Frank Worsley Frank Arthur Worsley ( 22 February 1872 – 1 February 1943 ) was a New Zealand sailor and explorer who served on Ernest Shackleton ' s Imperial Trans - Antarctic Expedition of 1914 – 1916 , as captain of the " Endurance " . He also served in the Royal Navy Reserve during the First World War . Born in Akaroa , New Zealand , on 22 February 1872 , Worsley joined the New Zealand Shipping Company in 1888 . He served aboard several vessels running trade routes between New Zealand , England and the South Pacific . While on South Pacific service , he became renowned for his ability to navigate to tiny , remote islands . He joined the Royal Navy Reserve in 1902 and served on HMS " Swiftsure " for a year before returning to the Merchant Navy . In 1914 , he joined the Imperial Trans - Antarctic Expedition , which aimed to cross the Antarctic continent . After the expedition ' s ship " Endurance " was trapped in ice and wrecked , he and the rest of the expedition sailed three lifeboats to Elephant Island , off the Antarctic Peninsula . From here , he , along with Shackleton and four others , sailed the lifeboat " James Caird " some across the stormy South Atlantic Ocean , eventually arriving at their intended destination , South Georgia . His navigation skills were crucial to the safe arrival of the " James Caird " . Shackleton , Worsley and seaman Tom Crean then walked across South Georgia in a 36 - hour march to fetch help from Stromness whaling station . He and Shackleton returned to Elephant Island aboard a whaling ship to rescue the remaining members of the expedition . During the First World War , Worsley captained the Q - ship " PC . 61 " . He was responsible for the sinking of a German submarine , SM " UC - 33 " on 26 September 1917 by carrying out a skilful ramming maneuver . For his role in the sinking of the " UC - 33 " , Worsley was awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) . Later in the war he worked in transportation of supplies in Arctic Russia , and in the North Russia Intervention against the Bolsheviks , earning a bar to his DSO . He was later appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire . From 1921 to 1922 he served on Shackleton ' s last expedition to the Antarctic as captain of the " Quest " . In between berths in the Merchant Navy he led an expedition to the Arctic Circle and participated in a treasure hunt on Cocos Island . He also wrote several books relating to his experiences in polar exploration and during his sailing career . During the Second World War he initially served with the International Red Cross in France and Norway . In 1941 , he falsified his age so he could rejoin the Merchant Navy . When officials discovered his actual age , he was released from duty . He died from lung cancer in 1943 in England . Early life . Frank Arthur Worsley was born on 22 February 1872 in Akaroa , New Zealand , one of three children of a farmer , Henry Worsley , and his wife Georgiana . His grandfather , Henry Francis Worsley ( 1806 – 1876 ) , had migrated from Rugby in England aboard the " Cornwall " to Lyttelton , where he arrived with his large family in December 1851 . Worsley ' s mother died while he was a toddler . He was sent to school in Akaroa but when his father moved his family to take up work clearing bush from land at Peraki , he was homeschooled for a time . When Frank was 11 , his older brother , Harry , left to join the New Zealand Shipping Company as an apprentice and at about the same time , his father moved his family , which was now just Frank and his 13 - year - old sister , to Christchurch . Frank attended Fendalton School and marked his final year of schooling by being made head boy . Like his brother , Frank was interested in a career at sea . In 1887 , his application to join the New Zealand Shipping Company was declined because of his short stature , but he was successful six months later . He was signed on as a junior midshipman aboard the " Wairoa " , a three - masted clipper which transported wool to London . Maritime career . Worsley served on a number of sailing ships of the company , running the trade route between New Zealand and England for several years . He became a third mate by 1891 , and then a fifth officer the following year . In 1895 , when a third officer , he left the New Zealand Shipping Company to join the New Zealand Government Steamer Service ( NZGSS ) . His first posting was aboard the " Tutanekai " , a NZGSS steamer which served the Pacific Islands , as second mate . He was considered to be a good and experienced officer , but was not averse to mischief . On one voyage in 1899 , the " Tutanekai " was anchored in the harbour at Apia , the capital city of German Samoa . That night , Worsley went ashore and stole the ensign that was flown from the flagpole of the German consulate on the harbour front . On discovering the theft , the consul suspected the culprit was from the crew of the " Tutanekai " , the only merchant vessel in the harbour at the time . With a party of sailors from the SMS " Falke " , also anchored in the harbour , the consul boarded the " Tutanekai " looking for the ensign , but they left empty - handed after the ship ' s captain protested . Even when the captain later found out Worsley was responsible , it did not affect his career prospects . He was posted to the " Hinemoa " , another NZGSS steamer , as chief officer . In June 1900 , Worsley sat the examination for a foreign master ' s certificate . He passed with good marks , and was one of two students commended for their efforts . He was now a qualified master and , as his first command , was given the " Countess of Ranfurly " . This was a three - masted schooner of the NZGSS which sailed trade routes in the South Pacific , mainly around the Cook Islands and Niue , both of which were New Zealand dependencies . Royal Navy Reserve . While in command of the " Countess of Ranfurly " , Worsley joined the Royal Navy Reserve ( RNR ) and on 1 January 1902 was appointed a sub - lieutenant . In 1904 , " Countess of Ranfurly " was sold , and this left Worsley without a command . Rather than stay in the employ of the New Zealand Government Steamer Service , he decided to look abroad for work . He travelled to Sydney and found a berth as chief officer on HMS " Sparrow " , which was on its delivery