03/06/2026
On 3 June 1916, Sir Ernest Shackleton addressed one of the largest gatherings the Falkland Islands had ever seen.
Just days earlier, he had arrived in Stanley after escaping from Antarctica and completing the extraordinary voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia. Yet despite reaching safety himself, 22 members of the Endurance expedition were still stranded on Elephant Island awaiting rescue.
According to records preserved by the Jane Cameron National Archives, Shackleton's account of the expedition "thrilled all who were fortunate enough to hear it". Islanders packed the meeting to hear first-hand how Endurance had been crushed by ice and how her crew had survived against overwhelming odds.
Captain Frank Worsley later recalled the sympathy and kindness shown by the people of the Falkland Islands during this difficult period, although the strain of leaving their shipmates behind remained ever present.
It would be another 88 days before the men on Elephant Island were rescued. Remarkably, every member of the expedition survived.
Nearly 106 years later, the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust -organised the Endurance22 expedition that discovered the wreck of Endurance almost 10,000 feet beneath the Antarctic ice, bringing a new chapter to one of history's greatest survival stories.
With thanks to the Falkland Islands Government and the Jane Cameron National Archives for preserving records that allow us to revisit these events today.
Read the full story on our website: www.fmht.co.uk/wreckmap/endurance/
📸 Images courtesy of RGS and FMHT - NB. The photograph of Crean, Shackleton, Captain Thom and Worsley (1916) is sometime attributed to South Georgia. Recent insights suggest this may be the Falkland Islands due to the distinctive topography in the background. Please come to us with any other pictures that may prove or disprove this!
Falkland Islands Jetty 2026
Endurance at a depth of 3,008m 2022
