I am Just Going Outside

The first major biography, exhaustively researched from new material including major revelations involving his previously unknown and secret private life, of Lawrence Edward Grace 'Titus' Oates who became a dashing cavalry officer and hero in the Boer War, a successful jockey and who paid [pound]1,000 to join Scott's doomed South Pole expedition, before becoming a national hero for sacrificing himself to save his comrades. First biography for over 30 years of the enigmatic and private Captain Oates. Substantial new information from previously undisclosed sources, especially relating to his clashes with Scott. Having paid [pound]1,000 to join Scott's South Pole expedition, he was at centre stage in the unfolding tragedy, becoming a national hero for sacrificing himself to save his comrades. Fresh analysis of his military career, both as hero in the Boer War, where he was denied a VC, and later in Ireland. Offers a different perspective from the traditional myth of Scott's heroic failure and Oates' suicide. Examines Oates' private life and the role of his austere mother who exerted a powerful influence during his life and continued to control his memory long after his death, especially by ordering the destruction of his letters and diaries, kept hidden by her, and previously thought to have been destroyed, from her deathbed. Beautifully illustrated with maps and photographs, many previously unpublished.