Stocking chiller
In the run-up to Christmas, Royal Mail delivers festive cheer to customers across the globe, including the polar researchers and support staff from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
They spend Christmas on the other side of the world, far from their family and friends in the UK and the Christmas cards and presents we deliver from their loved ones are a heart-warming link to home over the festive season.
Like Royal Mail, they need to start thinking about Christmas well before December! So, to enable cards and gifts to reach the Antarctic in time for Christmas Day, items will need to start their long journey south by Tuesday 19 November.
The journey to the Antarctic
To cover the 9,000-mile journey from Cambridge to the BAS’s five research stations, mail initially travels by plane to the Falkland Islands, where it is loaded onto one of two BAS ships or occasionally a Royal Navy ice patrol vessel. This vessel can take up to two weeks to complete its journey to arrive in time for Christmas.
The British Antarctic Territory is the oldest territorial claim to a part of the continent. A regular postal service has served this area since the 1950s. In total, around 200 people from the UK are based on the frozen continent during the peak summer months. They are largely based at two main Antarctic research stations, Halley and Rothera, carrying out research into glaciology, climate change, geology, marine biology and oceanography. They are supported by field workers, engineers, mechanics and other professions who keep the stations running.
Due to it being summertime in the southern hemisphere, Christmas celebrations in the Antarctic take place in almost continual 24-hour daylight. At the largest research station, Rothera, there is a tradition of gathering on Christmas Eve for a sing-song and a quiz. Although some people do have to work on Christmas Day, most will enjoy a lie-in before getting up and calling home or opening cards and presents. There is often a Christmas-themed movie showing in the TV room at lunchtime before the main event at 4pm, when everyone sits down to a four-course meal. People then retire to the bar or TV room or wrap up and head outside for a walk.
Mail from the researchers and support staff, including any thank you letters, begin their journey back to the UK from the Rothera Post Office branch. There is also a Post Office at Port Lockroy in Antarctica, which was first established in 1944 and is run by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. It has four staff during the summer months (November to March), and they handle mail from any tourists who visit the continent each year.
James Miller, HR manager at the British Antarctic Survey said: ‘In an age of telecommunications where, even in the Antarctic, emails and phone calls are very much part of daily life, there’s very little that creates as much excitement as the arrival of mail.
‘In today’s digital age, the personal touch of a handwritten letter or card still counts for so much more, especially during the festive season. Spirits are always raised when the post bag arrives at our research stations.’
