Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Edward Felix Norton (21 February 1884 – 3 November 1954) was a British army officer and mountaineer.

Early life

He attended

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

, and then joined artillery units in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He had been introduced to mountain climbing at the home in the Alps of his grandfather,

Alfred Wills Sir Alfred Wills (11 December 1828 – 9 August 1912) was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales and a well-known mountaineer. He was the third President of the Alpine Club, from 1863 to 1865. Early life Wills was the second son of W ...

, a well-known

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

and president of the

Alpine Club Alpine clubs are typically large social clubs that revolve around climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. Many alpine clubs also take on aspects typically reserved for local sport associations, providing education and training courses, se ...

(1863-1865).

Career

Mountaineering

His experience led to his taking part in the British 1922 Everest and 1924 Everest expeditions, reaching high elevations both years. His height of —reached in 1924 without using oxygen on the Great Couloir route—was a world altitude record which stood for nearly 30 years, only being surpassed during the unsuccessful Swiss expedition of 1952. In 1924, he took over leadership of the expedition when General

Charles Granville Bruce Brigadier-General The Honourable Charles Granville Bruce, Order of the Bath, CB, Royal Victorian Order, MVO (7 April 1866 – 12 July 1939) was a veteran Himalayas, Himalayan mountaineer and leader of the 1922 British Mount Everest expedition, s ...

fell ill, and Norton was praised for handling affairs in the aftermath of the disappearance of

George Mallory George Herbert Leigh-Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English Mountaineering, mountaineer who participated in the first three British Mount Everest expeditions from the early to mid-1920s. He and climbing partner An ...

and Andrew Irvine.

Military career

He served at Staff Colleges in India and England, and commanded the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and later the Madras District in the 1930s. He relinquished his appointment of BGS Aldershot Command, and his temporary brigadier's rank, in April 1938. From 1940 to 1941, he was

acting governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or a ...

and then Commander-in-Chief of

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. He retired in 1942, after a near fatal riding accident.

Later years

From 1952 until 1953, he advised John Hunt that previous Everest assault camps had been too low, and in 1953 it should be on or very close under the Southern Summit.

References

Major Work

Mountaineering

*''The Fight for Everest 1924'' (1925) Published by Longmans, Green (1925)

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Edward F. 1884 births 1954 deaths British Army generals of World War II British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of World War I British mountain climbers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order English mountain climbers Governors of Hong Kong Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich People educated at Charterhouse School Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Artillery officers