Overview

This book is based on Peter Richards’ experiences in the Antarctic from 1957 to 1960, working for what was then then the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, which later became British Antarctic Survey. It was a time when little had changed from the days of the earlier explorers. Travel was with dog teams and communications were still quite primitive, relying on relaying wireless messages or sending Morse code. Young men – surveyors, meteorologists and scientists – would spend three long years on the bases, only seeing other humans when, in the summer, the supply ships visited. Their kit was mostly army surplus – no warm quilted polyester waterproof anoraks. It was an exciting challenging time for these fit young men. Though Peter went down as a meteorologist, everybody helped with the others’ tasks, including taking weekly turns at cooking all meals. There were bird ringing and seal counts to be done as well as surveying. There was plenty of fun and, at times, danger when travelling over the ice. He was appointed base leader on Signy Island and with that he also inherited the title ‘first aider’. With no experience or training, he was lucky to have nothing more to tackle than a large nail embedded in the foot of the diesel mechanic! His time on Signy was cut short when he had an injury and had to be shipped out back to the Falkland Islands for an operation. When he recovered, he was unable to go back because the winter had set in and no ships were going south; they were all on their way back to the UK. So he was sent to South Georgia, and there he saw the whaling industry in full swing – not something for sensitive souls and thankfully the factory there has long since been abandoned. He spent his time, when not doing observations, exploring and helping with surveying and seal tagging.

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Married with two children and five grandchildren, Peter was born in 1932. He had an idyllic country childhood in a small village south of Chichester on the south coast. The war years were exciting to a young lad, with forbidden scrambles into bomb craters and rescuing small parts of downed enemy aircraft. The journey to Chichester High School on the bus was enlivened by being held up by cattle being driven in on foot to the cattle market. He had dreams of doing his national service by joining the RAF, but, told he had a perforated eardrum, he didn't do national service and instead joined the Met Office, starting at the famous wartime airfield at Tangmere and moving on to Dunstable. There he met John Lancaster, who had just returned from South Georgia and, combined with reading Niall Rankin's book Antarctic Isle, he was inspired to apply to go to South Georgia; but they offered him instead a three-year stint with the Falkland Island Dependency Survey (now known as the British Antarctic Survey). They sent him to a Harley Street specialist, who found nothing wrong with his ears. After a long trip by sea on the RRS Shackleton via the Falklands, he was landed on Signy Island, and as base leader with five other men spent three seasons there. His time was cut short by an injury, and he had to return as far as the Falklands. Then he came as far south as South Georgia to spend the rest of his tour, where he had an interesting time exploring, surveying and helping with seal tagging alongside his meteorology work; he was also taken out on a whaling trip as the industry was in full swing then. Back home, he spent the rest of his working life with the Met Office, first at Dunstable, then at what was then the new head office at Bracknell, where he met his wife in the Central Forecasting Office. Together with a small child they, spent three interesting years in the Falkland Islands before being posted to Thorney Island, then five more years back at Bracknell, and the final years at Gatwick Airport before he retired in 1992 to enjoy his fishing, gardening, walking and family life.

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