Yes, I heard or watched a similar account, that at the final sort-out before setting off, Shackleton told the men to jettison every bit of gear they possibly could because carrying things slows you down and uses valuable energy. The banjo player held up his banjo and said something like Guess I'll have to leave this behind then, and Shackleton is supposed to have said no, to bring it, that they'd need the music.

Don't know how true this is, but it's a lovely story. (I'm sure there's another Cat thread on this topic because I seem to remember discussing it before...)