Secrets of the Dead (Ch4)

WHEN Captain Robert Falcon Scott first organised his fated expedition to the South Pole, he was hailed a hero. But in the years after his death his image was tarnished by people who claimed he was an ill-prepared adventurer whose foolish actions had led to his death and those of his team.

Secrets of the Dead sets out to prove that Scott deserved his hero status and was simply the tragic victim of freak weather conditions.

Various experts gave their opinions on Scott's expedition, using his journals as well as the work of meteorologist George Simpson, who advised Scott when he should travel.

The image of Scott as a man who made irrational decisions putting his life in danger was discredited with reports of the intricate calculations he made before the expedition.

His journals show calculations as specific as how much food each person would need each day so the team would only carry what they needed.

But, sadly, no amount of planning could have prepared the team for what happened.

They were beaten to the Pole by a Norwegian team who had less equipment and ate their dogs so they did not have to carry as much food.

The despondent Scott and his team turned back to their camp but as temperatures and the wind dropped they found themselves stuck.

Modern day adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes likened Scott's struggle to pull his sledges over crystalised snow with no back wind to pulling two 6ft fat men in a bathtub with no legs over sand dunes for 1,600 miles.

Despite the odds, the team eventually made a camp but never left their tents again despite blizzard conditions improving.

New investigations revealed the reason was not that the explorers had given up but that Scott got frostbite in his foot and his loyal team refused to leave him.

Looking at modern scientific records, it was shown that Scott faced weather conditions seen once every 16 years and that no amount of planning could have forecast what happened.

The programme painted a picture of a true hero - a man who gave his life for a dream and was thwarted by nature rather than incompetence or lack of foresight.