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Captain L.E.G. Oates (1880-1912)
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Captain L.E.G. Oates (1880-1912)
A collection of letters, manuscripts, photographs and newspaper cuttings collected by Mrs Caroline A. Oates, mother of Captain Oates, and relating to her son and his death on Scott's last expedition, comprising:
Mrs C.A. Oates. Autograph transcript of 'notes, made by C.A. Oates, ... the result of conversations between her & various members of the B.A.E. 1910-1912 and Lady Scott & Mrs Ted Wilson', 23 April 1913 - 12 February 1916, with an additional page of notes, 16 February 1922, contents, occasional annotations by Violet Oates, altogether 21 pages, folio; with transcripts of sections of two letters to her by Capt. Oates, and of notes on Oates's stay with Colonel Herbert in Cardiff, together 8 pages, 4to;
Capt. L.E.G. Oates. Autograph letter signed to his mother, St Malo, 10 June 1909, 4 pages, 4to, a letter to Oates by Hilda Evans (wife of Edward R.G.R. Evans), 11 December 1912, and 7 bills referring to purchases by or for Oates, 1900-1912, including a list of books purchased for the B.A.E. from Hatchards, July 1911, together 18 pages, various sizes, with an envelope containing a small key and marked in Mrs Oates's hand 'Laurie Spare key';
Letters to Mrs Oates from members of the expedition and their wives including Edward R.G.R. Evans (5), Cecil Meares, Herbert Ponting, Dennis Lillie (5), Francis Drake (secretary, 3 letters), Evan G.H. Evans (acting secretary, 3 letters), Hilda Evans (5), Oriana Wilson (4 & a postcard), with two other documents, together 79 pages, various sizes, and a printed map;
Letters of condolence, letters from the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons, schools and others concerning memorials to Oates, altogether 12 letters and cards, 28 orders of service and other occasional printings, manuscripts productions and newspaper cuttings;
a collection of photographs, comprising 5 of Oates in childhood and boyhood, 12 of Oates in adulthood at Gestingthorpe, including a sequence with a motorbike, two showing Oates on the Terra Nova, two of Oates's father, five of the Terra Nova, 10 of memorials to Oates, 53 x 27 - 147 x 101mm, with three related letters, together with a drawing of Oates in a deckchair, and two related documents, 42 in total;
the collection contained in Oates's black tin deed box with his initials 'L.E.G.O.' painted in white on the lid.
A COLLECTION COMMEMORATING THE LEGENDARY CHARM OF OATES'S CHARACTER, AND THE TENACITY OF MRS OATES'S SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT HER SON'S DEATH
The centrepiece of Caroline Oates's collection of papers is her notes of conversations with members of the Terra Nova Expedition in the summer of 1913, in particular Teddy Evans, Lady Scott, Atkinson, Crean, Meares, Oriana Wilson, Lashly, Ford, Cheetham and Ponting. The notes are striking not only for the unanimous tributes to Oates's character, but also for Caroline Oates's unflinching confrontation of the worst aspects of her son's fate. Lady Scott was 'not at her ease and evidently embarrassed ... I asked Lady Scott whether she had realised the risks and dangers - which indeed I had not & she said she knew they were considerable'; Atkinson reported that 'Laurie was so disgusted with the way in which the whole thing was done ... Captain Scott would be very rude and not behave well ... [Oates's] fur boots were ... slit up the back showing how bad the feet must have been'. Crean, who struck Caroline Oates as 'a magnificent character' gives an impression of Oates's charm: on his first arrival on the Terra Nova 'we made up our minds he was a farmer'; on the southern journey 'he just walked quietly along on the march just as though he were walking along this room'; Crean describes Oates as looking 'in the very best of condition when the last supporting party returned'. Meares reiterates criticism of Scott's behaviour: 'Captain Scott would swear all day at Commander Evans'. Lashly provides an interesting suggestion for the rapid decline in P.O. Evans's condition after the return of the last supporting party, that he was isolated and depressed without anyone of his own class; Ponting suggests an explanation for the marked deterioration of Oates's feet, that he 'suffered from perspiration of his feet much more than some others and that was his undoing'.
The collection includes a number of mementos of Oates, amongst them a list of books purchased in the 18 months before the departure of the Terra Nova (including two on his favoured Napoleonic subjects). A letter from Hilda Evans is written to Oates for her husband to carry out on the Terra Nova, little realising that the recipient was nine months dead: 'I hope you had all good luck after Teddy left you, which is more than he had'. The letters to Caroline Oates include a number of letters of tribute and sympathy from Hilda Evans and Oriana Wilson ('I do wish you were coming instead of that horrid Mrs Scott'); a sympathetic series of letters from Teddy Evans attempts to settle a dispute over whether a sextant displayed in the Royal Naval College belonged to Oates, and acknowledges Caroline Oates's refusal to accept her son's Polar Medal at Buckingham Palace. The series of letters, programmes and photographs relating to memorials to Oates is a reflection of the idolisation accorded Oates, more than any other member of the ill-fated Southern Party.
