Dulwich and the James Caird-London

While visiting London we made a day trip outside of the city to the community of Dulwich via a commuter train. Dulwich was the third stop and about a 15 minute train ride from Victoria Station. Once arriving the way to Dulwich College (a boys school for 9 to 18 year olds) was well marked and a short walk past upper end houses with their well manicured lawns. We checked in at the main gate and were instructed by the guard to go to the visitor office for a nametag and directions for the exhibition that we had made a special trip to see. Dulwich College is the home of Ernest Shackleton’s life boat the James Caird. At the turn of the century Shackleton led an expedition to Antarctica on the ship Endurance which became ice bound and thus began an epic story of survival. Shackleton and five crew members sailed the Caird across the open Southern Ocean in rough seas from the South Shetland Islands (Elephant Island) to South Georgia, a distance of 800 miles, navigating with just a sexton. A truly amazing feat. Shackleton attended Dulwich as a young man it seemed a appropriate as the final home for the boat. Besides the Caird itself there are samples of expedition clothing, sleds used to haul the lifeboats, the original sail and a detailed description of the expedition and the James Caird’s voyage. Journal:” I visited Antarctica in 2001 and have read a stack of books on various expeditions to the white continent. Standing here and seeing Shackleton’s boat is the highlight of this trip to London and gives me a tangible reality to the story. At times I so feel like I was born in the wrong century.”