Jonathan Shackleton and Falcon Scott
Jonathan Shackleton
Cousin of the Irish Kildare-born Antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton. He is the family historian for the Irish Shackletons whose ancestor founded a Quaker school in Ballitore, County Kildare, in 1726.
Jonathan is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, in Natural Sciences and was awarded his Masters Degree from Ohio State University for work in Arctic Alaska.
As a lecturer and guide, Jonathan has accompanied 30 groups on trips to the Antarctic in the past 15 years as historian, guide, photographer and Zodiac driver. Highlights of Jonathan’s visits have been landing on Elephant Island at Point Wild, visiting Ernest Shackleton's grave on South Georgia, travelling to the Ross Sea, landing at Cape Adare, and visiting two of the largest emperor penguin colonies in the world. Jonathan was a member of the first group to visit the emperor penguin colony at Snow Hill. Many of these visits have been made whilst working with Quark Expeditions.
Jonathan has been involved in many Shackleton and Antarctic activities including films, TV documentaries, television and radio interviews, exhibitions and has given many talks in Antarctica, Canada, England, Ireland, Tasmania and the United States. Most recently, Jonathan was a consultant to Sir Ranulph Fiennes for his recent biography "Captain Scott."
Jonathan is co-author of "Shackleton-An Irishman in Antarctica" about Ernest Shackleton with emphasis on the Shackleton family and the explorer's Irish background. Jonathan is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, London; was recently elected member of BAS (British Antarctic Survey) Club; and is a member of the James Caird Society.
Jonathan Shackleton and Falcon Scott is a special guest aboard:
Falcon Scott
Captain Scott's only Grandson and son of Sir Peter Scott, well known wildlife conservationist, founder of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and co-founder of WWF.
Falcon was brought up at the Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust with his two sisters. He started his career as a civil engineer building an underground railway system in Liverpool. After a period based in Yorkshire as an engineer and representative for a pipe lining company, Falcon set up as a self-employed builder, designing and building houses and extensions. He moved to Argyll in Scotland in 1999 to build a Holiday Lodge business, which he runs with his wife Jane, where they live. In the last 10 years he has designed and built his own traditional stone house, and more recently a large contemporary house for a local businessman. Last year he spent 5 weeks as an Antarctic Heritage Trust carpenter working on his grandfather's Terra Nova Expedition Hut at Cape Evans along with a team of experts from around the world. As Captain Scott's main family representative, Falcon has been involved recently with events to celebrate the Centenary of the Terra Nova Expedition, including a visit to the South Pole (only two explorer relatives have been there before).
Falcon is a keen sailor, enjoys mountain climbing, and is an artist, lately developing his skill in painting. He has a daughter and two sons (who were christened on the RRS Discovery).
