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My partner’s great uncle Perce (Blackborow) was one of the crew. He was the one you see in the pictures with Mrs Chippy the ship’s cat sat on his shoulder. Orig

My partner’s great uncle Perce (Blackborow) was one of the crew. He was the one you see in the pictures with Mrs Chippy the ship’s cat sat on his shoulder. Originally a stowaway he became steward. Lost quite a few toes to frostbite. When he returned to Newport he declared that he would never leave it again and as far as I know never did.

dieselgate 3y ago
Wow the stowaway! That’s pretty amazing and a very unique part of the story. Perhaps more common in those times? Read the book years ago and it’s still the most jaw dropping story.
arethuza 3y ago
Mrs Chippy has a pretty interesting Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs_Chippy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs_Chippy
- cmiles74 3y ago
  It even has a picture of the great uncle from the parent comment! :-)
- ErneX 3y ago
  Loved that, thanks. I had a cat that I was told it was a male when given to me only to find out it was a female when the 1st heat came :) I also kept its male name.
- idontpost 3y ago
  [dead]
philk10 3y ago
I first read this as the cat becoming a steward and losing toes to frostbite...
tootie 3y ago
Every time I read about the tale of Shackleton all I think about is how he risked it he lives and limbs of his crew for personal vanity. I'm sure he was charismatic but I can't help but think he was an complete asshole in absolute terms.
- selykg 3y ago
  Really? This is the same guy that came back and rescued everyone from the Endurance. This stuff was dangerous, I think everyone going in knew it, as no one else had done this stuff before. From the Wikipedia entry: > Shackleton's concern for his men was such that he gave his mittens to photographer Frank Hurley, who had lost his own mittens during the boat journey. Shackleton suffered frostbitten fingers as a result.
  - fifilura 3y ago
    He was also the guy that dared to turn around and say "we'll come back another day" 180km from the south pole, a few years ahead of Amundsen and Scott. No, you must have mistaken him for Scott. Apart from the fatal final journey, he also sent his men on a pointless trip to collect pengiun embryos during antartic night. Documented in "The worst journey in the world" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Worst_Journey_in_the_World https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Worst_Journey_in_the_Wor...
  - tootie 3y ago
    My point is that the quest was pure vanity. They didn't need to be there at all.
    - selykg 3y ago
      Sure. Like so many major (often crazy) milestones the human race has done. * Climbed Everest * Flew a plane * Make a trip to the Titanic * Freediving * Swam the English Channel * Floated across the Atlantic with no idea where we were headed * Jumped from space without a parachute People do crazy stuff all the time. It's sort of part of our DNA. Being the first to do something will cause people to go to great lengths and take great risks.

dieselgate 3y ago

Wow the stowaway! That’s pretty amazing and a very unique part of the story. Perhaps more common in those times? Read the book years ago and it’s still the most jaw dropping story.

arethuza 3y ago

Mrs Chippy has a pretty interesting Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs_Chippy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs_Chippy

cmiles74 3y ago
It even has a picture of the great uncle from the parent comment! :-)
ErneX 3y ago
Loved that, thanks. I had a cat that I was told it was a male when given to me only to find out it was a female when the 1st heat came :) I also kept its male name.
idontpost 3y ago
[dead]

philk10 3y ago

I first read this as the cat becoming a steward and losing toes to frostbite...

tootie 3y ago

Every time I read about the tale of Shackleton all I think about is how he risked it he lives and limbs of his crew for personal vanity. I'm sure he was charismatic but I can't help but think he was an complete asshole in absolute terms.

selykg 3y ago
Really? This is the same guy that came back and rescued everyone from the Endurance. This stuff was dangerous, I think everyone going in knew it, as no one else had done this stuff before. From the Wikipedia entry: > Shackleton's concern for his men was such that he gave his mittens to photographer Frank Hurley, who had lost his own mittens during the boat journey. Shackleton suffered frostbitten fingers as a result.
- fifilura 3y ago
  He was also the guy that dared to turn around and say "we'll come back another day" 180km from the south pole, a few years ahead of Amundsen and Scott. No, you must have mistaken him for Scott. Apart from the fatal final journey, he also sent his men on a pointless trip to collect pengiun embryos during antartic night. Documented in "The worst journey in the world" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Worst_Journey_in_the_World https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Worst_Journey_in_the_Wor...
- tootie 3y ago
  My point is that the quest was pure vanity. They didn't need to be there at all.
  - selykg 3y ago
    Sure. Like so many major (often crazy) milestones the human race has done. * Climbed Everest * Flew a plane * Make a trip to the Titanic * Freediving * Swam the English Channel * Floated across the Atlantic with no idea where we were headed * Jumped from space without a parachute People do crazy stuff all the time. It's sort of part of our DNA. Being the first to do something will cause people to go to great lengths and take great risks.