A collection of letters, manuscripts, photographs and newspaper cuttings collected by Mrs Caroline A. Oates, mother of Captain Oates, and relating to her son and his death on Scott's last expedition, comprising:
Mrs C.A. Oates. Autograph transcript of 'notes, made by C.A. Oates, ... the result of conversations between her & various members of the B.A.E. 1910-1912 and Lady Scott & Mrs Ted Wilson', 23 April 1913 - 12 February 1916, with an additional page of notes, 16 February 1922, contents, occasional annotations by Violet Oates, altogether 21 pages, folio; with transcripts of sections of two letters to her by Capt. Oates, and of notes on Oates's stay with Colonel Herbert in Cardiff, together 8 pages, 4to;
Capt. L.E.G. Oates. Autograph letter signed to his mother, St Malo, 10 June 1909, 4 pages, 4to, a letter to Oates by Hilda Evans (wife of Edward R.G.R. Evans), 11 December 1912, and 7 bills referring to purchases by or for Oates, 1900-1912, including a list of books purchased for the B.A.E. from Hatchards, July 1911, together 18 pages, various sizes, with an envelope containing a small key and marked in Mrs Oates's hand 'Laurie Spare key';
Letters to Mrs Oates from members of the expedition and their wives including Edward R.G.R. Evans (5), Cecil Meares, Herbert Ponting, Dennis Lillie (5), Francis Drake (secretary, 3 letters), Evan G.H. Evans (acting secretary, 3 letters), Hilda Evans (5), Oriana Wilson (4 & a postcard), with two other documents, together 79 pages, various sizes, and a printed map;
Letters of condolence, letters from the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons, schools and others concerning memorials to Oates, altogether 12 letters and cards, 28 orders of service and other occasional printings, manuscripts productions and newspaper cuttings;
a collection of photographs, comprising 5 of Oates in childhood and boyhood, 12 of Oates in adulthood at Gestingthorpe, including a sequence with a motorbike, two showing Oates on the Terra Nova, two of Oates's father, five of the Terra Nova, 10 of memorials to Oates, 53 x 27 - 147 x 101mm, with three related letters, together with a drawing of Oates in a deckchair, and two related documents, 42 in total;
the collection contained in Oates's black tin deed box with his initials 'L.E.G.O.' painted in white on the lid.
A COLLECTION COMMEMORATING THE LEGENDARY CHARM OF OATES'S CHARACTER, AND THE TENACITY OF MRS OATES'S SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT HER SON'S DEATH
The centrepiece of Caroline Oates's collection of papers is her notes of conversations with members of the Terra Nova Expedition in the summer of 1913, in particular Teddy Evans, Lady Scott, Atkinson, Crean, Meares, Oriana Wilson, Lashly, Ford, Cheetham and Ponting. The notes are striking not only for the unanimous tributes to Oates's character, but also for Caroline Oates's unflinching confrontation of the worst aspects of her son's fate. Lady Scott was 'not at her ease and evidently embarrassed ... I asked Lady Scott whether she had realised the risks and dangers - which indeed I had not & she said she knew they were considerable'; Atkinson reported that 'Laurie was so disgusted with the way in which the whole thing was done ... Captain Scott would be very rude and not behave well ... [Oates's] fur boots were ... slit up the back showing how bad the feet must have been'. Crean, who struck Caroline Oates as 'a magnificent character' gives an impression of Oates's charm: on his first arrival on the Terra Nova 'we made up our minds he was a farmer'; on the southern journey 'he just walked quietly along on the march just as though he were walking along this room'; Crean describes Oates as looking 'in the very best of condition when the last supporting party returned'. Meares reiterates criticism of Scott's behaviour: 'Captain Scott would swear all day at Commander Evans'. Lashly provides an interesting suggestion for the rapid decline in P.O. Evans's condition after the return of the last supporting party, that he was isolated and depressed without anyone of his own class; Ponting suggests an explanation for the marked deterioration of Oates's feet, that he 'suffered from perspiration of his feet much more than some others and that was his undoing'.
The collection includes a number of mementos of Oates, amongst them a list of books purchased in the 18 months before the departure of the Terra Nova (including two on his favoured Napoleonic subjects). A letter from Hilda Evans is written to Oates for her husband to carry out on the Terra Nova, little realising that the recipient was nine months dead: 'I hope you had all good luck after Teddy left you, which is more than he had'. The letters to Caroline Oates include a number of letters of tribute and sympathy from Hilda Evans and Oriana Wilson ('I do wish you were coming instead of that horrid Mrs Scott'); a sympathetic series of letters from Teddy Evans attempts to settle a dispute over whether a sextant displayed in the Royal Naval College belonged to Oates, and acknowledges Caroline Oates's refusal to accept her son's Polar Medal at Buckingham Palace. The series of letters, programmes and photographs relating to memorials to Oates is a reflection of the idolisation accorded Oates, more than any other member of the ill-fated Southern Party.
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