Shackleton Fund Celebrates Ten Years of Achievement

Falkland Islands Newsletter No.88
March 2005

Lady Thatcher was guest of honour at a reception in FIGO in London on February 1st, to celebrate ten years of the Shackleton Scholarship Fund. She joined Scholars, donors to the Fund, members of the London Committee and other friends of the Falklands in admiring an exhibition of photographs arranged with the help of the Fund by Bjorn Gillsater, son of the well known Swedish photographer Sven Gillsater, who had visited the Islands in 1968-9.

In a speech of welcome the Chairman of the London Committee of the Fund, David Tatham, recalled the respect and affection which everyone shared for Sir Ernest Shackleton and his son Lord Shackleton and the decision in 1995 to commemorate their achievements by establishing a scholarship fund. There had been an overwhelming response both in the Islands and in Britain and the total raised amounted to about £300,000, yielding about £15,000 a year. Over the past ten years the Fund had spent over £110,000 awarding 66 scholarships.

Volcanoes to tooth fish - moto cross to painters

Academic scholars had covered a wide range of subjects - from lichens to place-names; from volcanoes to tooth-fish - and contributed a great deal to the study of the Falklands environment. What was novel in the Shackleton Scholarship Fund was the category of Quality of Life awards. These were scholarships given to performers, artists, sportsmen and women who visited the Islands to enrich the quality of life of their people. Drummers, jazz groups, a golf coach, a moto-cross instructor, plenty of painters, a horse tamer, a cook - the variety was dazzling. All had brought their skills to the Islands to instruct or delight.

The Gillsater Portfolio

The latest Quality of Life scholar, Mr Bjorn Gillsater, also spoke, thanking the Fund for their help in arranging the exhibition of his father Sven Gillsater's photographs of life and people in Camp and Stanley. He recalled his parents' visit to the Islands in 1968-9. Sven Gillsater had died in 2001, but his widow Harriet and their family were happily present. The photographs now featured in a website www.gillsaterphoto.com and the framed pictures themselves would soon be on their way to the Islands to form part of the collection of Stanley's splendid museum.

The Reception was hosted by Miss Sukey Cameron, who kindly arranged the function. Others present included the Hon Alexandra Shackleton, daughter of Lord Shackleton, Air Commodore Peter Johnson, Lady Hooper, Mr Eddie Colgate and, among Scholars, Dr Klaus Dodds and Mr Alasdair Pinkerton. Graham Bound was there for BBC Calling the Falklands and Peter Pepper for the Falkland Islands Newsletter.

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