Antarctic expedition artefacts up for sale

SKIS AND POLES TO BE AUCTIONED

- By IAN LEWIS

AN incredibly rare opportunity to own a piece of history will go under the hammer in the New Year.

A pair of skis and poles used by Devon-born Antarctic explorer Frank Vernon Browning, who was part of Captain Scott's famously ill-fated expedition to the South Pole, between 1910 and 1913, are being auctioned by Adam Partridge Auctioneers and Valuers.

The skis and poles which have a guide price of £10,000 to £20,000 were donated by Browning to Torquay's St Marychurch and Babbacombe Constitutional Club in 1930, the same year he passed away, where they have adorned the walls ever since, only leaving once, five years ago, for an exhibition on Browning's life at Torquay museum.

Now known as the Conservative Club, the items are being auctioned off on January 12, at the Antique Village, in Hele, to raise funds for the upkeep of the club.