voyage to New Zealand , having been recently purchased by the New Zealand Government . When the " Sparrow " arrived in Wellington in March 1905 , he was selected to command the ship while it was converted to a training vessel . The conversion was still incomplete when he left for England in early 1906 . On arrival in England in March 1906 , Worsley presented himself for further training in the RNR . He was posted to HMS " Psyche " and received specialist training in torpedo es , gunnery and navigation . He was promoted to lieutenant the following May . He served on a number of Royal Navy ships , including 12 months on HMS " Swiftsure " , for the next two years . He then returned to the Merchant Navy and found a position with Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers , which sailed regularly from England to Canada and South America . He would intermittently be called up for service in the RNR over the next several years . This included a month in 1911 spent aboard HMS " New Zealand " . The Imperial Trans - Antarctic Expedition . In 1914 , the explorer Ernest Shackleton began preparing an expedition which had the goal of completing the first crossing of the Antarctic continent . The failure of Robert Falcon Scott to beat the Norwegian Roald Amundsen to the South Pole in 1911 was considered a blot on Britain ' s reputation in polar exploration . Shackleton ' s expedition was intended to return the country to the forefront of Antarctic endeavour . He set up his headquarters at Burlington Road in London , and was interviewing candidates for the expedition . One available position was that of captain for the expedition ' s vessel , the " Endurance " . Worsley , in London while awaiting a new berth , joined the expedition as a result of a dream , in which he was navigating a ship around icebergs drifting down Burlington Street . He took it as a premonition and the next day hurried down to Burlington Street , where he noticed a sign on a building advertising what Shackleton called the Imperial Trans - Antarctic Expedition . He promptly entered the building whereupon he met Shackleton . After a few minutes of conversation , Shackleton offered him the captaincy of the " Endurance " , which Worsley accepted . The " Endurance " left England on 8 August 1914 destined for Buenos Aires , where Shackleton , travelling separately , would join the expedition . The departure of the expedition was troubled ; the impending outbreak of the First World War prompted some members including Worsley , anticipating a call up to the RNR , to propose a postponement of the voyage . However , the Admiralty advised Shackleton to proceed with his plans even after Britain declared war on Imperial Germany on 4 August . Just prior to the departure of the " Endurance " Worsley approached the authorities and was advised that RNR personnel were not being called up at the time . While steaming to South America , fuel ran low and wood intended for planned buildings at the expedition ' s base in Antarctica was used to keep the engine running . Worsley ran a relatively relaxed ship with little discipline or control of alcohol consumption . Four crew members got into a barroom brawl at a stopover in Madeira , a neutral port . While anchored in the harbour , a neighbouring German ship swung into the " Endurance " , damaging it . Worsley , enraged , boarded the German ship with some other members of the expedition and forced the crew to repair the damage caused . Shackleton , briefed on Worsley ' s handling of the voyage to date once he had caught up with the expedition at Buenos Aires , began to have concerns about his choice of captain . Worsley was to be in command of the resupply expedition for the party that was to winter over in Antarctica , but Shackleton began to doubt whether his leadership skills were sufficient to achieve this . After resupplying at Buenos Aires , the " Endurance " left for the remote island of South Georgia , in the South Atlantic , on 26 October . It duly arrived at Grytviken Station , a Norwegian whaling outpost , on 5 November . The Norwegians confirmed initial reports from Buenos Aires that the Antarctic pack ice was much further north than usual . Shackleton followed the Norwegians ' advice to delay departure until later in the summer , and it was not until 5 December that the " Endurance " steamed south for the Weddell Sea . Icebound . The " Endurance " encountered the pack ice three days after leaving South Georgia , and Worsley began working the ship through the various bergs . On occasion it was necessary to ram a path through the ice . Progress was intermittent ; on some days little headway was made while on other days large stretches of open water allowed swift passage southwards . Worsley would often direct the helmsman from the crow ' s nest , from where he could see any breaks in the ice . It was during this time that Shackleton realised that his temperament was less suited to giving orders than to following them , which he would do with the utmost determination . On 18 January 1915 , the ship became iced in . Within a few days , it was apparent that the " Endurance " was held fast and was likely to remain so for the upcoming winter . Trapped , the ship slowly drifted westwards with the ice , and the expedition settled in for the winter . The original plan had been to leave a shore party on the Antarctic mainland while Worsley took the " Endurance " northwards . There had been no expectation that the entire expedition would live aboard the ship in the long term . Worsley relished the challenge ; he slept in the passageway rather than the cabins , and even in the depths of winter , would shock the rest of those aboard the ship by taking snow baths on the ice . With little to do since the " Endurance " became trapped , he occupied himself taking soundings of the ocean and collecting specimens . He later wrote a report entitled " Biological , Soundings and Magnetic Record , Weddell Sea , 1914 – 1916 . " By July , it was becoming obvious that the ice was likely to crush the " Endurance " , which creaked and trembled under the pressure , and Shackleton instructed Worsley to be prepared to quickly abandon ship if the need arose . Worsley was initially incredulous , asking Shackleton : " You seriously mean to tell me that the ship is doomed ? " Shackleton responded " The ship can ' t live in this , Skipper . " Finally , on 24 October , the pressure of the ice caused the stern post of the " Endurance " to twist and the ship began to quickly let in water . After desperate attempts to fix the leak and pump the ship dry , Shackleton gave the order to abandon ship three days later . Salvaging what essential supplies they could , the expedition set out on 30 October for Robertson Island , to the northeast . After just three days , it was clear that the condition of the ice was too rough for sledging . Having travelled only a mile and a half ( 2 . 