We all (almost) kept personal diaries, for ourselves, for our families, our successors, or to quiet our own minds if troubled. Most of these diaries are now in the Scott Polar Research Institute, some with a ‘closed’ agreement to some forthcoming date. But John Rymill, our leader, did not keep a diary (so I believe), at least for many earlier months. It was long afterwards that some of us learned that he was dyslexic and averse to writing. I believe that during our first year, in the base, Brian Roberts, so meticulous and knowledgeable already in polar history, argued with John persistently on the absolute necessity for a leader to keep a diary.