English Explorer. He served with his regiment in Ireland, then in Egypt, where he became captain, and later in India. Oates volunteered to join the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913 (leader Robert Falcon Scott), and was placed in charge of the nineteen ponies. Setting out from Hut Point in November 1911, the Polar and support parties reached the foot of the Beardmore Glacier in December, 1911. Here the remaining ponies were shot and the dog teams sent back. Oates was included in the five-man Polar Party, with Scott, Edward Adrian Wilson, Henry Robinson Bowers and Edgar Evans. Continuing south, they reached the Pole on 17 January 1912, but they found that Roald Amundsen had forestalled them by almost five weeks. On the return journey, the weakened party faced exceptionally unfavorable weather and sledding conditions, and Oates suffered gravely from frostbite. On 16 or 17 March 1912, laid up in a blizzard and concerned that he was reducing his companions' chances of survival, he ended his life by leaving the tent. His famous last words being "I am just going out. I may be some time."
English Explorer. He served with his regiment in Ireland, then in Egypt, where he became captain, and later in India. Oates volunteered to join the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913 (leader Robert Falcon Scott), and was placed in charge of the nineteen ponies. Setting out from Hut Point in November 1911, the Polar and support parties reached the foot of the Beardmore Glacier in December, 1911. Here the remaining ponies were shot and the dog teams sent back. Oates was included in the five-man Polar Party, with Scott, Edward Adrian Wilson, Henry Robinson Bowers and Edgar Evans. Continuing south, they reached the Pole on 17 January 1912, but they found that Roald Amundsen had forestalled them by almost five weeks. On the return journey, the weakened party faced exceptionally unfavorable weather and sledding conditions, and Oates suffered gravely from frostbite. On 16 or 17 March 1912, laid up in a blizzard and concerned that he was reducing his companions' chances of survival, he ended his life by leaving the tent. His famous last words being "I am just going out. I may be some time."
Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni
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See more Oates memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
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