4 km ) from where the " Endurance " had sunk , they set up camp to wait for the ice to break up . Lumber and tents were salvaged from the crushed ship , which was still not fully submerged , and a reasonable camp , known as Ocean Camp , was established . The expedition stayed here for several weeks until 23 December , when they struck camp . The conditions underfoot were slushy during the day , as the temperature warmed up . Shackleton resolved to do most of the trekking at night , sledging the three lifeboats of the " Endurance " behind them . The sledging was hard work and after little more than a week , Shackleton and his men were forced to camp once more . Underneath , the ice continued to move northwards , and by April 1916 , the floe they were on was nearly within sight of Elephant Island but beginning to break up . Shackleton ordered the expedition to the lifeboats , placing Worsley in charge of one of them , the " Dudley Docker " . It took a week to reach Elephant Island , the ice and currents inhibiting progress . The first few nights involved camping on nearby ice floes with the constant risk of them breaking up , but the last four nights were in the boats , with Worsley spending most of it at the tiller and going without sleep for 90 hours straight . His experience with open boats came to the fore in his sound handling of the " Dudley Docker " , while his navigation was exemplary , guiding the fleet of lifeboats unerringly to Elephant Island once they found favourable wind conditions . On the final night at sea , with Elephant Island having been sighted earlier in the day , heavy seas separated his boat from the other two lifeboats . His boat taking on water and caught in a rip , Worsley steered the " Dudley Docker " all through the night . Relieved early in the morning , he promptly fell asleep and could only be awoken by kicks to the head . It was three years later that he eventually found out the method that was used by his companions to shake him from his deep sleep . The " Dudley Docker " made shore on 15 April , landing on the same shingle beach of Elephant Island as the other lifeboats . It was the expedition ' s first landfall in 18 months . Voyage of the " James Caird " . It quickly became apparent that Elephant Island , of rock and ice with little shelter , was not a welcoming environment particularly with winter approaching and most of the expedition members weakened by their ordeal . Furthermore , the expedition could not be expected to be spotted by search parties or passing whalers . Within days of landing on Elephant Island , Shackleton decided to take a small party and sail the largest lifeboat , the " James Caird " , named for one of the expedition ' s sponsors , to South Georgia , away . From there he would obtain a ship and return for the remainder of his men . Worsley , whose navigational skills had impressed Shackleton , volunteered to accompany him . The " James Caird " , originally built to Worsley ' s specifications , was about long and the expedition ' s carpenter , Harry McNish , immediately set about improving its seaworthiness . On 24 April , the weather dawned clear and after being provisioned with 30 days of supplies , the boat left Elephant Island . Worsley was faced with the task of navigating the Southern Ocean to South Georgia . There was no margin for error as the " James Caird " would sail into the South Atlantic if he missed the island ; this would mean almost certain death for those in the lifeboat but also those remaining on Elephant Island . Fortuitously , the weather was fine on the day of departure from the island and this allowed Worsley to obtain a sun sighting to ensure that his chronometer was rated . Shortly after the start of the voyage , the " James Caird " which , in addition to Shackleton and Worsley , also carried McNish , sailors John Vincent and Timothy McCarthy , as well as the experienced Tom Crean , encountered the ice but Worsley found a way through and into the open ocean . The crew set up two watches for the journey , which eventually would take 16 days , in strong and heavy seas , to reach South Georgia . For most of the voyage , the weather proved to be stormy and so overcast Worsley was unable to take more than a few sightings with his sextant . He described one sighting as " . . . cuddling the mast with one arm and swinging fore and aft round the mast , sextant and all . . . " and he would " . . . catch the sun when the boat leaped her highest on the crest of a sea . . . " . At times the sea conditions were so rough he was braced by the other crew members when taking his sightings . On occasion , the temperature was bitter and each man would spend one minute shifts chipping away ice that coated the top surfaces of the " James Caird " , affecting its buoyancy . The heavy seas meant there was considerable risk that a man could go overboard . After two weeks , Worsley began to worry about the lack of sightings and advised Shackleton he could not calculate their position to less than accuracy . As a result , Shackleton opted to aim for the western side of South Georgia which meant , given the prevailing winds , that if they missed their target they would be carried onto the east coast of the island . The following day , they began to observe drifting seaweed and seabirds circulating overhead , indicating the presence of land ahead . On 8 May , through mists and squalls , the crew sighted South Georgia ' s Cape Demidov , precisely in line with the course calculated by Worsley . He saw a " . . . towering black crag , with a lacework of snow around its flanks . One glimpse , and it was hidden again . We looked at each other with cheerful , foolish grins . " Sea and wind conditions were such