Markham had agreed to Shackleton's appointment as third officer on the "Discovery" following a recommendation from the expedition's principal private donor. He had given sympathy and support after Shackleton's early return from the expedition on grounds of ill health, and had backed the latter's unsuccessful application for a Royal Navy commission. Later, after Shackleton had confided his intention to lead an expedition of his own, Markham supplied a generous testimonial, describing Shackleton as "well-fitted to have charge of men in an enterprise involving hardship and peril", and "admirably fitted for the leader of a Polar Expedition."