Robert Clark ( zoologist ) Robert Selbie Clark ( 11 September 1882 – 29 September 1950 ) was a Scottish marine zoologist and explorer . He was the biologist on Sir Ernest Shackleton ' s Imperial Trans - Antarctic Expedition of 1914 – 1917 , and served as the director of the Scottish Home Department Marine Laboratory , at Torry , Aberdeen . Early life . Robert Clark was born on 11 September 1882 in Aberdeen , the son of William Clark . He attended Aberdeen Grammar School and then Aberdeen University from where he graduated with an M . A . in 1908 . In 1911 he attained a B . Sc . and became Zoologist to the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory , Edinburgh , a post he held until he was appointed naturalist to the Marine Biological Association in 1913 . While at the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory , he worked on some of the Antarctic specimens that William Speirs Bruce had brought back from the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902 – 04 . He was a natural sportsman , a keen golfer and angler , and was selected to play cricket for Scotland in 1912 . He had a reserved manner , not given to laughing or joking , but with a strong work ethic and a passion for biology . Imperial Trans - Antarctic Expedition . On 9 August 1914 the " Endurance " departed Plymouth , carrying Shackleton and his crew on what was intended to be the first expedition to cross Antarctica from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the South Pole . Over 5000 applications for places in the crew had been received . The expedition was a failure : the ship became trapped in pack ice and was eventually destroyed by the pressure of the ice , but all the crew of the " Endurance " were eventually rescued after Shackleton and five men made an 800 - mile sea journey to fetch help . Clark was a hard worker , and , despite his dour manner , quickly won the respect of the crew with his willingness to volunteer for some of the more arduous or unpleasant jobs aboard ship , although he was the butt of several jokes . He was not the politest of men , and a little verse was composed around his apparent inability to remember to say " please " . The crew boiled some spaghetti and placed it in one of his collecting jars , causing him momentary excitement at the thought of having discovered a new species , and a standing joke claimed the penguins seen alongside were said to shout out " Clark , Clark " and chase after the ship whenever he was at the wheel . He worked arduously at his biological recording from the moment the expeditions set out , recording the specimens encountered using dredging nets as the ship progressed southwards . When the ship became trapped in the ice he continued with his work , dissecting penguins and recording the changes in the plankton levels in sea . When the ship had to be abandoned all Clark ' s specimens were left behind . Frank Worsley recorded : Once they reached the edge of the pack ice the crew set out for Elephant Island in three of the small boats of the " Endurance " . Clark travelled in the 22½ - foot " James Caird " with Shackleton , Frank Hurley , Leonard Hussey , Reginald James , James Wordie , Harry McNish , Charles Green , John Vincent and Timothy McCarthy . On arriving at the island , Shackleton set out almost immediately with five of the crew to fetch rescue from South Georgia . The rest of the men , Clark among them , stayed camped on the island with Frank Wild in command . Elephant Island was inhospitable . It was cold but humid which meant that neither the clothing nor the sleeping bags were ever completely dry . Though there were penguins and seals to eat , the supplies were not inexhaustible and fuel was scarce . The routine on the island was monotonous . Clark managed to produce a primitive alcoholic beverage from methylated spirit , sugar , water and ginger which became known as " Gut Rot 1916 " and was drunk with a toast to " Wives and Sweethearts " on Saturdays . On 30 August 1916 , the men on Elephant Island were rescued by Shackleton aboard the Chilean ship " Yelcho " , four months after he had left the island . After the expedition . Clark returned to Scotland where he married Christine Ferguson . He served as a Lieutenant on minesweepers in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during World War I and then returned to Plymouth in 1919 when the war finished . His cricketing skills led to his again being selected for Scotland in 1924 . In 1925 he gained a D . Sc . ( Doctor of Science ) , and in the same year he became the director of the Fisheries Research Laboratory in Torry , Aberdeen . In 1934 , he was appointed Superintendent of Scientific Investigations under the Fishery Board for Scotland . He contributed papers on herring larvae and haddock stocks . He retired in 1948 and died two years later at home in Murtle , Aberdeenshire . He had no children .