The first British explorer to reach the South Pole was Sir Ernest Shackleton, although he did not quite reach the exact geographic South Pole.

Here's the breakdown:

* Roald Amundsen was the first person to reach the South Pole in 1911, leading a Norwegian expedition.

* Robert Falcon Scott led a British expedition to the South Pole, arriving just a month after Amundsen. Sadly, Scott and his team perished on their return journey.

* Sir Ernest Shackleton led three British expeditions to Antarctica, including one in 1908-1909 where he reached the furthest south anyone had ever reached at that time, less than 100 miles from the South Pole.

While Shackleton didn't quite reach the South Pole himself, his expeditions were crucial in paving the way for future explorations of the continent.