John Henry Stokes MBE BEM (28 August 1945 – 10 January 2016), known as Brummie' Stokes, was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

soldier and mountaineer, known for his successful summit of Everest in 1976.

Personal life

Stokes was born in 1945 in Hamstead, then a mining village straddling the border of South

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England, hence his nickname of 'Brummie'. His autobiography, ''Soldiers & Sherpas, A Taste For Adventure'', was published in 1988. He died in January 2016, and was survived by his wife, Lynn, and their two sons.

Military service

At the age of seventeen, Stokes joined the

Royal Green Jackets The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). History The Royal Green Jackets was formed on 1 January 1966 by the amalgam ...

, an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

. Three years later, he joined the SAS Regiment. With the SAS he saw action in the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

. He left the army in 1985. He was awarded a British Empire Medal for his nineteen years' work in the Special Air Service. He was well liked by all his fellow Soldiers.

Mountaineering

Stokes took part in an expedition to

Nuptse Nuptse or Nubtse (Sherpa: नुबचे, Wylie: Nub rtse, ) is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Mahalangur Himal, in the Nepalese Himalayas. It lies WSW of Mount Everest. The main peak, Nuptse I at an elevation of , was first climbed ...

in 1975, in which four members of the team died. The next year, during a British Army expedition to Everest in 1976, he reached the summit along with fellow SAS colleague Michael Lane. Stokes lost all his toes and part of each foot to

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...

. Nonetheless, Stokes became only the third Briton to conquer Everest. In 1984, while climbing on the north face of Everest (having proved himself by climbing

Denali Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helm ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

), an avalanche wiped out advanced base camp, killing one of the members and injuring several others, and Stokes' neck was broken. After leaving the army, he was part of an attempt to conquer Everest's last unclimbed route, its northeast ridge, accessed through

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Although he succeeded in climbing the ridge, the summit could not be reached due to weather conditions, and Stokes was partially paralysed by

cerebral oedema Cerebral edema is excess accumulation of fluid (edema) in the intracellular or extracellular spaces of the brain. This typically causes impaired nerve function, increased pressure within the skull, and can eventually lead to direct compressi ...

Charity work

In 1991, with his wife, Stokes established and ran the 'Taste for Adventure Centre', a registered charity and outdoor activity centre for less privileged children, at

Credenhill Credenhill is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. The population of this civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 2,271. History Credenhill village has had military connections since 80 BC, when Iron Age Celts constructed ...

. He was made a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) for this work in 2004.Henry Stokes&exact=John Henry Stokes&atleast=&similar=
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Bibliography

References

External links

Taste for Adventure Website

– 1976 Mount Everest Expedition details {{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, John Brummie 1945 births 2016 deaths People from Hamstead Royal Green Jackets soldiers Special Air Service soldiers Recipients of the British Empire Medal Members of the Order of the British Empire British summiters of Mount Everest Military personnel from the West Midlands (county) British Army personnel of the Falklands War