that they were unable to make their way to the Norwegian whaling stations , some away , on the east coast ; instead they made for King Haakon Bay . Now out of drinking water , they were forced by the high seas to approach the rocky coast with care and heave to for the night . A gale blew strongly the following day and despite their best efforts , they stayed offshore for a further night . Conditions were much better on 10 May and after adverse winds caused failure of his first few attempts , Worsley carefully sailed the " James Caird " through a rocky reef guarding King Haakon Bay and onto the beach . The trek . After slaking their thirst from a nearby stream , the crew unloaded the " James Caird " and spent the first night on South Georgia in a cave . The next day , Shackleton announced his intention to walk overland to the Norwegian whaling station at Stromness Bay , on the other side of the island . The crew were too exhausted , and the " James Caird " too battered , for Shackleton to consider sailing around the island . The trek to Stromness Bay was and after resting for several days , he , along with Worsley and Tom Crean , set out on 19 May . The interior of South Georgia was mountainous and covered with glaciers . Their map of South Georgia showed only the coastline , and on several occasions , they were forced to backtrack when their route was found to be impassable . After a non - stop trek of 36 hours , the trio reached Stromness Bay and were taken to the manager of the whaling station . He was unable to recognise Shackleton , who he had met during the expedition ' s stopover on the island nearly two years previously . After a hot bath and a large meal , Worsley set out on a whaler to collect the three men left behind at King Haakon Bay . That night a strong blizzard struck the island . Had it developed while Worsley and the others were on their trek , it would have likely killed them . They were fortunate the weather had been relatively good for their trek across the island . Later , all three trekkers would talk of a " fourth presence " that accompanied them . In his account of the walk , Worsley would write " . . . I again find myself counting our party — Shackleton , Crean , and I and — who was the other ? Of course , there were only three , but it is strange that in mentally reviewing the crossing we should always think of a fourth , and then correct ourselves . " The next day , McNish , McCarthy and Vincent were picked up . They were unable to recognise Worsley , freshly shaven , when he stepped ashore . The " James Caird " , which had been pulled up the beach and turned over to serve as a shelter , was also retrieved . The rescue . Three days after McNish and the others were brought back to Stromness Bay , Shackleton , Crean and Worsley , along with a crew of volunteers from the whaling station , set out on a hired ship for Elephant Island . They got to within of the island before ice prevented any further passage south . Unable to break a passage through the ice , they steamed to the Falkland Islands to obtain a more suitable vessel . By now news of the fate of the expedition had reached Britain . Despite messages of goodwill and support , the only British vessel that could be found was the RRS " Discovery " , Robert Falcon Scott ' s old ship but this would not be available until October . The war tied up all other available resources . Waiting for October was not acceptable to Shackleton who , desperately concerned for the men on Elephant Island , continued to search for a ship . The British Foreign Office prevailed on the governments of Uruguay , Chile and Argentina for a suitable vessel . The Uruguayans came forward with a small survey ship , and this was sailed to within sight of Elephant Island before it too had to turn back . An effort with an Argentinean vessel which set sail on 12 July also failed after three weeks of atrocious weather . Chile offered the use of the " Yelcho " , and on this steel - hulled steamer , Shackleton , Worsley and Crean set out with a crew on 25 August . Fortunately , in contrast to their previous attempt , the weather was mild and on 30 August , they reached Elephant Island where , to their great joy , they found all 22 men left behind alive . Within an hour all were retrieved and , not wanting to risk being trapped by ice , the " Yelcho " quickly departed for Punta Arenas , where it was greeted with great fanfare . Worsley later wrote : " . . . I was always sorry for the twenty - two men who lived in that horrible place for four months of misery while we were away on the boat journey , and the four attempts at rescue ending with their joyful relief . " While Worsley had been retrieving McNish and others from King Haakon Bay , Shackleton was advised of the fate of his Ross Sea party which had been tasked with laying depots on Shackleton ' s intended route across Antarctica . Ten men , forming a winter party , had set up a base at Hut Point , while their ship , the SY " Aurora " , owned by Shackleton , wintered at Cape Evans . In May 1915 , the ship broke free from its moorings and became trapped in the ice . Badly damaged , it drifted with the ice for over six months before it broke free and its captain , Joseph Stenhouse , was able to sail it to New Zealand in March 1916 . No one had heard from the stranded winter party at Hut Point for nearly two years . After journeying with the rest of the survivors of his own party to Argentina , Shackleton , along with Worsley , left for New Zealand . From here they hoped to find a ship to taken them south to retrieve the Ross Sea party . Shackleton had brought Worsley along intending to use his services in the retrieval of the winter party . However , after their arrival in New Zealand in December 1916 , they found themselves without a ship . They had expected to use the " Aurora " with Shackleton as its captain . In the meantime , the Australian , New Zealand and British governments had put forward funds for the rescue but influenced by the explorer Douglas Mawson , who disliked Shackleton , the Australian government appointed its own captain . After protracted negotiations , Shackleton sailed on board the " Aurora " as a supernumerary officer . Worsley was left behind but was placated with a paid passage to Britain . The seven surviving members of the winter