PRESS RELEASE : Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Polar Medal at risk of leaving the UK [February 2024]

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 2 February 2024.

A temporary export bar has been placed on Antarctic Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Polar Medal.

• The medal is valued at more than £1.7 million
• The export bar will allow time for a UK gallery or institution to acquire the medal for the nation

Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay has placed an export bar on Antarctic Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Polar Medal.

The medal, valued at £1,760,000 (plus VAT of £44,000), is at risk of leaving the UK unless a domestic buyer can be found to save it for the nation.

The Arctic Medal was instituted in 1857 and renamed the Polar Medal in 1904. It is given to individuals for outstanding service to the field of polar research. It was first awarded to the participants in Captain Robert F. Scott’s successful first expedition to the Antarctic, and then to reward future expedition members and leaders.

The Polar Medal was awarded to Shackleton in recognition of his three polar expeditions (1902–04, 1907–09, 1914–16), the latter two of which he led. It is the most important of the UK medals awarded to him, given it is the only medal to recognise all three of his expeditions. It is also the last of Shackleton’s medals still in the UK.

Shackleton made three expeditions to the Antarctic in the early twentieth century with his 1907 Nimrod expedition aiming to be the first to reach the South Pole. Although unsuccessful, the expedition was the first in history to travel within 100 miles of the South Pole, successfully ascend Mount Erebus and the first to set foot on the South Polar Plateau. His 1909 expedition was the greatest advance to the Pole in history until Amundsen and Scott reached the South Pole separately three years later in 1912.

Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said:

Over the course of three Antarctic expeditions, Sir Ernest Shackleton demonstrated his dedication to polar research, his extraordinary bravery, and a thirst for adventure unrivalled even by many of his contemporaries.

The admiration and interest which Shackleton’s exploits inspired continues to this day, so it is right that this medal – a recognition of his immense contribution to polar exploration – should be saved for the nation so that it can continue to inspire the public for many years to come.”

The Minister’s decision follows the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.

Committee Chairman, Andrew Hochhauser KC, said:

The Polar Medal was instituted in September 1904, at first to reward the participants in Captain Robert F. Scott’s successful first expedition to the Antarctic region, and then to reward future expedition members and leaders. Besides Captain Scott, its other most distinguished recipient was Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. This is the original, full-sized version of the medal awarded to Shackleton. This unique artefact is of outstanding significance as the most important and original of the UK medals to have been awarded to one of Britain’s greatest polar explorers. It should go to a UK public institution where it can remind visitors of Shackleton’s extraordinary achievements and inspire future generations of leaders.

The Committee made its recommendation on the basis that the medal was found to meet the first Waverley criterion, that its departure from the UK would be a misfortune because it was so closely connected with our history and national life.

In 2020, an export bar was placed on the sledge and flag from the Nimrod expedition successfully saving them for the public, with the 11ft sledge now owned by the National Maritime Museum (NMM) in Greenwich and the sledge flag owned by the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge.

The decision on the export licence application for the medal will be deferred for a period ending on 1 May 2024 (inclusive). At the end of the first deferral period owners will have a consideration period of 15 Business Days to consider any offer(s) to purchase the medal at the recommended price of £1,760,000 (plus VAT of £44,000). The second deferral period will commence following the signing of an Option Agreement and will last for five months.