This post by Melanie McGhee, Business and Visitor Attraction Assistant, explores the way that popular brands, focusing on Colman’s, contributed towards British expeditions to the South Pole. Although there were many attempts to claim the South Pole, Colman’s donated their products generously to the Discovery, Nimrod and Terra Nova expeditions. In the Colman’s Mustard Shop and Museum, we are proud to have on display a jar of mustard (pictured) that Shackleton took on the Nimrod expedition. We are proud to shed light on the history that surrounds this artefact.

Colman’s ‘Mixed Mustard’, donated to Shackleton’s 1907 Nimrod expedition

Discovery (1901-4)
The year was 1901, and England was poised for a venture into the only continent on Earth that remained unexplored: the South Pole. Robert Falcon Scott, a graduate of the Royal Naval College, who had previously sailed in the Mediterranean, was appointed captain. His crew consisted of Navy officers…