party were duly rescued . Worsley was later awarded the Polar Medal for his service on the expedition . First World War . Shortly after Shackleton returned to New Zealand from the Ross Sea , having picked up the survivors of the winter party , Worsley travelled to England aboard the RMS " Makura " . As an RNR officer , he wanted to join in the fight against Imperial Germany . After arriving in Liverpool he made his way to London and was quickly assigned to HMS " Pembroke " , the shore station at Chatham . Here , for three months , he learned about fighting U - boats , which were causing considerable damage to supply convoys crossing the Atlantic . Several tactics were deployed against the U - boats . One of these involved the use of Q - ship s , small merchant vessels fitted out with hidden armament that could be deployed against any U - boats which surfaced and approached the seemingly unarmed ship . Another tactic was the use of P - boats , which were patrol boats that carried out convoy escort duties and anti - submarine work . The P - boats had a distinctive profile , and their effectiveness wore off as U - boat commanders began to recognise and avoid them . The later built P - boats were designed with a more conventional profile approximating that of a merchant ship , and thus were similar to Q - ships . In July 1917 , Worsley was appointed commander of the " PC . 61 " , one of the later P - boats , with Joseph Stenhouse as his first officer . The " PC . 61 " , commissioned on 31 July 1917 , was equipped with a semi - automatic gun that was hidden by a tarpaulin suspended from crane derricks when not in use . She also had a ram at her bow . Shortly after its commissioning he took his new command to sea on patrol . Most patrols were uneventful but sometimes U - boats were sighted and pursued but these invariably got away . Occasionally torpedoes were fired at his ship . Worsley felt the " PC . 61 " was too easily identified as a Royal Navy vessel against which U - boats were too cautious to make a surface attack . Instead , the submarine would use its torpedoes to attack the ship . In late September 1917 , Worsley and the " PC . 61 " were on patrol to the south of Ireland . On 26 September 1917 , a nearby tanker was struck by a torpedo from a U - boat , the SM " UC - 33 " " . " Observing the explosion , Worsley gradually slowed his propellers , hoping to deceive the U - boat ' s crew into thinking his P - boat was leaving the area and luring the submarine to the surface . The deception was successful and the " UC - 33 " surfaced , intending to sink the tanker with its deck gun . Worsley immediately ordered full speed ahead and , realising that he would lose time in manoeuvring his ship into a position in which she could use her guns , set a collision course with the U - boat , intending to ram the submarine . At high speeds the bow , to which the ram was fitted , of the " PC . 61 " lifted out of the water considerably , and Worsley had to reduce speed at the right moment in order for it to be at the right height to strike the submarine . He timed the reduction of speed of the " PC . 61 " perfectly and she struck the " UC - 33 " midships as it was submerging . The submarine rapidly sunk with nearly all hands , the exception being the captain , who was rescued and later gifted Worsley a silver whistle . The damaged tanker was towed to Milford Haven in Wales , which took 12 hours in an area where other U - boats were known to be lurking . For his role in the sinking of the " UC - 33 " , Worsley was awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) and Shackleton sent him a telegraph congratulating him on his success . Worsley conducted patrols with the " PC . 61 " for several more months . In September 1918 , he was given command of HMS " Pangloss " , a Q - ship operating in the Mediterranean and which was formerly commanded by Commander Gordon Campbell . With the war nearly over , Worsley did not anticipate much excitement in his new posting . Northern Russia . Passing through London en route to Gibraltar , where the " Pangloss " was based , Worsley met Shackleton , recently assigned by the War Office to the International Contingent destined for Northern Russia to aid the White movement in its fight against the Bolsheviks . Shackleton ' s expertise in the polar regions had been recognised by the War Office , and with the temporary rank of major , he was preparing the contingent for a winter deployment to Murmansk . Shackleton had already recruited several veterans of the " Endurance " to serve with him and arranged for Worsley , keen for action , to be transferred to join the contingent . Worsley , by now a lieutenant commander , left for Murmansk the following month . After he arrived in Russia , Worsley was selected to go to Archangel where he organised equipment and supplies for the British forces stationed there . He provided extensive advice , derived from his polar experience , to soldiers on how to best make use of their resources and trained them in the use of skis . He participated in several patrols and due to a shortage of officers , occasionally took command of platoon s of British infantry . In April 1919 , he was posted back to Murmansk , where he took command of the gunboat HMS " Cricket " . He took her up the Dvinia River and targeted Bolshevik gunboats and villages along the river . He also provided support to British and White Russian units moving along the banks of the river in operations to seize ground lost to the Bolsheviks in the winter months . Worsley commanded " Cricket " for two months before becoming the captain of HMS " M24 " , a monitor and tender to HMS " Fox " . His time in command was short as he managed to attach himself to the Royal Hampshire Regiment . In August , he participated in a raid behind Bolshevik lines . The raiding party of 25 men obtained useful intelligence by tapping telegraph lines and ambushing a Bolshevik convoy but their presence soon became known and they were pursued by a force of over 200 Bolsheviks . When the captain commanding the party became lost in a forest , he deferred navigation to Worsley , who successfully led all 25 men back to safety . For his efforts , he was awarded a bar to his DSO . The citation for his award read : When the Allied forces left Murmansk and Archangel