Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

was closed to all traffic, the Backs were under water, Midsummer Common was a
swimming pool for ducks and houses at Riverside had a foot of water in their
ground floor rooms. At the Tivoli Cinema, near Mitcham's Corner the front stalls
were flooded”.
Fen Causeway really was a causeway, with swirling muddy waters on all sides.
On 16 March a gale developed which added to the havoc, stripping the roof from the
kitchens of Downing College. In Fitzroy Street the window of a Chemist's shop were
smashed and roof tiles were stripped. Trees were uprooted and the chaos continued.
All this was a foretaste of conditions I was to experience a year or so later, when I
went down to the Antarctic; it was pre-adaptive although I didn't know it at the
time! I was preoccupied with academic work, sports and social activities, which
despite the privations continued unabated.
A growing interest in Polar Exploration
As a boy I had developed a strong interest in mountaineering and polar
exploration, while living in the Lake District (Chapter 2). I had read many of the
classic accounts of polar exploration - in fact we had taken Shackleton's classic
‘South’ as a set book for the School Certificate English literature examination. I had
been entranced by the descriptions of life in the polar regions and their natural
history, and very impressed by the paintings and drawings of Edward Wilson and
the photographs of R F Ponting. Cambridge was the home of the Scott Polar
Research Institute, founded in memory of Captain R F Scott of the Antarctic, and it
had in its archives the largest single collection of Wilson's watercolours. There was
also an excellent polar library.
The institute was the only centre of research in polar studies in Britain and one
of few in the world, so it was a natural magnet for people interested in the history of
the polar regions, or in planning expeditions. Naturally I gravitated there whenever
I could find time and listened avidly to fascinating talk among the resident experts
and visitors. Interested students were welcome to drop in for talk and there were
some lectures to attend. We met in the small office of Elizabeth Rought who was the
Director's Secretary, a charming, friendly and very pretty girl, several years older
than us. We sat around on the floor, if it was crowded, and took tea and cakes.
Among us from time to time was Christopher Brasher who was on the way to
becoming a famous long distance runner, and an Olympic Gold Medallist - and had
already been on polar expeditions.
Dr Launcelot Fleming was the Director during my initial contacts and later Dr
Colin Bertram was appointed Director. Dr Brian Roberts was attached to the
Institute but spent most of his time as Head of the Polar Regions Section of the
Foreign Office in London. Brian and Colin were biologists, (specializing in birds and
seals respectively) and Launcelot was a geologist but had later taken holy orders and
was now Dean of Trinity Hall. All three had been on the British Grahamland
Expedition (BGLE), l934-37, sailing down to the Antarctic Peninsula on the steam
yacht ‘Penola’ under the leadership of John Rymill, and between them there was a
fund of fascinating experience. This was one of the most productive scientific
expeditions of that time, which had set a standard for later work. The talk was all of
dog travel, the wildlife, the rigours of the environment and the nature and
achievements of the men involved.
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