Henry Robinson Bowers

Lieutenant Henry Robinson Bowers (1883 - March 29, 1912) was one of Robert Falcon Scott's companions on his ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1911-1912.

Related Topics:
1883 - March 29 - 1912 - Robert Falcon Scott - South Pole - 1911

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Bowers was of Scottish descent, and was raised alone by his mother after his father died when he was three years old. He went to sea first in the merchant service, and then enlisted in the Royal Indian Marine Service in 1905. He joined Scott's expedition after having read the accounts of Scott's earlier Discovery expedition, and of Ernest Shackleton's expedition in Nimrod; he had no previous polar experience.

Related Topics:
Royal Indian Marine Service - 1905 - ''Discovery'' - Ernest Shackleton - ''Nimrod''

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Bowers was short, at five foot four inches, and had a distinctive beak-like nose that quickly earned him the nickname of "Birdie" among his fellow explorers. He was known for his toughness, dependability, and cheerfulness.

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Scott had not originally planned to include Bowers in his polar party. Bowers had been a member of the sledge team led by Scott's second-in-command, Lieutenant E.R.G.R. Evans, which was the last support party to accompany Scott and his team southward. But on January 4, 1912, when Evans turned back, Bowers was assigned to the polar party. It seems to have been an impulsive decision by Scott. Only a few days earlier, he had ordered Evans' men to depot their skis, so that Bowers had to travel on foot to the pole while the others were still on ski. In addition, adding a fifth man to the party meant squeezing another person into a tent made for four, and having to split up rations that were packed in units for four men. The most likely motivation for Scott to add Bowers to the polar party was a realization that he needed another experienced navigator to confirm their position at the Pole to avoid controversy such as that surrounding the claims of Frederick Cook and Robert Peary at the North Pole.

Related Topics:
E.R.G.R. Evans - January 4 - 1912 - Frederick Cook - Robert Peary - North Pole

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On January 16, 1912, as Scott's party neared the South Pole, it was Bowers who first spotted a black flag left by Roald Amundsen a month previously. Their return journey became a desperate affair, with first P.O. Edgar Evans and then Lawrence Oates succumbing to scurvy and frostbite. Scott, Bowers, and Dr. Edward Adrian Wilson continued on, but died in their tent 148 miles from their base camp. Their bodies were found by a search party the following spring, and were buried where they lay, under a snow cairn.

Related Topics:
January 16 - 1912 - South Pole - Roald Amundsen - Edgar Evans - Lawrence Oates - Scurvy - Frostbite - Edward Adrian Wilson

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