Shackleton had himself returned to London in June 1909, having reached a point only 97 miles from the South Pole. He had already served with Scott in the 1901-1903 National Antarctic Expedition. Also in 1909, the American Robert Peary reached the North Pole in April ('We cannot let America get the South Pole as well'), and the young Lieutenant 'Teddy' Evans of the Navigation School at Portsmouth was fancying himself as the hero of a new Polar exploit. Scott declared publicly his intention of entering the race to the South Pole for the second time on 14 September 1909