Siegfried Wedgwood Herford (1891 – 28 January 1916) was a British climber who was active in the years immediately before World War I. He and

John Laycock Christopher John Laycock (1887 – 3 December 1960) was a British lawyer, the founder of one of Singapore's earliest law firms, Laycock and Ong. He was also one of the founders of the Singapore Progressive Party. Early life Laycock grew up in ...

and Stanley Jeffcoat initiated what is referred to as "

gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for ...

climbing" in England,

bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help sec ...

on large blocks at the base of the cliffs, and roping up to climb the edges and faces above.

Early life

Siegfried Herford was born in 1891, the son of academic C. H. Herford. As a child he may have been

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

, subject to long periods of silence punctuated by violent outbursts of physical energy—behaviour coupled with a natural proclivity to mathematical thought. Siegfried enrolled at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

in 1909, in the School of Engineering, and dabbled at rock climbing for a year or so. By 1911 he had invented the "girdle traverse", practising at Castle Naze in the Derbyshire Peak District before applying his concept to the face of

Scafell Scafell ( or ; also spelled Sca Fell, previously Scawfell) is a mountain in the English Lake District, part of the Southern Fells. Its height of makes it the second-highest mountain in England after its neighbour Scafell Pike, from which ...

. Although Herford spent considerable time on the crags, the quality of his academic work was superior, and he was at the top of his class in mathematics and physics when he graduated in 1912. He then received a postgraduate scholarship which allowed him to do

aeronautical Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

research at the

Royal Aircraft Factory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a rail ...

Expeditions

In the spring of 1914, Herford, with three companions, climbed the Central Buttress of Scafell, negotiating the crux—the notorious Flake Pitch—after reconnoitering the difficulties from above, as well as below. (Herford was an advocate of downclimbing, and wrote an article—"The Doctrine of Descent"—published in the 1913 ''

Fell & Rock Climbing Club The Fell & Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District (in everyday usage the Fell and Rock Club or FRCC) is the senior climbing club covering the English Lake District. It was founded in 1906–1907 and, amongst its other activities, publ ...

Journal''.) Although some "combined tactics" were employed, the climb was a substantial benchmark in British rock climbing, coming in at HVS ( 5.9). With the War in full swing, and having failed to obtain a commission due to his Teutonic heritage, Herford enlisted as a private in the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

, and was killed by a

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...

blast on 28 January 1916.

References

* British rock climbers English mountain climbers 1891 births 1916 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I English people of German descent Royal Fusiliers soldiers Deaths by hand grenade English military personnel {{UK-army-bio-stub