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This medal was awarded to Nan Anderson 'for valuable services'. She was the secretary of natural scientist William Speirs Bruce, the organiser and leader of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE), 1902–1904. He named Cape Anderson after her in the South Orkney Islands. The medal shows the ship Scotia in the Weddell Sea and Ormond House where the expedition wintered over on Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands.
Although overshadowed in terms of prestige by Robert Falcon Scott's concurrent Discovery Expedition, the SNAE completed a full programme of exploration and scientific work. Its achievements included the establishment of a staffed meteorological station (the first in Antarctic territory), and the discovery of new land to the east of the Weddell Sea. Its large collection of biological and geological specimens, together with those from Bruce's earlier travels, led to the establishment of the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory in 1906.
After the SNAE, Bruce led no more Antarctic expeditions, although he made regular Arctic trips. His achievements, unlike those of the polar adventurers Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen, soon faded from public awareness.