# Harry Pennell — The Worst Journey in the World character guide

> Harry Pennell in The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Pennell, Commander Pennell

**First appearance:** 0003-the-worst-journey-in-the-world

## Snapshot

Commander of the Terra Nova, the ship that carries the expedition south and must survive the pack ice while its captain waits for men who may never return.

## Who they are

Pennell commands the vessel that is the expedition's only lifeline to the world, navigating the Ross Sea and the shifting pack with the whole enterprise riding on his judgment. His responsibility is peculiar: he must keep the ship and its crew ready while the sledging parties are away, never knowing how many will come back or when. The long months of waiting, and the decisions about when to sail and when to hold, make him a quiet counterweight to the drama on the ice.

## In the story

### [I: From England to South Africa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_worst_journey_in_the_world_se/chapters/i-from-england-to-south-africa)

Pennell is an untiring observer who kept a detailed hourly log of sea life. He later worked the Terra Nova back to Cardiff.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_worst_journey_in_the_world_se/characters/pennell
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_worst_journey_in_the_world_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_worst_journey_in_the_world_se/characters