Discovery’ and was accepted.
•
While on board he met Ernest Shackleton, who would go on to figure
greatly in Crean's life in later years

5. •
In Feb 1902, the Antarctic expedition was made
•
This was Crean's first experience of the harsh
conditions of Antarctica.
•
At first he struggled with the icy conditions but
before long he found his feet and took part in some
of man's very first journeys into the continent
•
‘Discovery’ returned from it’s Antarctic expedition in
Feb 1904 and Crean returned to his duties at the
naval base
•
Crean had caught Captain Scott's attention with his
attitude and work ethic on
the ’Discovery’ Expedition and it was requested that
Crean join him on Terra Nova which was bound for
the South Pole

6. •
Terra Nova set out for the Antarctic in April 1910
and reached it in Jan 1911
•
Their goal was to be the first to reach the South
Pole
•
On reaching the Antarctic they set up camp. It
would be Spring before the march for the South
Pole began
•
In Jan 1912, barely 150 miles from the South
Pole, Captain Scott splits his team and decides
not to bring Crean. Instead the Kerry man must
return to base with Bill Lashly and Teddy Evans
•
After walking for 750 miles the three men must
now turn and walk the 750 miles home.
•
Evans starts to deteriorate and his two
companions struggle to keep him alive

7. •
Crean decides to go on alone and after 18 hours reaches base
•
He returns with a rescue team to bring home his companions
•
Crean received a medal from King George for his heroism

8. • In Jan 1912 Captain Scott and his four
companions reach the South Pole but are bitterly
disappointed to find a Norwegian flag and dog
tracks there – evidence that Roald Amundsen and
his team have beaten them to it
• On the return journey, tragically all five men
perish
• Later the same year, Crean returns towards the
Pole with a team to search for Scott and his men
• They find a tent buried under a mound of snow
• Inside Captain Robert Scott and two of his
companions lie frozen
• Crean and the team bury the bodies of their
stricken comrades where they lie.