Stamps commemorate discovery of a famous shipwreck

By David Hartwig

Stamps issued Nov. 5 by three British overseas territories commemorate the discovery of Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance.

After sinking in the Weddell Sea in 1915, the Endurance spent more than 100 years submerged in an unknown location 3,008 meters (9,868 feet) below the ice of what explorer Shackleton (1874-1922) called “the worst portion of the worst sea on earth.”

On March 5, 2022, a search team under the patronage of the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust discovered the vessel in an excellent state of preservation, according to a press release for the stamps.

To commemorate the event, the British Antarctic Territory and the Falkland Islands each issued a set of two stamps denominated £1.90 and £2.50 along with a souvenir sheet with a £3.60 stamp.

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands issued stamps denominated £1.85 and £2.60 and a souvenir sheet with a £3.75 stamp.

Each stamp displays a picture of the wreckage. For the stamps in the sets of two, the name of the territory is in the upper left with the cipher of King Charles III in the upper right. The stamps on the souvenir sheets have the name in the upper right and the cipher in the upper left.

Each stamp shows the denomination in the lower left corner and a five-point star in the lower right corner. The stamps in the set of two have the text “THE WRECK OF THE ENDURANCE” above the star, and the stamps on the souvenir sheets have “ENDURANCE” above the star and “1915” below.

The typography of the ship’s name in an arch around the star is similar to the stern of the ship, which shows the ship’s name over an emblem of the North Star, or Polaris. The stern can be seen on the £2.50 stamp of the British Antarctic Territory and on the selvage of all three souvenir sheets.

The Endurance was originally named the Polaris. Shackleton renamed the ship after his family motto: “by endurance we conquer,” according to the press release.

When Shackleton bought and renamed the ship, his intention was to sail to Vahsel Bay in Antarctica via the Weddell Sea southeast of South America and then cross the continent to reach the Ross Sea southeast of New Zealand.

Before reaching Vahsel Bay, the Endurance became icebound in January 1915 and spent 10 months stuck in the ice before sinking. Shackleton and his crew of 27 survived on the ice for five additional months before taking three boats and traveling in brutal conditions for six days until reaching Elephant Island.

From there, Shackleton took five of his crew on his best boat and traveled an additional two weeks to South Georgia. The crew crossed the island and met Norwegian whalers on the other side.

However, the whalers’ small steamer could not reach the men on Elephant Island, and the rescue was not completed until August 1916. Miraculously, the entire crew survived.

Their ship the Endurance, however, remained hidden under the Weddell Sea for more than 100 years until 2022, when an unmanned submersible search vehicle, connected to the surface by 6 kilometers (19,685 feet) of fiber-optic cable, found the wreckage.

“The wreck was discovered upright, semi-intact and in an excellent state of preservation,” the press release said. “Even its paintwork was still visible. Her masts were down, and her deck house and most of the quarterdeck had been destroyed by the ice, but the well deck at the stern was untouched. The ship’s wheel was in position and largely unscathed as was the binnacle, or wooden stand in front of the wheel which held the vessel’s magnetic compass.”

The stamps were designed by Bee Design using photographs from Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, National Geographic and the Endurance Scott Polar Research Institute.

Cartor Security Printing printed the stamps by stochastic lithography in panes of 10. Each stamp in the sets of two measures 42 millimeters by 28mm with gauge 13¼ by 13½ perforations. The stamp on each souvenir sheet measures 45mm by 33mm with gauge 13¾ by 14 perforations.

Stamps issued by the British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are available for purchase through the Falklands Post Service Limited.

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