Tom Crean was born on a remote hillside farm near the village of Annascaul on the Dingle Peninsula on July 20th 1877 He was one of 10 children He attended the local Roman Catholic School but left at the age of 12 to help on the family farm At the age of 15, he ran away from home after an argument with his father and headed for cork where he enlisted in the Royal Navy

For the next eight years, he travelled the world as a Royal Navy sailor. He was transferred from ship to ship and went from being ranked as an ordinary seaman, to an able seaman, to a petty officer (second class).

In Dec 1901 at the age of 23 while in New Zealand he had a chance encounter with Robert Falcon Scott, a Royal Navy officer and commander of a major Polar expedition. He came to learn that Scott was a sailor short as one of his men had ran into some trouble and fled. He volunteered to take the place of this man on Captain Scott’s Antarctic Exploration Ship ‘Discovery’ and was accepted. While on board he met Ernest Shackleton, who would go on to figure greatly in Crean's life in later years

In Feb 1902, the Antarctic expedition was made This was Crean's first experience of the harsh conditions of Antarctica. At first he struggled with the icy conditions but before long he found his feet and took part in some of man's very first journeys into the continent ‘Discovery’ returned from it’s Antarctic expedition in Feb 1904 and Crean returned to his duties at the naval base Crean had caught Captain Scott's attention with his attitude and work ethic on the ’Discovery’ Expedition and it was requested that Crean join him on Terra Nova which was bound for the South Pole

Terra Nova set out for the Antarctic in April 1910 and reached it in Jan 1911 Their goal was to be the first to reach the South Pole On reaching the Antarctic they set up camp. It would be Spring before the march for the South Pole began In Jan 1912, barely 150 miles from the South Pole, Captain Scott splits his team and decides not to bring Crean. Instead the Kerry man must return to base with Bill Lashly and Teddy Evans After walking for 750 miles the three men must now turn and walk the 750 miles home. Evans starts to deteriorate and his two companions struggle to keep him alive

Crean decides to go on alone and after 18 hours reaches base He returns with a rescue team to bring home his companions Crean received a medal from King George for his heroism

In Jan 1912 Captain Scott and his four companions reach the South Pole but are bitterly disappointed to find a Norwegian flag and dog tracks there – evidence that Roald Amundsen and his team have beaten them to it On the return journey, tragically all five men perish Later the same year, Crean returns towards the Pole with a team to search for Scott and his men They find a tent buried under a mound of snow Inside Captain Robert Scott and two of his companions lie frozen Crean and the team bury the bodies of their stricken comrades where they lie.