After three more months of further exploration the Discovery set course for home via New Zealand and the Falkland Islands arriving in Britain on September 10th 1904, three years and one month after setting sail. In his initial assessment of the expedition, Sir Clements Markham, President of the Royal Geographical Society, wrote, “Taking all things into consideration, these two years of the work of the Antarctic Expedition represent an achievement unequalled, certainly unsurpassed, in the annals of polar exploration – Arctic or Antarctic.”In his own report to the Admiralty, Captain Scott wrote glowingly about William Lashly and Captain Evans, illustrating his observations by reference to their remarkable sledge journey together:

“I would remark that I think that journey nearly reached the limit of performance possible under the conditions, in order to point out that it could not have been accomplished had either of these men failed in the smallest degree. Their determination, courage, and patience were often taxed to the utmost, yet I never knew them other than cheerful and respectful. On one occasion Lashly undoubtedly saved our lives by his presence of mind when Evans and I had fallen into a crevasse”.

All members of the crew were paid off at the end of the month and given two months leave. William returned to his job as stoker with the Royal Navy. Captain Scott asked the Admiralty to reward RN members of his crew in some way. As a result, William was promoted to Chief Stoker. The promotion was back-dated to June 1902 in recognition of his remarkable service to the Expedition. Like all expedition members he received the Antarctic Medal.

For a while William was an instructor at the Naval College at Osborne, sharing his knowledge and experience with young trainee officers but was soon at sea again on HMS Proserpine serving in the Persian Gulf. When, in 1909, Captain Scott announced his second expedition to the Antarctic William was one of the first to sign up.

Ernest Shackleton, a member of the Discovery expedition, returned to the Antarctic in 1907. He was able to reach the magnetic pole and was within 111 miles of the South Pole when dwindling food supplies forced him to return.

Next: Terra Nova Expedition