in late 1919 , Worsley returned to London . He was rewarded for his service in Russia by being appointed to the Order of St . Stanislaus . He was discharged from service on 2 January 1920 and placed on the RNR retired list . Later in the year , in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace , he was appointed to the Order of the British Empire for his services to Great Britain . The " Quest " . Worsley remained in near constant contact with Shackleton , who was attempting to put together an expedition to the Arctic , and was hopeful of securing a suitable position in the endeavour . However , the expedition was still some way off and in the meantime , Worsley set up a shipping company with his friend Stenhouse . The company , Stenhouse Worsley & Co , purchased a schooner , " Annie " , with the intention of trading with the Baltic states . This plan collapsed when the Baltic freight market fell on hard times and eventually , the company started shipping freight along the British coast . In late 1920 , Worsley and Stenhouse went on a trading voyage to Iceland . The " Annie " carried cargo on the outward trip but was nearly wrecked when sailing around the coast of Iceland to pick up cargo from a remote port for the return trip to England . Poor weather and sea conditions kept the " Annie " in Iceland until February 1921 , when Worsley was able to carry freight back to Britain . By then Shackleton was ready to proceed with his expedition and wanted Worsley as the captain of his ship , the " Quest " , an offer which he quickly accepted . After the Canadian government withdrew promised financial support for the expedition , the delay in finding replacement funding ate into the Arctic sailing season . Shackleton , not wanting to delay departure any longer than he had to , decided to go south instead and attempt a circumnavigation of the Antarctic continent . The expedition , known as the Shackleton – Rowett Expedition ( John Rowett , an old friend of Shackleton ' s , was the main sponsor ) , would also attempt to discover sub - Antarctic islands and spend the southern winter in the Pacific islands . The expedition included several " Endurance " veterans in addition to Worsley ; Frank Wild was again second in command , and Leonard Hussey was the meteorologist . Worsley was the master of the " Quest " , but would also be the expedition ' s hydrographer . The " Quest " , a two - masted sealing ship sourced from Norway , set sail on 18 September 1921 . Problems soon arose ; the ship did not sail well and it leaked . There were also problems with the engine . A week was spent in Portugal undergoing repairs , and after crossing the Atlantic , the " Quest " spent a month in the docks of Rio de Janeiro . While in Brazil , Shackleton , whose health had been poor for some time , suffered a heart attack . After he declined treatment for his condition , the expedition left for South Georgia on 18 December . The island was sighted on 4 January 1922 and both Worsley and Shackleton were " like a pair of excitable kids " , pointing out landmarks from their walk across South Georgia back in 1916 . The following day , Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack . Worsley described the loss of his friend as " . . . a terribly sad blow . I have lost a dear pal , one of the whitest men , in spite of his faults , that ever lived . " Despite this setback , the expedition continued with Wild in command while Hussey returned to England with Shackleton ' s body . On 22 January , Worsley suffered a serious accident . Under sail , the " Quest " had been rolling heavily and ropes securing a lifeboat snapped . The lifeboat , full of stores , swung against the wheelhouse and crushed Worsley against the bridge . He broke several ribs and had to rest for several days . By the end of March , after being briefly trapped in ice in the Weddell Sea , the ship reached Elephant Island . The expedition then returned to South Georgia , where Hussey was waiting . Shackleton ' s widow had directed that he be buried on South Georgia and Hussey had returned to the island in late February to fulfil her request . Worsley and the rest of the expedition spent several weeks on South Georgia , and he assisted in the building of a memorial cairn to Shackleton in King Edward Cove . The expedition then sailed for Tristan da Cunha , where Worsley carried out some mapping work . Other stops were made at Cape Town , Ascension Island and Saint Helena before the expedition arrived back in England in September 1922 . The Arctic . The Atlantic shipping trade occupied Worsley after his return to England . He was master of the " George Cochran " for a time in 1923 , shipping rum to Montreal . The following year he was in command of the " Kathleen Annie " when it was wrecked in the Orkney Islands . He ensured the evacuation of his crew before leaving the stricken ship for the safety of the shore . During his time in Canada , Worsley had made the acquaintance of a young Canadian , Grettir Algarsson , who was of Icelandic descent and was preparing a ship for a voyage to the Arctic . Algarsson ' s voyage proved short - lived , as his ship collided with floating wreckage while in the North Sea . Undeterred , he set about preparing an expedition for the following year and invited Worsley , who had provided advice for his previous voyage , to join him . The plan was to sail to Spitzbergen , in the Arctic Circle , and Algarsson was to fly from there to the North Pole where he would crash the plane , and , with his pilot , sledge back . Worsley was to captain the ship that Algarsson had purchased for the expedition , a diesel - engined brigatine called the " Island " . A lack of funds resulted in the cancellation of the planned flight as a suitable plane could not be found . However , the 15 - man expedition , known as the Algarsson North Polar Expedition , went ahead with certain mapping and scientific objectives , among them a search for Gillis Land , northeast of Spitzbergen , which had not been sighted since 1707 , as well as sounding the continental shelf between Spitzbergen and Franz Josef Land . With the plane flight no longer viable , and the focus of the expedition now primarily on maritime matters , Algarsson offered Worsley co - leadership of the expedition , which he accepted . The " Island " sailed on 21 June 1925 from Liverpool . When sailing the western side of Spitzbergen , a blade of the propeller of the " Island " was damaged in a collision with an ice floe . When the engine was run , severe vibration was felt and this forced Worsley to continue northwards under sail , searching for Gillis Land until the ship reached the pack ice . While doing so , soundings were taken which confirmed the presence of a submarine plain between Spitzbergen and the island group of Franz Josef Land . Turning south and sailing along the northern coast of Spitzbergen , a previously uncharted harbour was found , which Algarsson named after Worsley . The ship then sailed north , still seeking Gillis Land , but became trapped in the ice . Worsley took the opportunity to create an ice dock to facilitate repairs to the rudder , which had become damaged . After two weeks beset in the ice , he used the engine to break free but the last blade of the propeller was lost in the process . The " Island " was now effectively without an engine , a prospect that did not daunt Worsley as he sailed for Franz Josef Land . He described it as " sail ' s last unaided battle with the polar pack [ pack ice ] " . In August he landed on Cape Barents , one of the southern islands of Franz Josef Land , and planted a Union Jack . Together with the ship ' s engineer who was from Dunedin , he claimed to be the first New Zealander to set foot on Franz Josef Land . The expedition , which had been renamed the British Arctic Expedition with the consensus of the participants , made several attempts to find a way northwards through the pack ice , Worsley harbouring hopes of being the first sailing ship to sail through the island group to Gillis Land and then back to Spitzbergen , but was unsuccessful . In one attempt , the " Island " nearly collided with a large iceberg , but Worsley ordered a rowboat to take to the water and the ship was towed out of harm ' s way . Finally , on 14 September , what was thought to be Gillis Land was spotted several miles away . The " Island " was unable to sail close enough to confirm the sighting , but Worsley noted that it was to the west of its charted position . If it was Gillis Land , it was the first sighting of the island for 200 years ( Gillis Land no longer appears on modern charts ) . The ship then sailed to North - East Land , circumnavigating it and while doing so reaching the expedition ' s farthest north , 81°15 ′ N . Worsley ensured the New Zealand flag was flown at the spot . The expedition then set sail for Spitzbergen , reaching the island ' s Green Harbour in mid - October . The ship ' s engine could not be repaired before Green Harbour was closed for winter and Worsley accepted a tow to Tromsø , the conclusion of which marked the end of the expedition . He later wrote a book of the voyage , " Under Sail in the Frozen North " , which was published in 1927 . London life . After the completion of his Arctic voyage , Worsley returned to life in London , where he had a reasonably high profile due to his exploits with Shackleton and his wartime service . In 1926 , he married Jean Cumming , who he had met in 1920 at New Zealand House in London while collecting his mail . It was his second marriage ; in 1907 he had married Theodora Blackden but she had left him by the time of his return from Russia ( the couple had no children ) . It took several years for Worsley to obtain a divorce to allow his marriage to Jean , nearly 30 years his junior , to take place . For income in between trading voyages , Worsley wrote books and articles . Two of these , " Shackleton ' s Boat Journey " and " Crossing South Georgia " were published as serials in the periodical " Blue Peter " in 1924 and were well received . These books were published together as a single volume in 1931 . His book was considered superior to Shackleton ' s own account , published as " South " in 1919 . In 1938 , a fourth book , " First Voyage in a Square - rigged Ship " was published . When his financial circumstances required it , which was often , Worsley would write an article for money . His topics would range from the dogs used on the expedition to the pipe smoking habits of his Elephant Island co - habitants . Worsley also conducted lecturing tours for income , his profile enhanced by his publication record . As sailing commissions at this late stage of his life were in short supply , his lectures became more important as a source of income . He mainly lectured on his voyages with Shackleton , whose wife lent Worsley several of her late husband ' s slides to enhance his talks . In later years , he added talks on his own voyages to his repertoire . His lectures were well received with glowing reviews in local newspapers . His profile was boosted following his appearance in the film " South " , released in 1933 , for which he provided an accent - free narration . The film was based on Frank Hurley ' s cine film of the " Endurance " expedition , intercut with photographic slides . He made an onscreen appearance in the film , showing the audience several artefacts from the expedition . Like his books , the film was very well received . In the 1930s , Worsley was part of a yacht and ship delivery company , Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Limited . His personal experience was a key selling point in the company ' s commercial literature . In 1937 , the company completed over 50 delivery voyages . The longest delivery was that of a steamer destined for Hong Kong , which took three months . On many of these voyages he was accompanied by Jean , who also enjoyed sailing . Treasure hunting . Even into his 60s , Worsley still sought adventure . In 1934 , he was asked to join the Treasury Recovery Limited Expedition which was organised to locate treasure allegedly hidden at Cocos Island by pirates . In earlier times , the island had been used as a base by the pirates to attack Spanish ships transporting gold from South America back to Spain . At the time of mounting the expedition , it was believed that between £5 million and £25 million in gold and silver was buried on the island . Worsley sailed , with Jean for company , for Cocos Island in September 1934 aboard the " Queen of Scots " . On arrival at the island in October , he assisted in unloading stores to set up a village at