Books on Antarctica certainly stimulate public interest, especially those describing long and arduous sledge journeys faced with considerable deprivations associated with living in tents for months on end. The associated prolonged suffering from cold, injury, and malnutrition are well documented in, for example, the writings of Apsley Cherry-Garrard (a best-seller since Reference Cherry-Garrard1922) and Sir Ranulph Fiennes (Reference Fiennes1993).
Conversely, publications about Antarctic exploration conducted during longer-term residence, such as two or more winters at more permanent bases, have tended to be rather neglected. This is certainly not due to a lack of adventure at many bases, such as those operated by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) from 1945, which changed its name to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in January 1962. At its heyday during the International Geophysical Year of 1957–58, FIDS operated 11 bases in Antarctica with 87 potential authors
It must be noted that three books have been published on life and work with FIDS in the 1950s, two primarily associated with Base D at Hope Bay (Anderson Reference Anderson1957; Herbert Reference Herbert1968) and one with Base E at Stonington Island (Walton Reference Walton1955). These early publications (and later reprints) remained the only accounts of personal experiences covering two years at Antarctic bases for almost 50 years, although Sir Vivian Fuchs (Reference Fuchs1982) published a definitive history of FIDS/BAS from 1945 until 1973.
Since 2004, however, two books have been produced on FIDS/BAS activities in the 1960s, namely, The silent sound by Cliff Pearce and the book featured in this review, South of sixty by Michael Warr, published by the Antarctic Memories Publishing Company. Hopefully in the future, these memories will include recent experiences with BAS from a female perspective, to contrast with those of the Americans Jennie Darlington and Jackie Ronne at Stonington Island in 1947–48.
South of sixty covers two winters with BAS between 1963 and 1965. The first winter was spent at Base B on Deception Island in the South Shetlands in the so-called ‘banana belt.’ Here, the socialising with the Argentine and Chilean neighbours (with visits to their stations about once a fortnight) provided an unusual Antarctic experience in the 1960s and eventually became a distraction and something of a chore. However, the advantages of this regular contact were many, associated with the availability of medical treatment, fresh meat (other than penguin and seal), chicken eggs, and wine. This represented an absolute bonus to FIDS surviving on monotonous tinned and dried food.
Warr's second winter was spent at Base T on Adelaide Island, south of the Antarctic Circle in Marguerite Bay. Warr refers to this location as the real or rugged Antarctica, well away from South American distractions. Here he undertook more serious dog sledging along the 90-mile long piedmont glacier, with week-long fun trips and the occasional met observations, until his main team, ‘the Huns,’ were airlifted to Fossil Bluff.
I thoroughly enjoyed the text, and it brought back memories of my days with FIDS/BAS between 1958 and 1962, when he referred to Shackleton crew, base members, and huskies that I had known in my days down south. The book is well written, with a cheerful and lucid style, and it is an honest account of Warr's feelings and performances. For example, it includes his problems with sea sickness, the winter tensions and associated verbal blasts when confined to base, and the poor quality of his early met observations, when he was threatened with eviction from Base B.
The only minor criticism of the text was related to its poor continuity due to a large number of short chapters (sometimes only two pages long); 40 chapters covering 162 pages is somewhat disjointed! The major disappointment was the photographs, which were few in number and rather irrelevant. The plates should have illustrated more aspects of base life and work, which dominate the routine at a static/non-sledging station. These should have included photographs of the interior of the base, which would give non-FIDS readers a better insight to the very basic domestic arrangements that we endured and somehow enjoyed.
The concluding four chapters cover a return to the Antarctic Peninsula as a tourist on the cruise ship Polar Star. Comparisons are made between the old FIDS bases and the surviving BAS base on the Peninsula at Rothera, on Adelaide Island. Warr feels that the real Antarctica – related to ‘roughing it’ – has disappeared, and the visit failed to bring back the ‘golden years’ of the 1960s. Many differences were noted, including female base members, the heavy mechanisation, the all-weather air strip (and direct flights to Stanley), 24-hour electricity and air conditioning, desalination, waste removal, satellite communications/e-mail facilities, and the absence of husky dogs since 1994, which diminishes the appeal of Antarctica. He notes that the base life-style today is regulated and regimented with a strong input from the UK headquarters, compared to our complete freedom in the 1950s and 1960s.
Warr expresses concern over the impact of tourism on this environment and supports a limit on the number of sites visited and the frequency of landings in the future, with the predicted increase in passenger traffic. After 26 cruises over the last 10 years as a lecturer on cruise ships, I have observed that well-controlled landings have little serious impact on the primary landing sites.
To reiterate, South of sixty is a most enjoyable read and together with Pearce's The silent sound provides an excellent insight into those exciting and challenging days as FIDS (Flipping Idiots Down South, as the Falkland Islanders thought!) living and surviving on remote Antarctic bases. (Russell Thompson, 13 Badgers Brook Drive, Ystradowen, Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7TX.)
