The Shackleton 150 convention and gala dinner

The biennial conference of the Sir Ernest H Shackleton Appreciation Society will be held at the Society this May marking 150 years since Shackleton’s birth. Leading polar experts will speak on Shackleton’s polar legacy and the Antarctic. The Society will exclusively open its Collections and display original mapping, archive material and photography related to Shackleton and early Antarctic exploration for conference guests. A gala dinner will be held in the Society’s main hall on Saturday evening (numbers are strictly limited).

Come and indulge in a celebration of the life and work of ‘The Boss’ and the men from the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration. Discover Shackleton’s unique legacy of leadership, learn of the science of ice, the contribution of Ernest’s men and be amazed by the imagery of Hurley and Hussey.

Key speakers include Professor Julian Dowdeswell, Michael Smith, Shane Murphy, Mensun Bound, Seamus Taafe, Trevor Potts, Kevin Kenny, Caitlin Brandon, Emma Puranen, Anne Strathie, Simon Stephens, Geoff Selley and more. Short presentations will be given by other polar aficionados. There will be opportunities to meet polar authors, view the RGS Shackleton Collection and enjoy Johny Midnight’s Shackleton Collection of oil paintings.

For full details of the daily programme, click on 'more info' under each event listing below.

Making a booking

There are three individual events available to book. Please note you do not need to book for Friday as this comes as part of the price for Saturday and/or Sunday.

Here are instructions on how to pay for all three events together:

1. Select ‘book now’ on one of the events.
2. Fill in the booking details.
3. Select ‘next’ and you will arrive at your cart.
4. Go back to ‘Events’ (top right-hand tab) or follow this link: The Shackleton 150 convention and gala dinner - RGS to book the other conference day and gala dinner if you wish. Your cart will be saved while you do this.
5. Once you have added all the events you want to the cart, you can ‘proceed to checkout’ and pay.