HER day job involves conserving some of the world’s most famous historic ships including HMS Victory... but now a senior conservator, from Haslemere, will be living a dream, working in the Antarctic.

Diana McCormack’s childhood Antarctic dream will come true after she beat hundreds of applicants worldwide to volunteer on a famous project.

Diana, 36, is joining a team from the New Zealand-based Antarctic Heritage Trust (NZAHT), which cares for the expedition bases of the Antarctic explorers including Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton and Sir Edmund Hillary for six weeks, as its first-ever Conservation Ambassador.

The senior conservator in the Historic Ships team at The National Museum of the Royal Navy, based in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard said: “Every day I walk past the statue of British naval officer and possibly the world’s most famous polar explorer – Captain Robert Falcon Scott, who is a hero of mine.

“This is a dream come true for me and I am honoured to be working on one of the most difficult jobs in conservation.

“The extreme temperatures make for a challenging conservation environment – not just for the wooden huts themselves, but the everyday contents found inside, including bedding, cans, diaries, food and drink.

“I’m hoping that my experience of working on wooden ships like Victory which has its own battle with salt water, wind and wear and tear – and the amazing collection of artefacts we have – will hold me in good stead.

“I am really looking forward to working with some incredible people in a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore the margins of the world,” Diana added.

“We’ve had lots of advice, even including how to deal with an angry penguin.

“I’m not sure how I will deal with the temperature, which in the summer dips to minus 40 degrees Centigrade with the wind chill, and I am hoping that the team like my cooking.”

The conservation expert will be working on Ross Island, which was the base for many of the early expeditions to Antarctica.

She will be assisting with the annual maintenance programme on explorers Scott’s and Shackleton’s huts and Hillary’s Trans-Antarctic Expedition hut from the 1950s.

The scheme attracted hundreds of applications from around the world and was open to those who had graduated in conservation within five years.

As part of her role as conservation ambassador, Diana will be updating social media followers on her stint in the Antarctic and doing outreach work with young people when she returns to the UK.

Diana – pictured standing next to the statue of Captain Scott in Portsmouth Dockyard – will be posting regular updates on www.nmrn.org.uk

• For more details about the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust visit www.nzaht.org