Fresh out of Physics at Cambridge, Viv’s father Reginald James joined Sir Ernest Shackleton’s “Imperial Transantarctic Expedition” as Physicist at the last minute in 1914. On their way south their ship, the Endurance was trapped in the Weddell Sea ice for 9 months, drifting southwest then north. Towards summer, she was crushed by shifting pack ice and sank leaving Shackleton’s party of 28 men living in tents on the ice for another 6 months. They continued their 2000km drift until breaking ice allowed them to launch their lifeboats. 6 gruelling days later they reached Elephant Island where they camped for nearly 5 months under terrible conditions while Shackleton sailed 1200km across the Drake Passage in one of the open boats for help. All survived, many to die in WW1.

Two years ago Viv sailed from the Falkland Islands as a guest of the Royal Navy on HMS Endurance to the Antarctic Peninsula and despite bad conditions was able to land at Cape Wild on Elephant Island where the party was marooned.

Viv will talk about his father’s trip with references to his father’s notes, diaries and photographs combined with some of his own photographs including his own landing on Elephant Island.

Reginald James later became Professor of Physics at the University of Cape Town, Acting Principal of UCT and a Fellow the Royal Society for his research work in X-ray crystallography.

Date: Wednesday 13th june

Time: 8pm-9.30pm

Venue: Rondevlei Nature Reserve Auditorium