Although we are a local history society, it is good to be taken out of our Suffolk world occasionally and our May meeting did just that. Geoff Cooper, who lives in Wickhambrook, was fascinated by polar exploration as a child and has spent his life working towards the goal of working in the remotest part of the earth. After first doing a marine biology degree, other degrees followed and a carpentry course and conservation qualification eventually allowed him to work on the World Heritage Site where the early explorers built their huts.
Geoff spends several months each year working in this unhospitable climate – -40 degrees, 200mph winds , no washing facilities, rudimentary WC – and he obviously loves what he does.
The huts built by Scott and Shackleton in the early 19oos are still there, along with many artefacts and it is Geoff’s job to work on the buildings to weatherproof them using modern techniques.
There were so many fascinating facts in this talk, from the ways they have to lift and re-lay linoleum using the original nails, to the way the conservators restore belongings left behind including slippers, tins, bottles and pictures that we were spell-bound as we listened.
Although these early explorers and their tough times were familiar to us, this talk brought it home to us what Antarctic life is really like.
There is just a small window of opportunity each year when the weather allows access to Antarctica but conditions mean that this is the only continent that has its first ever building still intact.
Geoff’s presentation showed us the work he had done alongside original photos and we could not tell the difference. That means it is a job well done!
Dorothy Anderson