conclusions" relating to global warming from its research, and saw this contribution as a "fitting tribute to Britain's forgotten polar hero, William Speirs Bruce". An hour-long BBC television documentary on Bruce presented by Neil Oliver in 2011 contrasted his meticulous science with his rivals' aim of enhancing imperial prestige. A new biographer, Peter Speak (2003), claims that the SNAE was "by far the most cost-effective and carefully planned scientific expedition of the Heroic Age". The same author considers reasons why Bruce's efforts to capitalise on this success met with failure, and suggests a combination of his shy, solitary, uncharismatic nature and his "fervent" Scottish nationalism. Bruce seemingly lacked public relations skills and the ability to promote his work, after the fashion of Scott and Shackleton; a lifelong friend described him as being "as prickly as the Scottish thistle itself". On occasion he behaved tactlessly, as with Jackson over the question of the specimens brought back from Franz Josef Land, and on another occasion with the Royal Geographical Society, over the question of a minor expense claim. As to his nationalism, he wished to see Scotland on an equal footing with other nations. His national pride was intense; in a Preparatory Note to The Voyage of the Scotia he wrote: "While 'Science' was the talisman of the Expedition, 'Scotland' was emblazoned on its flag". This insistence on emphasising the Scottish character of his enterprises could be irksome to those who did not share his passion. He retained the respect and devotion of those whom he led, and of those who had known him longest. John Arthur Thomson, who had known Bruce since Granton, wrote of him when reviewing Rudmose Brown's 1923 biography: "We never heard him once grumble about himself, though he was neither to hold or bend when he thought some injustice was being done to, or slight cast on, his men, on his colleagues, on his laboratory, on his Scotland. Then one got glimpses of the volcano which his gentle spirit usually kept sleeping." See also List of recipients of the W. S. Bruce Medal Notes and references Citations Sources Online sources External links William Speirs Bruce Collection at the University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2017-09-11 19th-century biologists 19th-century explorers 19th-century Scottish people 1867 births 1921 deaths Academics of Heriot-Watt University Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Explorers of Antarctica Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People educated at