Tom George Longstaff (15 January 1875 – 26 June 1964) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

medical doctor, explorer and mountaineer, most famous for being the first person to climb a summit of over 7,000 metres in elevation,

Trisul Trisul is a group of three Himalayan mountain peaks of western Kumaun, Uttarakhand, with the highest (Trisul I) reaching 7120m. The three peaks resemble a trident - in Sanskrit, Trishula, trident, is the weapon of Shiva. The Trishul group f ...

, in the India/Pakistan

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 Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

in 1907. Reprinted 1987 by Diadem Books, He also made important explorations and climbs in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, the

Karakoram The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, and

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland), and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is (slightly smal ...

. He was a founding member of The

Alpine Ski Club The Alpine Ski Club (ASC) is a club of ski mountaineers based in the UK and the first ski mountaineering club in Great Britain. Membership is open to experienced independent ski-mountaineers who fulfil the minimum entry qualification. Aspirant me ...

in 1908 and the

Himalayan Club The Himalayan Club is an organization founded in India in 1928 along the lines of the Alpine Club (UK), Alpine Club. The stated mission of the organization was "to encourage and assist Himalayan travel and exploration, and to extend knowledge of ...

(1929), was elected as an Honorary Member of the Climbers Club in 1932 and was its President from 1933–1935 and was president of the (British)

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 ...

from 1947 to 1949.

Early life

Longstaff was the eldest son of Lt-Col. Llewellyn W. Longstaff

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

, the first and most generous supporter of

Captain Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the ''Terra Nova'' expedition of 1910–13. ...

's National Antarctic Expedition. His brother was

Frederick Longstaff Major Frederick Victor Longstaff (15 June 1879 - 1961) was an English Canadians, Anglo-Canadian soldier, architect, military historian and mountaineer. He was the son of Llewellyn W. Longstaff, his brother was Tom Longstaff and his sister Katheri ...

and Katherine his sister married

Felix Wedgwood Arthur Felix Wedgwood (18 July 1877 – 14 March 1917) was an English author, mountaineer and soldier who died on active service during the First World War. Background He was born at The Upper House in Barlaston, Staffordshire, a scion of th ...

, the author and mountaineer who was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

during the First World War. Katherine was also an active mountaineer, becoming the president of the

Ladies' Alpine Club The Ladies' Alpine Club was founded in London, England in 1907 and was the first mountaineering club for women. It merged with the Alpine Club of Great Britain in 1975. History In December 1907 a group of ladies who were climbers in the Alps m ...

for 1929-1931. Longstaff was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

War service

Longstaff was commissioned into the 1/7th Battalion of the

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The re ...

in 1914 and served on the General Staff at Army Headquarters,

Simla Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...

, 1915–1916. He was Assistant Commandant of the Gilgit Corps of Scouts, Frontier Militia, and Special Assistant at Fort Gupis to the Political Agent in

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina language, Shina: ; ) is a city in Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit–Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

, from 1916, and was promoted Captain in 1917, retiring from the service in 1918. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served with the 7th and 13th Battalion of the KRRC from 1939 to 1941.

Mountaineer

Longstaff climbed in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

and the

Selkirks The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...

(with Wheeler). Before the

Great War 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 travelled in

in 1905, ascended

in the Himalayas, 1907, and in 1908 he was awarded the Gill Memorial by the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

for his work in the Himalaya and Tibet. He went on to explore the Siachen Glacier and, with

Athur Morris Slingsby Attur also spelled as Athur or Authoor or Athoor may also refer to: India Tamil Nadu * Attur, Salem, is a city in Salem district, Salem District, Tamil Nadu, India * Athur, Thoothukudi, a town in Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, India * Athur ...

, he discovered the peaks of

Teram Kangri __NOTOC__ The Teram Kangri group is a mountain massif in the remote Siachen Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range. The high point of the group, and of the Siachen Muztagh, is Teram Kangri I. The peak lies on the boundary between dispute ...

in 1909. Together with Slingsby from the

56th Rifles The 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1849 as the 2nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force) in 1906 and became 2nd Battal ...

(Frontier Force) where the two

sepoys ''Sepoy'' () is a term related to ''sipahi'', denoting professional Indian infantrymen, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire and the Maratha. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its Europ ...

(soldiers), Gulab Khan and Attar Khan. In the expedition for some few weeks where also Dr. Arthur Neve. It has been written that the map he made during this journey "''completely altered the topography as shown on older maps''". After the war, he took part in the

1921 Oxford University Spitsbergen expedition The 1921 Oxford University Spitsbergen expedition took place over the period June–August 1921 and was led by F.C.R. Jourdain (1865–1940). Science The initial ornithological focus "was rapidly enlarged to embrace a range of interest, so diver ...

with Odell and was chief medical officer and naturalist on the

1922 British Mount Everest expedition The 1922 British Mount Everest expedition was the first mountaineering expedition with the express aim of making the first ascent of Mount Everest. It was also the first expedition that used bottled oxygen while climbing Everest. The attempt wa ...

. He returned to Spitsbergen in 1923 and to the Garhwal Himalaya in 1927. He led the Oxford University Expedition to Greenland in 1928 and the same year was awarded the

Founder's Medal The Founder's Medal is a medal awarded annually by the Royal Geographical Society, upon approval of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, to individuals for "the encouragement and promotion of geographical science and discovery". Foundation From ...

of the

for his work in the Himalaya, especially his discovery of the

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends in northeastern Kashmir. At long, it is the longest glaci ...

. In Greenland again, 1931 and 1934, and

, 1934 with Wordie and others. When there were difficulties financing the 1938 Everest expedition Longstaff offered to underwrite the cost - on condition that the expedition was led by either

Tilman Tilman is both a masculine given name and a surname. The German version of the surname is Tillmann. Other variants include Tillman and Dillman. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name * Tilman Fertitta (1957), America ...

or Shipton, that there would be no advance publicity and that, where possible, the climbers would each pay their own way. He was a well respected amateur

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and in 1933 he was one of eleven people involved in the appeal that led to the foundation of the

British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The William, Prince of Wales, Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginning In 1931 Max Nicholson ...

(BTO), an organisation for the study of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the British Isles. He lived at

Achiltibuie Achiltibuie (; or ''Field of the yellow-haired boy'') is a long linear village in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, on the Coigach coast of northwestern Scotland, overlooking Badentarbet Bay to the west. Loch Broom and the Summer Isles lie to the so ...

, in the

Highlands of Scotland The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlan ...

, where he died at the age of eighty-nine on 26 June 1964.

Notes

References

*''Longstaff, Tom George'' in ''Who's Who'': https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U57556. *Eric Shipton, ''Longstaff, Tom George (1875–1964)'', rev.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Oxford University Press, 2004

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Longstaff, Tom George 1875 births 1964 deaths Royal Hampshire Regiment officers King's Royal Rifle Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English explorers English mountain climbers Baffin Island People educated at Eton College Presidents of the Alpine Club (UK) Territorial Force officers People_from_Kingston_upon_Hull English ornithologists Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society