Quintin Theodore Petroc Molesworth Riley (27 October 1905 – 25 December 1980) was a British

Arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

who was awarded the

Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...

Biography

Quintin Riley was born in 1905 in

Little Petherick Little Petherick () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of St Issey, in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south of Padstow and west of Wadebridge. Little Petherick lies in the valley of Little Petheri ...

, Cornwall, the youngest son of the eminent Anglo-Catholic layman,

Athelstan Riley John Athelstan Laurie Riley (10 August 1858 – 17 November 1945) was an English Hymnwriter, hymn writer and hymn translator. Biography Riley was born in Paddington, London, and attended Pembroke College, Oxford, where obtained his BA in 1881 ...

. He was educated at

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

, where he met

Gino Watkins Henry George "Gino" Watkins Royal Geographical Society, FRGS (29 January 1907 – c. 20 August 1932) was a British Arctic exploration, Arctic explorer and nephew of Bolton Eyres-Monsell, 1st Viscount Monsell. Biography Born in London, he was ...

(1907–1932). He continued his education at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, where he graduated in 1927. In 1930–31 Riley joined the

British Arctic Air Route Expedition The British Arctic Air Route Expedition (BAARE) was a privately funded expedition to the east coast and interior of the island of Greenland from 1930 to 1931. Led by Gino Watkins, it aimed to improve maps and charts of poorly surveyed sections of ...

as a meteorologist. This expedition consisted in a team of fourteen men led by Watkins with the mission to survey and monitor weather conditions in the little explored east coast of

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. Barely a year later Riley returned to Greenland with the smaller 1932-33 East Greenland Expedition, led by Watkins as well. He was one of the only three remaining team members following Watkin's death at

Tuttilik Tuttilik (old spelling ''Tugtilik''), also known as Lake Fjord, is a fjord in the municipality of Sermersooq, southeastern Greenland.GoogleEarth Tundra climate prevails in the region of the fjord, the average annual temperature in the area being ...

Fjord. Riley next joined the 1934-1937 British Graham Land Expedition led by his former Greenland teammate

John Rymill John Riddoch Rymill (13 March 1905 – 7 September 1968) was an Australian polar explorer, who had the rare second clasp added to his Polar Medal. Early life Rymill was born at Penola, South Australia, the second son of Robert Rymill (7 J ...

. In 1938 Riley joined the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

and became active in Norway and Iceland – among other places – during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Towards the end of WW2, Riley was appointed Commanding Officer of

No. 30 Commando No. 30 Commando, from 1943 to 1946 known as 30 Assault Unit, was a British Commando unit during the Second World War, originally formed to gather intelligence. History Formation In a 2012 documentary, Dieppe Uncovered, the historian David O'Ke ...

– the brainchild of Commander

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

. Riley died in a road accident on Christmas Day 1980 while he was living in retirement in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

.Quintin Theodore Petroc Molesworth Riley; Biographical notes
/ref>

Honours

The

Riley Glacier Riley Glacier is a heavily crevassed glacier, 14 nautical miles (26 km) long and 17 nautical miles (31 km) wide, flowing westward from the west side of Palmer Land into George VI Sound between the Traverse Mountains and Mount Dixey. F ...

Palmer Land Palmer Land () is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica that lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the Advisory Committee on Antarctic N ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, was named after him.

References

External links

Essex Chronicle - Quintin relished adventuring but he found 'normal' home life difficultArchives - Riley, British Arctic Air Route Expedition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Quintin 1905 births 1980 deaths British explorers of the Arctic English explorers English polar explorers Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Military personnel from Cornwall People educated at Lancing College Recipients of the Polar Medal Royal Marines Commando officers Royal Marines personnel of World War II

Biography

Honours

Further reading

See also

References

External links