(PRWEB UK) 13 November 2013
A special version of the British-made Shackleton banjo named after Edwardian explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is to become the first banjo to be played at the South Pole
The specially designed ultra-light instrument, called the Shackleton E100, will be designed and built by The Great British Banjo Company. The banjo will be trekked 1800 miles across Antarctica starting in November next year by a team following the route planned for Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition of 1914.
Members of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Centenary Expedition 2014 (ITACE 2014) intend to become the first Polar explorers to walk the route which Shackleton was unable to complete after his ship became trapped in ice. Like Shackletons expedition the modern adventurers will carry with them a banjo.
Shackleton became legendary for his leadership skills, bringing all of his 28 men back alive from his doomed expedition of 1914-16. A key part of Shackletons leadership style was his insistence on keeping morale high through the power of fun and music.
When the Endurance had to be abandoned and all hands had to dispose of practically all their possessions, Shackleton allowed the expedition’s meteorologist Leonard Hussey to keep his banjo, declaring: “We must have that banjo: it is vital mental medicine”.
Shackleton knew that the banjo would provide a crucial morale-boosting effect during the many months of hardship that lay ahead.
Saving the instrument proved a wise decision, because when Shackleton and a small team finally had to leave 22 men trapped on Elephant Island for over four months months while they set off on an 800 mile voyage in a small open boat to seek for help, the banjo played a vital role in maintaining morale for those left behind.
The marooned men held regular concert parties and wrote songs on the banjo.
Hussey’s banjo never made it to the South Pole (although it did make it safely home and is now in the National Maritime Museum, its skin signed by Shackleton and many members of his crew).
By saving the lives of all 28 of his men after may months of extreme conditions, Shackletons leadership and survival skills have become the stuff of legend, but his intended course across the Antarctic continent remains uncompleted. Until now.
The ITACE 2014 team say they are going to settle some unfinished business with the Antarctic.
The Great British Banjo Company is the first production banjo manufacturer to operate in the UK in more than 60 years.
The company made headlines earlier this year when it raised over