Wafer Bay , the safest landing point on Cocos . The island , off the coast of Costa Rica , was heavily forested and hard labour was necessary to clear likely spots for searching . As the " Queen of Scots " was found to be too large for the expedition ' s needs , Worsley left with the ship to return to England via the Panama Canal . He was to source a replacement vessel and bring back supplies . En route , Worsley found that the government of Costa Rica , unhappy at not being informed of the expedition ' s plans , intended to forcibly remove the treasure hunters from Cocos Island . Despite Worsley ' s dispatch of a personal cable to the Costa Rican president , and ensuing publicity in England , some of the expedition ' s men were forcibly taken to Panama . The others remained on Cocos under guard . By this time , the leaders of the expedition had returned to England , leaving Worsley as controller of the remaining men . He funded supplies for the remaining men from his own pocket but eventually those remaining on Cocos were shipped to Panama and discharged . The expedition regathered , and after obtaining a concession from the Costa Rican government , returned to the island the following year . He sailed the expedition ' s new yacht , " Veracity " , from England to Cocos Island in a troubled voyage , again accompanied by Jean . The expedition was underfunded and supplies were lacking . Mechanical failure while en - route also hampered the voyage . By the time of his arrival on Cocos , he had been appointed the controller of the expedition . Despite extensive searching with a crude metal detector , no trace of the treasure had been found by September . Worsley , with a lecture season beginning in London in October , left the island in early September . This was his last involvement with the expedition which , after nine more months , failed to locate the treasure hunt . The expedition ended when funding ran out . Despite the lack of success , Worsley still believed treasure was to be found on the island and hoped to return . He never did , although his treasure hunting exploits provided plenty of material for his lecture tours . Later life . When the Second World War broke out in September 1939 , Worsley was keen to contribute to the war effort . His age of 67 prevented his recall to the Royal Navy Reserve . He eventually joined the International Red Cross and travelled to France where he lectured troops of the British Expeditionary Force ( BEF ) during the Phoney War . He also sought support from the War Office to provide equipment to Swedish volunteers travelling to Finland to assist its countrymen in fighting the Russians during the brief Winter War . When another BEF was sent to Norway in April 1940 to help secure railway links to Sweden , the Red Cross , intending to have a unit in the country as well , appointed Worsley as its " Advance Agent – Norway " . He was to prepare the way for the unit but after the Germans captured Narvik , it became too dangerous for the Red Cross to be involved . After a brief visit to Norway , Worsley returned to Britain . Worsley became the commander of a Red Cross training depot in Balham , London , but it later closed down due to a lack of recruits . He repeatedly wrote to the War Office offering his services and proposing various schemes involving Norway , including one to land guns at Spitzbergen , an area he knew well from his Arctic expedition in 1925 . Eventually , Worsley found a command in the Merchant Navy , and , giving his age as 64 ( he was actually 69 ) , was appointed master of the " Dalriada " in August 1941 . He worked to keep the harbour entrance at Sheerness clear of wrecked shipping and also carried out salvage work . His command was only for a few months for when the company that owned his vessel found out his true age , he was replaced . Unhappy at being put into the Merchant Navy Reserve Pool , he continued to advocate for a useful posting . In April 1942 , Worsley was appointed to the staff at a training establishment for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , HMS " King Alfred " in Sussex , giving lectures on charts and pilotage . After two months he was transferred to the Royal Naval College , Greenwich . While in Sussex , his health began to deteriorate and he cut down on his pipe smoking . After a few months at Greenwich , he took ill and was hospitalised . Diagnosed with lung cancer , naval doctors found that they could do little for Worsley , and he was discharged . He opted to spend the last days of his life with his wife and the Bamford family , good friends who lived in Claygate , Surrey . He died in the Bamford house on 1 February 1943 . He was cremated after a well attended service held on 3 February at the chapel of the Royal Navy College . His casket was adorned with the New Zealand ensign and Worsley ' s personal standard that he had flown aboard the " Quest " in the 1921 – 22 expedition . His ashes were scattered at the mouth of the Thames River , near the Nore lightship . After Worsley ' s death , Jean Worsley donated his unpublished diaries to the Scott Polar Research Institute . She returned to Aberdeen , where she had spent much of the previous months , to live with her mother . Jean later moved to Claygate following the death of her mother , and lived with the Bamfords . Her final years were spent in relative financial comfort ; several years before his death , Worsley had invested in shares in Venezuela Oil , which later became Shell Oil and provided good returns for Jean . She died at the Bamford home in 1978 , at the age of 78 , and in the same room that her husband had occupied at the time of his death . The couple were childless . Legacy . A bust of Frank Worsley stands in his home town of Akaroa , New Zealand . The sculpture was created by artist Stephen Gleeson of Christchurch , and unveiled in 2004 . The town ' s museum also displays the ensign from Worsley ' s former command , the " PC . 61 " . Several geographical features are named for Worsley , including Mount Worsley on South Georgia , Cape Worsley in the British Antarctic Territory , the Worsley Icefalls in the Ross Dependency and Worsley Harbour at Spitzbergen . Worsleys Road in the Christchurch suburb of Cracroft is named for his grandfather ; it was built by him as an access road for his farm .