13 Facts About Cecil Meares

Cecil Henry Meares was a British military officer, interpreter, adventurer, and explorer.

Cecil Henry Meares was born in Inistioge, Ireland on 14 February 1877 to Major Meares and his wife, Helen.

Cecil Meares had lived in Ireland until around 1880, when he went to live with relatives in England.

Cecil Meares worked at coffee planting in India and later traded furs in Russia and across Manchuria.

Cecil Meares would be involved in the Boxer Rebellion during his time in China.

Cecil Meares's tasks included selecting and purchasing the 34 dogs and 20 ponies for the expedition and then transporting them from Siberia to New Zealand via Japan where they were to join up with the expedition.

Cecil Meares knew little about ponies, but nevertheless followed Scott's orders and went to Nikolayevsk, Siberia to select the dogs.

Cecil Meares recruited Russian jockey Anton Omelchenko as groom on the expedition.

Cecil Meares refused to follow one of Scott's orders during the Depot Journey regarding the retrieval of one of the dog teams that had fallen into a crevasse.

Cecil Meares eventually resigned from the expedition months later for unsubstantiated reasons and returned home on the Terra Nova in March 1912.

Sometime after his arrival back in Britain, Cecil Meares had a meeting with Caroline Oates, who was conducting personal interviews in regards to the death of her son.

Cecil Meares bequeathed a lot of Meares' possessions and letters to the Royal British Columbia Museum.

Cecil Meares was portrayed by Melville Crawford in the 1948 film Scott of the Antarctic, and by Bill Nighy in the 1985 television serial The Last Place on Earth.