Expedition South

Anderson applied to join an expedition to the Falkland Islands Dependencies within the Antarctic as a means of satisfying a life-long personal ambition and of re-orientating himself after 14years as a regular Army officer - the last three of which had been spent as a leader of guerrilla forces operating in North Korea - in which campaign he was awarded a bar to his Military Cross, having first won this decoration in North Africa.

He sailed for Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land in October, 1954, as leader of a small twelve-man base whose objectives were the exploration and survey of one of the least-known sectors of the Antarctic.

But topographical survey was only one of the many branches of work to be done. Dr. Paul Massey carried out research into the effects of intense cold on the human mind and body, while R. J. F. Taylor, among many other tasks, worked on the output of energy from huskies on prolonged journeys. Thousands of meteorological observations were made at base and in the field.

Anderson has given a picture of the life lived by himself and his companions as a small community in a vast wilderness. It is a book of extraordinary interest about ordinary people from all walks of life fighting and winning a battle against a ruthless enemy, the Antarctic, with its danger, its boredom, its physical and mental strain and its overwhelming majesty. There is a thrilling sense of challenge and achievement as well as humanity and humour - it is everyman's guide to the Last Continent.