Dr Edward Wilson

The famous statue of Dr Edward Wilson, Cheltenham's Antarctic hero who died with Captain Scott at the South Pole around 29 March 1912.

When Cheltenham received news of the tragedy at the South Pole on 10 February 1913, shocked by the heroic loss of one of its own, a separate memorial fund was quickly started to raise money for a memorial to Wilson. A statue of him was created by Lady Scott (Scott's widow) and unveiled with full civic pageantry by Sir Clements Markham, in front of a large crowd on the Promenade on 9 July 1914.