Shackleton’s extraordinary leadership skills contributed to the twenty-seven men braving for almost two years stranded in Antarctic, when the expedition ship, the Endurance, was trapped and then crushed into pieces in the solid pack-ice of the Weddell Sea.
It is said that Shackleton advertised for the men to join the expedition with the following notice:
“Men wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small Wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant Danger. Safe return doubtful.”
Shackleton recruitment notice was brutally honest about the harsh conditions and dangers to be faced. When the Endurance crew members indeed come across the mentioned conditions, they tried they best to cope it, for they had been forewarned. They also looked to Shackleton, whom they called “The Boss”, for guidance about how to survive the elements, both physically and emotionally.
Shackleton’s calm and confidence in the dreadful circumstances were heartening to his crew. Alexander Macklin, the ships doctor describes Shackleton reaction to their inability to free the Endurance from the ice. He stated, “It was at this moment Shackleton…showed one of his sparks of his greatness. He did not…show…the slightest sign of disappointment. He told us simply and calmly that we would have to spend the winter in the pack.”
Shackleton sustained incumbent morale and created a united team by keeping everyone busy—and equal. For example, during the harsh long months in which the crew lived on the Endurance as a winter station, Shackleton rebuked the working-class system of the time and had scientist scrubbing floors beside seamen and university professors eating alongside fishermen. Furthermore, Shackleton encouraged more than just working mateship. The crew members played football on the ice, involved in nightly sing-alongs, organized highly competitive dog-sled racing and even collectively shaved their heads, posing for the expedition photographer, Frank Hurley.
Despite that Shackleton was called “The Boss” by his men, he did not differentiate himself from them. When the crew moved from the half-sunken ship to a near by camp on ice called “Camp Patience”, Shackleton ensured neither he nor his members received preferential treatment. As able seamen Bakewell wrote “Sir Ernest, Mr Wild…Captain Worsley and some other officers all drew wool (sleeping) bags. The fine warm fur bags all went to the men under them.” In addition, in order to help his crew to get over the shock of abandoning the Endurance, Shackleton graciously served his men: rising early in the morning, he made hot milk and hand-delivered it to every member of the expedition.
Shackleton attitude and show of unity are contagious. While his men were suffering from a terrible ordeal, they often rose to his example and showed tremendous compassion for one and another. When Fist Officer Lionel Greenstreet spilled his much needed milk onto the ice, he seemed depressed over the loss, and, one by one, each of the seven men who shared his tent silently poured some of their equally precious ration into his mug, refilling it.
THE HERO
The ship Endurance, stranded in solid pack ice.
During the horrendous seven-day lifeboat journey to Elephant Island, Shackleton stood tall and boosted his morale hour after hour. Later, during the seventeen day sail to South Georgia Island, Shackleton monitored his five companions’ health constantly. Captain Worsley later wrote, “Whenever Shackleton notices that a man seems extra cold and shivering, he immediately orders another hot drink served to all.” Worsley explained that Shackleton was careful not to single out the man suffering the most since he does not want to frighten him about his conditions.
As circumstance changes, Shackleton remained positive and decisive, which buoyed his crew. He always kept his men informed and asked for their opinions and ideas. He was thorough and planned for all possibilities, but he was prepared to start from scratch if something went wrong. Further, throughout the twenty-two month Endurance expedition, Shackleton was able to bring the best out of each of his men.
Each crew member contributed to the team's survival, from Captain Frank Worsley, whose exceptional navigation guided the men to both Elephant and South Georgia Islands; to carpenter Chippy McNeish, who reinforced the lifeboats; to cook Charles Green, who created meals day after day with limited resources; to Alexander Macklin and James McIlroy, the two doctors, who saved steward Perce Blackborow from gangrene resulting from frostbite. “Twenty-eight ordinary-turned-extraordinary men, led by Shackleton's example, survived nearly two years of unimaginable hardships at the end of the Earth.”
