65th Anniversary of the 1st Land Crossing of Antarctica: Sir Vivian Fuchs - 2023 Proof Fine Silver with Goldclad® £2 - BAT

Fuchs’ interest in polar exploration was aroused by his Cambridge tutor, Sir James Wordie, who had been with Shackleton on the abortive Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-16. However it wasn’t until 1948 when he had the opportunity to travel there, as leader of the Falklands Islands Dependencies Survey, (which became the British Antarctic Survey in 1961), that he conceived the idea of reviving Shackleton’s grand design of a trans-Antarctic crossing. He envisioned a mechanised crossing with air support, enabling him to undertake a scientific program, including seismic readings to determine the thickness of the Antarctic ice. Their expedition team, named the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, left the Pole on January 24 and arrived at Scott Base in McMurdo Sound on March 2, 1958, having completed the first land crossing of Antarctica in 99 days, one fewer than their Fuchs’ original estimate, and having covered 2,158 miles (3,473 km). Along the way a substantial scientific programme had been accomplished, including seismic soundings and a gravity traverse.