Sir Eric Teichman (born Erik Teichmann; 16 January 1884 – 3 December 1944 in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) was a British

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, orientalist, travel writer and photographer. He was a son of Emil Teichmann and Mary Lydia Schroeter, and younger brother of Max Teichmann (1876, Eltham, Kent -1963) and Oskar Teichman (1880,

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

- 1959). He was educated at Gonville and Caius College,

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. At the time of his death, he had been serving as adviser to the British Embassy at Chungking.

Travels

Teichman has been described as "one of British diplomacy's dashing characters, flamboyantly enigmatic explorer-cum-special agent. He went on a number of "special missions" and "fact-finding journeys" throughout Central Asia, as early as before World War I. In 1935 he travelled by truck across the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...

Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...

, and there by pony and on foot across the Pamir and

Karakoram The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...

ranges to

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...

, and then to New Delhi. In 1943 he began his final foreign journey from Chongqing. After caravanning as far as

Lanzhou Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. H ...

, his truck continued along the outer Silk Road, across the Tarim basin, and over the Pamir Mountains to New Delhi. From there he flew back to England, where a few days later, at the age of 60, he was killed.

Murder

On 3 December 1944, whilst at home at

Honingham Hall Honingham Hall was a large country house at Honingham in Norfolk. History The house was commissioned by Sir Thomas Richardson, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench in 1605. After passing down the Richardson family it was bought by Richard Bayli ...

, his estate in

, England, Teichman heard the sound of gunfire nearby. He went out to confront two poachers (Private George E. Smith of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and Private Leonard S. Wijpacha of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

) who were trespassing in the grounds of his estate. Both intruders were American soldiers based at a nearby USAAF airfield and each was armed with an M1 carbine. Teichman was killed during the confrontation, receiving a fatal

gunshot wound A gunshot wound (GSW) is a penetrating injury caused by a projectile (e.g. a bullet) from a gun (typically firearm or air gun). Damages may include bleeding, bone fractures, organ damage, wound infection, loss of the ability to move part of th ...

to the head. Private Smith (army serial number: 33288266) was given a psychological examination in January 1945, subsequently

court-martialled A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

RAF Attlebridge Royal Air Force Attlebridge or more simply RAF Attlebridge is a former Royal Air Force station located near Attlebridge and northwest of Norwich, Norfolk, England. History Attlebridge airfield had runways of 1,220, 1,120 and 1,080 yards len ...

with a conviction of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

. He was executed by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

on the gallows at

HMP Shepton Mallet HMP Shepton Mallet, sometimes known as Cornhill, is a former prison located in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England. When it closed in 2013, it was the United Kingdom's oldest operating prison, and had been since the closure of Lancaster Castle, ...

on 8 May 1945 (i.e. VE day), despite appeals for clemency, including from Lady Ellen Teichman. His companion, Private Wijpacha was charged with being an accessory to murder, but was not sentenced to death.History page
Wymondham College Smith's remains are buried in grave 52, row 3 in

Oise-Aisne American Cemetery Plot E The Oise-Aisne American Cemetery Plot E is the fifth plot at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial, an American military cemetery in northern France that comprises four main burial plots (i.e., A, B, C and D) containing the remains of 6, ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Teichman was buried in the churchyard of St Andrew's Church, Honingham. His grave is in the corner plot, directly in line with the now-demolished Honingham Hall. His widow was buried in the same grave in 1969.

Literary works

* Teichman, Eric. 1916. "Routes in Kan-su". ''

The Geographical Journal ''The Geographical Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). It publishes papers covering research on all aspects of geography. It also publishes shorter C ...

''. Wiley. 48 (6): 473–79. .
''Travels of a Consular Officer in North-West China: With Original Maps of Shensi and Kansu and Illustrated by Photographs Taken by the Author''
1921.
''Travels of a Consular Officer in Eastern Tibet: Together with a History of the Relations between China, Tibet and India''
1922. *
Journey to Turkistan
', 1937. * ''Affairs of China'', 1938.

References

Sources

Winchester, Simon Simon Winchester (born 28 September 1944) is a British-American author and journalist. In his career at ''The Guardian'' newspaper, Winchester covered numerous significant events, including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal. Winchester has ...

''The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom'', Harper Collins, 2008.

External links

Archives Hub: Teichmann Papers
at www.archiveshub.ac.uk * at www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Teichman 1884 births 1944 deaths Explorers of Central Asia British diplomats British orientalists English photographers English travel writers British civilians killed in World War II Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Deaths by firearm in England People from Honingham People murdered in England Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire 20th-century British diplomats