Sir Ernest Shackleton made three Arctic expeditions with the first being from 1901 to 1904 on Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Expedition where he was sent home early due to health reasons. In 1907 he led the Nimrod Expedition to reach the South Pole which was not obtained. He did venture the farthest south at that time being only 112.2 statute miles from the Pole for which he was Knighted upon his return. In 1912 Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole, which led to Shackleton's 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition where he tried to make the first land crossing of the continent from sea to sea. There was another support group that was to land on the opposite side and leave a supply depot trail to the foot of Beardmore glacier. This was essential as they could not carry enough supplies for the entire trip. They completed their mission with 3 casualties. Shackleton's ship "Endurance" got locked in pack ice and drifted north trapped in the ice. Eventually the ship was crushed and sank in the Weddell sea. They lived on the ice until it started to break up and then used the life boats to reach Elephant Island. Shackleton and five other men then sailed 800 miles of open ocean in the life boat "James Caird" to reach a whaling outpost in South Georgia where he mustered a rescue expedition to retrieve all crew members. Shackleton will always be known as an Arctic adventurer. This tin trunk was used by Shackleton to store his Naval dress uniform. It has a black finish with a "HILL BROs" brass plaque and an inscribed brass plaque marked "Sir Ernest H. Shackleton./C.V.O.". There are two latches with a locking mechanism in the center. The inside has a white finish with an area for a hat and several tie down loops. There are also two handles on either end and one at the rear. With a letter from Henry Poole & Co. stating that they examined the trunk and that it was from the late Victorian era and that it had not been tampered with and would have housed his uniform.

Good, the exterior has scattered scratches, dings and surface oxidation. The makers label has bent and the brass has a dark aged patina.