Dicky Byrd - The antithesis or complement of Shackleton?
The preceding piece on Hary McNeish didn't cut the mustard as a polemic to be administered to the earnest Shackletonians, time for a left-field approach.
As luck would have it at my local library I stumbled upon Rear-Admiral Richard E. Byrd's classic "Alone".
A slim volume, but profoundly affecting. I would urge you to go and read this now rather than my second hand opinions.
Spoilers Alert!
You have to read the primary text first. Which is Richard E. Byrd, "Alone", ISBN-13: 978-1559634632.
It's less than 300 pages and gripping.
Spoilers Alert, Final Warning!!
You've read it. Or are going to trust my ramblings.
Whichever way, here goes.
Byrd does not appear to be a natural leader, and for want of any better idea he chooses to man an inland Antarctic through winter.
The rationale behind this (obtaining meteorological data) is evidently secondary to achieving another exploratory "first".
At this point one may pause to reflect on the state of mind of someone naming the Ross Shelf portage "Misery Trail" and the preceding journey through "The Devils Graveyard". But against these odds the base is established at Little America.
The original plan of a 3 man inland base is now abandoned due to inability to transport sufficient supplies (hmm?).
So Byrd steps up to the plate and volunteers/dictates he will occupy the inland (Advance) base for the winter months.
A certain amount of consternation. Byrd himself acknowledges the motivation is complex and hard to justify, but as autocratic leader he does it anyway.
He superficially devolves the leadership to Little America, but in his head remains the ultimate leader despite his isolation and woeful radio capabilities.
And then it gets dark. As presaged in the book he is caught between dying of hypothermia or CO poisoning for several months. At the same time he is caught between his responsibility for the men back in Little America, their duty, and his increasing desperation to live.
Considering this was written back in the old days of stiff upper lip etc, the existential angst that Rear-Admiral Richard E. Byrd puts down on paper is remarkable. It apparently took him several years before he could think about writing up the experience.
What's this got do with Shackleton?
Byrd was two decades after Shackleton, but polar exploration seems to operate to its own timescale and as such certain themes apply to both:
Psychology
Much decorated, but scared of flying, Rear-Admiral Richard Byrd pretty much defines the insecure over-achiever. Plus he was a secret boozer.
Logisitics
Twenty years after sleds and skis, neither diesel tractors and aeroplanes were a silver bullet against the vicissitudes of the Antarctic
Economics
Byrd was one of the last privately sponsored expeditions. He had the misfortune to be doing this during the Great Depression, which may have clouded his judgement.
He implies his decision to overwinter was both to secure funds and to avoid the hassle of obtaining funds.
Ethics
A very tricky one. The heart of the book. Byrd concedes relatively early on that overwintering was self-indulgent. But while possibly dying he concocts an elaborate fiction that Little America think he doesn't need rescuing whilst hoping they will see through his facade.At the risk of Poulter and the other members of the rescue party, who would suffer by another rod if they failed to ignore standing orders and rescue Bird, he is rescued.
