Captain Scott centenary: Storm rages around polar explorer's reputation

Was Captain Scott a self-dramatising bungler or a dogged leader devoted to the science of Antarctic exploration?The centenary of the deaths of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and four of his fellow explorers will be marked on Thursday in a commemorative service at St Paul's Cathedral which will draw 2,000 Scott admirers from all over the world. There are dozens of other events and exhibitions marking the loss. A hundred years after their demise on the trek back from the south pole, the story retains remarkable resonance.It is not certain that 29 March 1912 is the precise day on which Scott died. The date is chosen because it marks the final entry in his journal."Since the 21st," he wrote, "we have had a continuous gale from WSW and SW. We had fuel to make two cups of tea apiece and bare food for two days on the 20th. Every day we...

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