Who We Are
Founder
The James Caird Society was founded by Harding McGregor Dunnett (1909–2000), author of Shackleton’s Boat: The Story of the James Caird.
Born just two months after Ernest Shackleton achieved his Furthest South on the Nimrod Expedition, Dunnett later attended Dulwich College as a schoolboy when the James Caird was presented to the College by John Quiller Rowett.
He will be long remembered with gratitude for his roaring laughter, his relentless devotion to promoting Shackleton’s name and reputation, and his outspoken letters to national newspapers in support of the Shackleton cause.
President
The Hon. Alexandra Shackleton is Sir Ernest’s granddaughter. She succeeded her father, Lord Shackleton KG OBE PC (1911–94), the explorer’s younger son, as President of the James Caird Society, and has been at the heart of all its activities since the early days.
She was instrumental with Harding Dunnett in displaying the James Caird at the London Boat Show in 1994, and in lending support to Trevor Potts’s ‘four-man’ (three men and a woman) In the Wake of Shackleton expedition.
Since then, there have been a great many expeditions of which our President has been Patron, and she remains tireless in representing the James Caird Society at a wide range of important and memorable events.
She has also launched two ships, two fishing boats and four other vessels!
The annual JCS newsletter includes a feature known as ‘Our President’s Year’, in which you can read more about her continuing work honouring the Shackleton legacy.
Chairman
Rear Admiral Nick Lambert took over the Chairmanship of the James Caird Society from Admiral Sir James Perowne KBE in November 2017.
He joined the Royal Navy as a seaman in March 1977, subsequently gaining an honours degree in geography at the University of Durham in 1983. He spent much time at sea, including on HM ships Birmingham, Ark Royal and Cardiff, and commanded HMS Brazen and HMS Newcastle.
He was captain of the ice patrol ship Endurance from 2005–2007, deploying for two deeply rewarding seasons in Antarctica, after which he commanded Task Force 158 in the North Arabian Gulf, tasked with the protection of Iraq’s economically vital offshore oil infrastructure.
Thereafter, he was Deputy Flag Officer Sea Training from 2008 to 2009 before assuming the role of Assistant Chief of Staff Operations and Capability Integration at Navy Command Headquarters in November 2009.
Promoted to Rear Admiral, he became the UK National Hydrographer in 2010, a post he held until the end of 2012.
Nick has also been Chairman of the Friends of the Scott Polar Research Institute, so his polar credentials are impeccable!
Committee Members
President: The Hon Alexandra Shackleton
Chairman: Rear Admiral Nick Lambert
Hon Secretary: Jane Kang
Dinner Secretary: Brad Borkan
Hon Treasurer: Richard Andrews
Newsletter Editor: Lee Kenny
Committee: Seb Coulthard, Gill Faragher, David McLean, Susan Rose and Roger Slade
