Sir Claude Aurelius Elliott

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(27 July 1888 – 21 November 1973) was an English

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled aft ...

who became head master of

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

at Windsor in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

, and was later provost at the same school. An element of this later appointment is said to have been to keep an eye on his successor

Robert Birley Sir Robert Birley KCMG (14 July 1903 – 22 July 1982) was an English educationalist who was head master of Charterhouse School, then Eton College, and an anti-apartheid campaigner. He acquired the nickname "Red Robert", as even his moderate lib ...

Early life

Elliott was born in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, the only child of Sir Charles Alfred Elliott (1835–1911), the Lieutenant Governor of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, and his second wife, Alice Louisa. Sir Charles had three sons and a daughter from a previous marriage. From

Rokeby School Rokeby School is an 11–16 secondary school for boys located in Canning Town, Greater London, England. In 2010 the school relocated to new building on the Barking Road. Facilities at the school include technology and ICT rooms, a six court i ...

, Claude Elliott was elected a

King's Scholar A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar (elected on the basis of good academic performance and usually qualifying for reduced fees) of one of certain public schools. These include Eton College; The King's School, Canterbury; The King's Schoo ...

in 1902. He had an undistinguished scholastic career at Eton, but on going up to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, he discovered a natural bent as an

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, taking his BA in 1909, and becoming a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes f ...

in 1910, and a

Tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in c ...

in 1914. On 17 June 1913, he married Gillian (d. 1966), the daughter of Frederick Turner Bloxam, chief Chancery Registrar, with whom he had a son,

Nicholas Elliott John Nicholas Rede Elliott (15 November 1916 – 13 April 1994) was an MI6 Intelligence Officer. His MI6 career was notable for his involvement with the Lionel Crabb affair in the 1950s and the flight of double agent Kim Philby to Moscow in 1 ...

(1916–1994), who worked in

Military Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from ...

during and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and who was awarded the US

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

for his services to the Office of Strategic Services.D. H. Macindoe, ‘Elliott, Sir Claude Aurelius (1888–1973)’, rev.,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

(2004).

First World War

As a boy, Elliott enjoyed mountaineering, which interest he practised in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, Switzerland, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, hoping one day to climb the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

and the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...

, but he was prevented from pursuing this by a fall in the Lake District in 1912, which broke his kneecap and damaged his hand. These injuries did not stop him climbing, but they prevented active service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. Instead, Elliott served in a

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

unit in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

in 1915, after which he spent the remainder of the War at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

, being appointed

in 1920 for his War service. After the War he returned to Jesus College, where he served on the university's Financial Board, the General Board, and the Council of Senate.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'', Obituary, 24 November 1973.

Eton College

Elliott was head master of

from 1933 to 1949. His had been an unlikely selection. For example, he was the first head master of Eton who was not in holy orders, and neither his preaching in chapel nor his teaching in school were as impressive as those of his

charisma Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

tic predecessor,

Cyril Alington Cyril Argentine Alington (22 October 1872 – 16 May 1955) was an English educationalist, scholar, cleric, and author. He was successively the headmaster of Shrewsbury School and Eton College. He also served as chaplain to King George V and ...

. However, he was an effective headmaster who was respected by the school's governing body for his sound judgement and his administrative skill. He was known to his students as "The Emperor", because of his imposing presence and his coolness towards the majority of his pupils. Elliott made no significant change to the school, believing that the selection of good and effective teachers was the school's best way forward. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, some parents suggested that Eton should be moved to a location safe from the bombs of the enemy. If London's poor could not move from London, said Elliott, the Etonians would not move from Eton. Later, in 1940, two bombs did actually fall on Eton, only just missing a library full of studying boys, but this only made him more determined to stand firm. Elliott never did move the school. In 1949, after sixteen years as head master, Elliott was appointed Eton College's provost, a post he held until 1965. During his fifteen years as provost he launched an appeal to rebuild and modernise the college. He was responsible for the replacement of the shattered glass in the chapel windows with designs by

Evie Hone Eva Sydney Hone RHA (22 April 1894 – 13 March 1955), usually known as Evie, was an Irish painter and stained glass artist.Nicola Gordon Bowe (May 2009)Hone, Eva Sydney (1894–1955) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', online edit ...

and John Piper. As provost it was said that he had done more for the fabric of the school than any of his predecessors for five centuries.''

'', 10 December 1973.

Later years

On his retirement, Elliott continued mountaineering, living in

Buttermere Buttermere is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. The adjacent village of Buttermere takes its name from the lake. Historically in Cumberland, the lake is now within the county of Cumbria. Owned by the National Trust, it forms ...

where he could see the mountains he loved so well. He was personally acquainted with all the famous climbers of his time. He made forty visits to the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

, and numerous other expeditions in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, the Lake District and

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

. Had it not been for his earlier climbing injuries he would have taken part in the

Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow ...

expeditions of 1921–1924. Elliott was president of the

Alpine Club The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as: :"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of whic ...

from 1950 to 1952. in that capacity, he selected John Hunt to lead the successful 1953 Everest expedition. Elliott was a successful oarsman, being a member of the

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior t ...

. He was knighted in 1958. He died at his home, Lower Gatesgarth, Buttermere, on 21 November 1973 aged 85.

References

External links

Sir Claude Aurelius Elliott on the
National Archives
Sir Claude Aurelius Elliott in ''Time'' 1965
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Claude Aurelius 1888 births 1973 deaths Indian people of British descent Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Knights Bachelor Presidents of the Alpine Club (UK) English mountain climbers Head Masters of Eton College People educated at Eton College Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Members of Leander Club English male rowers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Eton King's Scholars Provosts of Eton College