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John William Rolfe Kempe (29 October 1917 – 10 May 2010) was headmaster of Gordonstoun School from 1968 to 1978, during the period that the Princes
Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...
and
Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
arrived at the school. He was a noted mountaineer and a member 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 ...
.


Early life

He was born in
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
, the son of an officer in the Colonial Service. His father died of fever when he was four and Kempe was brought up in
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
by his mother. He was educated at
Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...
and
Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...
, where he read economics and mathematics. At Cambridge he joined the
University Air Squadron University Air Squadrons (UAS), are Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF. That offers training and flight training to university students, with the goal of attracting students into a ca ...
and in 1937 was commissioned in the
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...
. In 1941, he was posted to No. 602 Squadron RAF, which was initially stationed at RAF Drem near Haddington. During the Battle of Britain, the squadron was relocated to Sussex where Kempe flew Spitfires. In May 1942, he was promoted to
squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...
and the following year was
mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
. From 1944 he flew, principally Mosquitos, in North Africa and acted as a convoy escort on the Malta run. Before being
demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...
in 1946, he was again mentioned in despatches.


Mountaineering

In 1952 he was a member of the British N.W. Garhwal Expedition with John Jackson. The party went on to attempt an ascent of the unclimbed 6,500 metres (21,300 ft) Nilkanta, on the route they bivouaced at 16,000’ and 17,000’, but ultimately they were defeated by heavy snow. In 1954, Kempe led a party to
Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and ...
, the 3rd highest mountain in the world, which had not then been climbed. This was intended as a reconnaissance expedition, the party also included John William Tucker (who wrote a book about the expedition's activities), S. R. Jackson (the brother of John Jackson), T. H. Braham, G. C. Lewis and medical officer, Dr. Donald Stafford Matthews, they explored the upper Yalung glacier with the intention to discover a practicable route to the great ice-shelf that runs across the south-west face of Kangchenjunga. This reconnaissance led to the route used by the successful 1955 expedition. John Hunt wrote in the Foreword to Tucker's book that the 1954 reconnaissance was "''a first step in solving what I have long reckoned to be the greatest problem in mountaineering''" and "''thanks to the fine efforts of Kempe and his comrades, the momentus decision was made to take the second, and as it proved to be, final step towards the top of the third highest point on Earth''", that final step was the successful 1955 expedition, when George Band and Joe Brown made the first ascent of Kangchenjunga. Kempe was the leader of an expedition to the Peruvian Andes in 1956. The party, comprised three from the 1954 Kangchenjunga expedition (Kempe, Tucker and Matthews) supplemented by Mike Westmacott, George Band and John Streetly. Streetly and Westmacott successfully made the
first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...
of the Huagaruncho on 17 August 1956.


Teaching career

After three years as a Mathematics teacher at Gordonstoun School he was offered the post of headmaster at a new school in Hyderabad, India, being set up along English public school lines ( Hyderabad Public School). He remained there from 1951 until he was appointed headmaster of Corby Grammar School in Northamptonshire in 1955, where he remained until 1967. The following year he returned to Gordonstoun as headmaster and he remained there until his retirement in 1978.


Public roles

Kempe was a member of the Mount Everest Foundation committee (1956–62), chairman of the Round Square International Service Committee (1979–87). He was also vice-chairman of the European Atlantic Movement Committee (1982–1992; vice-president thereafter), and trustee of the University of Cambridge Kurt Hahn Trust from 1986 to 1989. He was appointed CVO in the 1980 New Year Honours.


Publications

''A Family History of the Kempes'' (1991)


Family

In 1957 he married Barbara Huxtable; they had two sons and a daughter.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kempe, John 1917 births 2010 deaths Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Indian schoolteachers Heads of schools in England Heads of schools in Scotland Scottish schoolteachers British expatriates in Kenya British expatriates in India Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge People educated at Stowe School