Richard Walter Richards

Richard Walter (Dick) Richards was born on 14 November 1893 in Bendigo, Australia. He attended Bendigo High School and studied mathematics and science at Melbourne University. He was lecturing at the Junior Technical School in Ballarat when he was selected as physicist on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition [Ross Sea Party], 1914-1917 (leader Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton).

Richards was a member of the party which had the task of laying a chain of depots across the Ross Ice Shelf towards the Beardmore Glacier, providing supplies for Shackleton's trans-polar party. As one of the few capable of hauling during the gruelling southern journey, he was instrumental in saving the lives of several companions, an achievement for which he was awarded the Albert Medal (later exchanged for the George Cross). On his return to the base at Cape Evans in July 1916, Richards became seriously ill and was looked after by John Lachlan Cope.

...