Ceremony to mark hero of Scott tragedy

A FAMOUS moment in British expedition history is to be honoured at a special event at Meanwood Park in Leeds on Saturday.

On March 17 1912, Captain Lawrence Oates, suffering from severe frostbite on the return journey from the South Pole as part of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s historic expedition went to try and rescue members of his party trapped in a blizzard with little or no rations.

Oates knowingly walked out into the frozen wastes to his certain death and was never seen again.

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His story, coupled with the deaths of Captain Scott and his colleagues quickly became known throughout the world.

Now, a 100 years on, a special event to mark the death of Captain Oates, whose body was never found, will take place on Saturday, at noon at Meanwood Park, which was the Oates family’s home before it was sold it to Leeds Corporation in 1954 for the people of the city to enjoy as a public park.

The family lived at the house and estate known as Meanwoodside from the 1830s when Leeds lawyer Edward Oates bought it, and it is known his grandson Lawrence was a regular visitor.

The ceremony will also see the unveiling of new information panels and a blue plaque to tell the story of the Oates family in Leeds.

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