Tuhia he tohutoro mō tēnei wāhanga - I te kāinga i Bedfordshire, i haere a Aeneas ki Bedford Modern School. Katahi ia ka whai i te ara kotahi i arahi ai a Ernest Shackleton e rima tau ki mua, ka whakarere i te kura i te 16 o ona tau ki te haere ki te moana. I muri i tana mahi i te mahi pakeke a te Kaitohutohu Kaihokohoko, ka uru ia ki te P me te Raina O, ka noho ki tenei kamupene tae noa ki te wa i whakauruhia ai ia e te haerenga a Shackleton "Nimrod"
, i rere ki Antarctica i te tau kotahi mano e 1907.