Sketches by Scott, Shackleton found

CAMBRIDGE, England, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Two blackboards with chalk drawings of penguins by Britain's most renowned Antarctic explorers have been found in a storeroom in Cambridge, England.

The sketches, both signed, were done by Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton during lecture tours after Antarctic expeditions in 1904 and 1909. They were rediscovered at the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University, The Telegraph reported.

"Some people may think they look a little crude but I think they are incredibly charming," said Huw Lewis-Jones, a curator who discovered the sketches. "They were drawn at public lectures in front of an enthusiastic audience, to laughter and to cheers, and then signed with a flourish."

Scott, a naval captain, became a national hero after leading an expedition to Antarctica, although he made little progress towards the South Pole. He died returning from the pole on a later expedition after being beaten there by Norwegian Roald Amundsen.

Shackleton, a former merchant marine officer, served in Scott's first expedition. He led his own expedition a few years later, getting within 100 miles of the South Pole before turning around.