Marshall Sledge Unveiling

On Friday 26th April, prior to the evening’s Knight Lecture, Monkton was proud to unveil a replica of the Marshall Sledge from the Nimrod Expedition in 1909. 

Eric Marshall was one of only four to reach the southernmost point mankind had ever reached, on the Nimrod Expedition on 9th January 1909. Marshall was also an Old Monktonian, attending Monkton from 1899-1902 with his three brothers. 

Having met Ernest Shackleton at a party, and upon hearing about the Nimrod Expedition, Marshall undertook training as a surveyor in order to become the expedition’s Surgeon, Surveyor and Cartographer. Achieving this goal and reaching the South Pole, he embodied much of all we hope for in our Monktonians today: Honesty, Integrity, Courage, and a Spirit of Adventure. 

Marshall gave his sledge and a flag from the expedition to Monkton in order to inspire the pupils of the future to pursue adventure and seek things beyond the obvious horizon. For many years, they were on display in the Library, before moving to the Old Hall, but eventually we had to remove them from display as they were deteriorating in condition.

Marshall's hope was that it would inspire Monkton pupils to pursue adventure and seek things beyond the obvious horizon.

As they were no longer able to inspire the pupils, as was Marshall’s aim, the sledge and flag were sold and the money used to refurbish the School Quad, which we hope goes some way to inspiring our pupils today and into the future as they admire the extraordinary beauty of the valley. Both are now on display at The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. 

We are delighted to now put back a public display of Marshall’s adventure, with a replica sculpture of his sledge standing proudly in the Quad. Our hope is that this both honours his gift to the School, and will inspire our pupils to future adventures.

It was a pleasure to be joined on the evening by Eric’s nephew, Edward Marshall, who helped to unveil the new sledge, and Angie Butler, author of Shackleton's Critic: The Life and Diaries of Eric Stewart Marshall. The unveiling was preceded by a fantastic rendition of Max Richter’s On the Nature of Daylight by four of our talented musicians, and a speech given by Principal, Chris Wheeler.