'Lost' Captain Scott photos go on display

Edgar Evans with the pony Snatcher, Cape Evans, October 1911 Credit: University of Cambridge

The ‘lost photos’ of Captain Scott have gone on display for the first time at Cambridge University's Polar Museum.

The photographs were taken in 1912 by the polar explorer Robert Scott during the Terra Nova expedition to the Antarctic. Scott perished on the expedition shortly after he reached the South Pole. He died knowing that the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had got to the Pole before him.

The photos were thought missing for most of the 20th century and will be displayed ten at a time and changed fortnightly throughout the exhibition to avoid light damage.

The pictures were returned to the UK by members of the expedition in 1913 and they were meant to be used to illustrate books, reports and lectures.

However, difficulties with establishing the copyright meant that only a handful were ever used, while the remaining negatives were lost and the prints passed into private hands.

Pony camp, Great Ice Barrier, 1 December 1911 Credit: University of Cambridge

Guest contibutors to the exhibition include Sir David Attenborough, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Falcon Scott (grandson of Captain Scott), David Wilson (great nephew of Dr Edward Wilson) and Professor Susan Solomon.