OATES CENTENARY CELEBRATION
For those interested in local history, last Saturday in Aberdeen was a day that will be remembered for a very long time.
A programme had been organized by Dallis Graham of Aberdeen Heritage Archive and Tourism Bureau to celebrate the centenary of the death of Captain Lawrence Oates. Capt Oates is best known for being part of Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1912, but he is linked to Aberdeen from his days as a soldier in the Anglo Boer War.
Graham, in conjunction with Dr Sydney Cullis from Cape Town, an expert on Antarctica, arranged a full day of activities that was both informative and interesting.
The proceedings started with a memorial service in the Aberdeen Methodist church, conducted by Rev J. L. Jantjies from Graaff-Reinet, superintendent of the Karoo East Circuit. The choir from the Thembalesizwe Methodist congregation was most impressive, in particular with their moving rendition of a well-known hymn in isiXhosa. The chosen scripture readings were particularly relevant to the occasion. Rev Jantjies read a passage from Deuteronomy, which, in referring to Moses, states that his grave site is unknown. Oates' great nephew from Pretoria, Laurie Oates, thoughtfully read a passage he had chosen himself from St John's gospel, which includes the phrase "no-one has greater love, than to lay down his life for his friend". When the story of Oates' death was explained later in the service, members of the congregation appreciated the care with which these verses had been chosen.
Wendy van Schalwyk, a local historian, who has researched Oates' life extensively, gave a most interesting and dramatic talk on the events in Aberdeen and Antarctica.
Oates, who was a member of the Inniskiiling Dragoons, arrived in Aberdeen on 5th March 1901, having been summoned from Willowmore with his patrol of fifteen men to help the struggling British soldiers. Several men were wounded during the ensuing fighting, and Oates suffered a compound fracture of his left femur late in the morning. Eventually a relief party including a doctor came to his aid, and he was carried back to the British position. He was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery, a wartime honour bestowed by the British.
Oates was nursed back to health at the home of Charles Harvey, a town guard, who lived at 16 Brand Street. He celebrated (if that is the right word!) his 21st birthday during this period. At the end of March he was sent by ambulance to Aberdeen Road, and from there by rail to Noupoort, where the bullet was removed from his leg. An interesting story related by van Schalkwyk is that Oates' mother Caroline sent a set of silver teaspoons to the Harvey family to thank them for looking after her son, but despite many searches, these spoons have not been traced. One branch of the Harvey family in Australia thought they were in possession of the set, but when the spoons were dated, they were found to have been manufactured long after the incident.
Another interesting anecdote was that Oates had attended Eton, the well-known English public school. There is apparently a statue of him on the stairs, and a teacher at the school told van Schalkwyk that every boy passing the statue always touches it for luck.
Ten years later, Oates was a Captain in the British army in India, with a passion for horses. He was keen to join Scott's expedition to the Antarctic, and his knowledge of horses, and the fact that he could contribute the then considerable sum of £1,000 towards the expeditions' expenses, secured him a place. His job was to look after the 19 Siberian ponies that had been purchased for the expedition, to help pull the sleds on the frozen wastes. The struggle with the rather inferior ponies consumed his health, and eventually the ponies had to be destroyed. Oates was chosen as one of the party to make the final advance to the South Pole, and was well-liked by Capt Scott. After reaching the Pole, all the members of the party eventually perished in the appalling conditions. Oates suffered terribly from frostbite and then gangrene, and wanted the other men to leave him behind, as he was aware that he was slowing them up. They refused, so he took matters into his own hands. Waking on the morning of 16 March and recognising the need to sacrifice himself in order to give the others a chance of survival, Scott wrote that Oates said to them; "I am just going outside and may be some time." Forgoing the pain and effort of putting his boots on, he walked out of the tent into a blizzard and −40°F (−40 °C) temperatures to his death. Scott also wrote in his diary, "We knew that poor Oates was walking to his death, but though we tried to dissuade him, we knew it was the act of a brave man and an English gentleman". His sacrifice was in vain, as the rest of the party, trapped in their tent by the dreadful weather and their own exhaustion, eventually died nine days later. The relief expedition in 1912 found the bodies of these men, but Oates' body was never found.
After this moving talk, Graham thanked the choir and all who had participated in the service, and read out the letter of thanks from Brigadier E J Torrens-Spence of the Royal Dragoon Guards in York, the present day regiment that Oates is associated with. This mentioned that an annual regimental parade is held in Oates' honour.
All those present then walked to 16 Brand Street, where a plaque, donated by the Royal Dragoon Guards, was unveiled by Dr Cullis. The present owner of the house, Albert and Magdeline Green, were on hand, and proudly posed for photographs with Dr Cullis and Laurie Oates.
In the afternoon, guests were invited to the AHATB building to see an exhibition about Oates, with paintings relating to Antarctica, kindly loaned by Dr Cullis. Laurie Oates had brought several items of interest, and many local people were seen deep in discussion with the visitors. Wendy van Schalkwyk then repeated her talk of the morning, for those who had not been at the church, and she stressed how the relevance of Oates to the town should be celebrated, and the heritage protected.
Dr Sydney Cullis was then introduced, and he gave a most interesting presentation of the history of Antarctic expeditions, illustrated by slides of relevant paintings. He mentioned that he had been privileged to visit the SA Agulhas before the ship's last expedition to Antarctica, and had seen these twelve paintings on the corridors of the ship. After a short break, the film 90 degrees South was shown, which proved to be a real highlight of the day. This film shows original footage of the voyage of the Terra Nova, the ship that took Scott's party to the Antarctic, which had been produced in 1932. The quality of the film was remarkable, particularly considering the conditions under which it had been shot. It was very appropriate too that the film was shown in what was the old cinema of the town! The audience were engrossed from start to finished, and many lighthearted scenes from the ship were very amusing, including Oates and others having rather dramatic haircuts. Everyone was upset to hear of a dog being washed overboard, but sighed with relief when the next sequence told of it being washed back onto the deck! The film also showed very vividly the starkness of the continent, and the harsh conditions experienced by the members of the expedition.
Those members of the Aberdeen community who had been present for all the events of the day felt privileged to have shared in this momentous occasion, and Dallis Graham and her team are to be congratulated on a well-organised and researched day.
Oates' Sledging Flag
