The free public show, 200 Years of Polar Exploration, runs from November 18-24 and features clothing, equipment, medals and other memorabilia from the leading explorations.
Relics from expeditions by Scott, Shackleton, Franklin and more recent explorations feature in the non-selling event that is in partnership with the Scott Polar Research Institute and private collectors.
The show marks the centenary of the end of the ‘Heroic Age of Exploration’.
Marcus Budgen, head of medals at Spink, said: “Any one of these individuals could easily command a dedicated exhibition in their own right, so to be able to present dozens of them together as a kind of polar fellowship in this way is truly extraordinary.”
One of the heroes to feature in the show is Frank Wild, the Yorkshire-born seaman who took part in five expeditions between 1901-22.
Spink said that although Wild is largely unknown outside of polar exploration circles, he is the only man to have taken part in all four of the major Antarctic expeditions of the period.
He became Shackleton’s second-in-command in both the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-16 and the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition of 1921-22, when Shackleton died of a heart attack aged 47. Wild took over, leading the expedition to its completion along the Antarctic coast.
Roan Hackney, polar explorer and co-curator of the show, said: “Here, gathered in one space for the first time, are the memories of those exceptional people who claimed their rightful place in history.”
