Met Man Pete Goes South

This book is based on Peter Richards’ experiences in the Antarctic from 1957 to 1960, working for what was then then the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, which later became British Antarctic Survey. It was a time when little had changed from the days of the earlier explorers. Travel was with dog teams and communications were still quite primitive, relying on relaying wireless messages or sending Morse code. Young men – surveyors, meteorologists and scientists – would spend three long years on the bases, only seeing other humans when, in the summer, the supply ships visited. Their kit was mostly army surplus – no warm quilted polyester waterproof anoraks. It was an exciting challenging time for these fit young men. Though Peter went down as a meteorologist, everybody helped with the others’ tasks, including taking weekly turns at cooking all meals. There were bird ringing and seal counts to be done as well as surveying. There was plenty of fun and, at times, danger when travelling over the ice. He was appointed base leader on Signy Island and with that he also inherited the title ‘first aider’. With no experience or training, he was lucky to have nothing more to tackle than a large nail embedded in the foot of the diesel mechanic! His time on Signy was cut short when he had an injury and had to be shipped out back to the Falkland Islands for an operation. When he recovered, he was unable to go back because the winter had set in and no ships were going south; they were all on their way back to the UK. So he was sent to South Georgia, and there he saw the whaling industry in full swing – not something for sensitive souls and thankfully the factory there has long since been abandoned. He spent his time, when not doing observations, exploring and helping with surveying and seal tagging.