hopes on the discovery of oil, but scientific expeditions in 1919 and 1920 failed to provide evidence of its presence; substantial new deposits of coal and iron ore were discovered. Thereafter Bruce was too ill to continue with his involvement. The new company had expended most of its capital on these prospecting ventures, and although it continued to exist, under various ownerships, until 1952, there is no record of profitable extraction. Its assets and claims were finally acquired by a rival concern. Later life Polar Medals withheld During his lifetime Bruce received many awards: the Gold Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in 1904; the Patron's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1910; the Neill prize and Medal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1913, and the Livingstone Medal of the American Geographical Society in 1920. He also received an honorary LLD degree from the University of Aberdeen. The honour that eluded him was the Polar Medal, awarded by the Sovereign on the recommendation of the Royal Geographical Society. The Medal was awarded to the members of every other British or Commonwealth Antarctic expedition during the early 20th century, but the SNAE was the exception; the medal was withheld. Bruce, and those close to him, blamed Markham for this omission. The matter was raised, repeatedly, with anyone thought to have influence. Robert Rudmose Brown, chronicler of the Scotia voyage and later Bruce's first biographer, wrote in a 1913 letter to the President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society that this neglect was "a slight to Scotland and to Scottish endeavour". Bruce wrote in March 1915 to the President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, who agreed in his reply that "Markham had much to answer for". After Markham's death in 1916 Bruce sent a long letter to his Member of Parliament, Charles Price, detailing Sir Clements's malice towards him and the Scottish expedition, ending with a heartfelt cry on behalf of his old comrades: "Robertson is dying without his well won white ribbon! The Mate is dead!! The Chief Engineer is dead!!! Everyone as good men as have ever served on any Polar Expedition, yet they did not receive the white ribbon." No action followed this plea. No award had been made nearly a century later, when the matter was raised in the Scottish Parliament. On 4 November 2002 MSP Michael Russell tabled a motion relating to