Captain Robert Falcon Scott, RN 1868-1912
The stamp shows Discovery in Winter Quarters off Hut Point, Ross Island and an able seaman exercising two of the huskies on shore. A windmill has been erected on the foredeck to supply the ship with electricity for lighting. It was later destroyed in a blizzard. Expeditions: British National Antarctic Expedition 1901-04 in Discovery, National Antarctic Expedition 1910-13 in Terra Nova. Discoveries: King Edward VII Land, the Antarctic Plateau and the Dry Valleys of the Western Mountains.
Discovery, Length 172 feet, beam 33 feet, 480 grt. Built Dundee Shipbuilding Co, Dundee, Scotland, 1901, as a 3-masted barque-rigged square rigger survey vessel specially designed for polar work with an auxiliary engine. Launched 21.03.1901, owners: Royal Geographical Society. Voyages: British National Antarctic Expedition 1901-04 Sailed from Cowes, Isle of Wight 6.08.01. Iced in Winter Harbour, Ross Island, Antarctica, 8.02.02. Released from ice 16.02.04. Reached Lyttelton, New Zealand, 2.04.04, departed 8.06.04. Reached Portsmouth via Falkland Islands 10.09.04, and London on 15.09.04. Hudson's Bay Company voyages 1905-11. Wartime voyages 1915-18. Hudson's Bay Company voyages 1918-19. South Russian venture 1919-20. Discovery Investigations 1925-27. British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) 1929-31. Laid up, London 1931-36. Boy Scout Association, London 1936-39. Admiralty use 1939-45. Used by Sea Scouts (Boy Scouts Association) 1946-55. Transferred to Admiralty for use by Royal Navy Reserve 1955-79, Maritime Trust, restoration commenced 1979. Transported to Dundee, Scotland 1986. Now preserved.
BAT 208?
Detail from BAT philatelic