Monday 27th October 1915

Today, the end came; she couldn’t pick herself up. Her ice-cold life had finally concluded. The formidable strain was for no ship to ever escape from. I commanded abandon ship; we had no choice, we had to step onto the ice. No one was happy. The descended faces surrounded me like a nightmare I could not overcome, but we will survive!

Tuesday 28th October 1915

Icebergs, like giant gems, shimmered bleakly in the cobalt blue and rose gold summer sun as we continued to create a camp.The crows nest, the last remaining sight of the Endeavour, jutted out like a loose nail. My biggest wish of all was that I wouldn’t join her beloved, freezing body. I felt like I was just bare walking around as it was so cold. It bit through so many layers!

Wednesday 29th October 1915

Morale is at an all time low with the men.”I want to go home boss, how long will it take?“ Is what I heard every day going past the other frightful men. I didn’t know what to say and it wasn’t particularly what they wanted.”Not long now, we’ll be back to go to the war soon.“ I would say.

I thought of going home, fighting against Germany if I survived. Many others wanted to do that, even the younger ones. Right now I just hoped we were winning and hardly anyone was dying and I hope I wouldn’t. I imagined loads of people signing up and about three quarters of them having a sad ending.

Thursday 30th October 1915

I am sending five men on a major journey that could be a life-saver. They bravely set off at about 10 am with full hope of success. The boats we used for homes were almost as cold as out there. It was so bad that about three people got a terrible case of frostbite and one even died! The condition was as horrible as in the freezing water. Survival was almost impossible. These 27 people were weights pushing me down, unable to get up; we were doomed. I hope they find help...