The Duke of Cambridge has lavished praised on a group of soldiers who battled temperatures of -50C to recreate Captain Scott's 1,500 mile race against Amundsen to the South Pole.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the famous expedition, two teams struggled to the Earth's most southerly point in the Centenary Race.

Led by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Worsley, from Putney, the Amundsen team followed the exact route forged by the Norwegian adventurer in 1912.

TheScott team, led by Warrant Officer Mark Langridge, followed the British explorer's precise route including climbing the intimidating Beardmore Glacier.

The teams ensured history repeated itself by both reaching the South Pole on exactly the same day as their famous predecessors - Amundsen on January 9 and Scott on January 17.

As a tribute to Captain Scott and his team, Lt Col Worsley took with him a Polar Medal, awarded posthumously to Putney resident Captain Titus Oates who killed himself in the forlorn hope that it would help Scott and his comrades survive.

Thursday, March 29, marks the 100th anniversary of Captain Scott's death - 13 days after Captain Oates walked out into a blizzard.

The Duke, patron of the Centenary Race, said: "Hearing of your exploits as they unfolded - and their resonance with 1912 - lent your expedition an almost mythic aura.

"Reaching the South Pole a hundred years to the day as their forebears; and with you all the way went the Polar Medal of the valiant Captain Oates. "As a serving officer, it makes me so proud that, with the staunch support of The Royal British Legion, it is British soldiers who have achieved this great feat."

The expedition aims to raise £500,000 for The Royal British Legion's crucial work, providing care and support to serving and ex-Service people, and their families.

Now safely back in the UK, Lt Col Worsley reflected on both teams' achievement, he said: "It's been an absolute privilege for us to be able to follow in the footsteps of the great Polar pioneers.

"The journey has been formidably demanding, but so worthwhile knowing that we are raising money for The Royal British Legion’s fantastic work.

"What we have gone through to reach the Pole is nothing compared to what injured and disabled fellow Service men, friends and comrades, will have to go through for the rest of their lives."

The epic two-month journey saw both teams carry all their food and fuel across the ice in sledges weighing 140kg each.

An exhibition celebrating the legendary expedition is being staged at the Natural History Museum until September.