Madam, - The daring 800-mile rescue dash in a converted lifeboat by Shackleton, Tom Crean and a few others across the dreaded Southern Ocean to the whaling station on South Georgia, to get help to their companions stranded after the Endurance was seized by the ice, must rank as one of the greatest epics of valour and seamanship.
As we approach the centenary of that magnificent adventure would it not be a fitting tribute to the memory of Tom Crean, if some Irish university or research institute could establish, in his name, a scholarship in marine biology or a related subject, involving in situ research and field work on the Antarctic continent?
Many young American, British and other students spend a few weeks of the southern summer at research stations and refuges. There would also appear to be a number of unoccupied refuges, some vacated by countries experiencing budgetary difficulties, possibly available for rent or loan.
Such an undertaking could ensure Crean's memory be appropriately commemorated, while Irish researchers could make a valuable contribution to a field of consequence to the future of our planet in a location which is the barometer of environmental change. - Yours, etc,
BRENDAN CARDIFF, Wezembeek, Belgium.