About Us

Why ReQUEST?

In September 1921, Sir Ernest Shackleton set off on the converted Norwegian sealer Quest to conduct an ambitious expedition circumnavigating the entire continent of Antarctica and charting much unknown territory of the Southern Oceans. The voyage was financed by his school friend, the businessman and philanthropist John Quiller Rowett. Rowett was fascinated by modern scientific progress and was insistent that the Quest be equipped with the latest instrumentation for investigations in meteorology, hydrography, geology and natural history.  The expedition’s objective, rather than any particular physical feat, was to obtain all kinds of knowledge that would underpin the economic development of the southern hemisphere.  

Shackleton, through a nationwide competition, also recruited two Scouts, James Marr and Norman Mooney, to join Quest’s crew. Although Mooney returned home early, Marr remained throughout and was inspired to embark upon a career of polar exploration and marine biology. He participated in and led multiple polar expeditions, and was instrumental in establishing what is now the British Antarctic Survey. He published the seminal work on the vastly important indicator species, krill.

Before leaving England, Shackleton had referred to the expedition as his swansong. As it turned out he died, on board Quest, upon arrival at South Georgia on January 5, 1922. After some efforts to continue the mission, John Quiller Rowett called the Quest home.

In 2021, marking the centenary of the Shackleton-Rowett expedition, and James Marr’s involvement, a group of Scouts from Kent and Scotland travelled to Antarctica on a 100-year-old tall ship, Bark Europa.  As well as a group project investigating krill, each expedition member carried out an individual project. These covered a wide range of topics across science and humanities.  The full story of the ReQuest2021 mission is recounted here www.request2021.org.uk.

The ReQuest Foundation is formed as a direct legacy of the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition and the ReQuest2021 Project.

More information:

The Quest Chronicle – The story of Shackleton’s last expedition 

Shackleton’s Scouts - The story of Scouts Marr & Mooney of the Shackleton-Rowett expedition to the Antarctic 1921-22