IN MEMORIAM

THE HIMALAYAN CLUB OBITUARY

1. D. F. O. DANGAR
2. SIR GEOFFREY CHARLES FRESCHVILLE RAMSDEN¹
3. KATSUMASA ITAKURA

Class of membership and year of election

(Hon.: Honorary, L: Life, O: Ordinary)

 

 

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FRED DANGAR was born in 1902 and died shortly before his ninetieth birthday. His climbing career started with his first visit to the Alps in 1922. To use his own words he climbed in the old fashioned way with a guide. He had 26 seasons in the Swiss Alps in the course of which he climbed most of the major peaks as well as a host of others. He also climbed in the Austrian and French Alps. He always regretted that he never had the opportunity of visiting the Himalaya.

Fred was elected to the Alpine Club in 1931 and became an honorary member in 1969. He was also a member of the Swiss Alpine Club and the Osterreichischer Alpenklub. He was Assistant Editor of the Alpine Journal for 21 years, during which time he produced two consolidated indexes and many volume indexes.

It was in the late fifties that he came into contact with the Himalayan Club. The earlier volumes of the Himalayan Journal had not been indexed and it was agreed during discussions in London that the Club should endeavour to find someone with the necessary knowledge and experience who would be willing to undertake the job. Trevor Braham approached Fred Dangar who willingly agreed to take it on.

His first task was to produce a consolidated index covering Vols I to XXI. Individual volume indexes followed for subsequent volumes and he also brought out a further consolidated index covering Vols XXII to XXXII. After Vol. 39 in 1982, Fred understandably felt that it was time for someone else to take over.

Fred Dangar brought tremendous enthusiasm and devotion to the task and I look back with a great deal of pleasure upon the many discussions we had in the early days. His meticulous attention to detail and accuracy set a high standard for his successors to follow. The Club was indeed fortunate in having his services so generously given for more than twenty years. He was elected an honorary member of the Himalayan Club in 1964.

Our deepest sympathy goes to his wife and family.

V.S. RlSOE

 

 

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GEOFFREY RAMSDEN became a member of the Himalayan VJClub very soon after it was formed in 1928.

After leaving Cambridge he served in the Army throughout the First World War. He held the rank of Captain in the 1st Batallion of the Royal Sussex Regiment in the N.W. Frontier of India from 1915 to 1919. After the War in 1920 he joined the Indian Civil Service in which he had a distinguished career. He was Secretary of the Indian Tariff Board from 1923 to 1925, after which he held various senior posts until his retirement in 19*48 when he was Financial Commissioner in the Central Provinces and Bihar.

During his years in India Sir Geoffrey paid many visits to the Himalaya and took a particular interest in the flora of the region. His beautiful garden in Hindhead contained many flowers from the Himalaya. He was a keen photographer and took some striking photographs of the Himalayan peaks.

 

He continued to take an interest in the Club after his retirement, and he and his wife, Margaret, came regularly to the Annual Reunion Dinner in London during the sixties and early seventies. His wife died in 1976.

FOR ALMOST six years, from 1951 to 1956, Jill Henderson acting as the Club's Honorary Local Secretary in Darjeeling fulfilled a cenifal role assisting organisers of expeditions large and small, and establishing a unique relationship with the Sherpa community whose trekking and mountaineering activities at the time emanated almost exclusively from Darjeeling. She encouraged the best of them to develop the status of guides and leaders and to acquire the independent skills which made them the forerunners of the agencies that proliferate around Kathmandu today. Her consideration and generosity to the younger and less gifted amongst them earned her a sort of head-of-family status within the Sherpa community. Her kindness, understanding and care for their problems touched equally the smallest and the greatest of them. In those days most Sherpa families possessed little or no means of livelihood during the long winter months. I can recall Angtharkay's moving references to her when I travelled through Sikkim with him in 1952. I am certain that without Jill Henderson's gentle but wise persuasion Tenzing would not have agreed to join the 1953 Everest expedition, finding himself utterly spent both physically and in spirit after two determined attempts to climb Everest with the Swiss in 1952. I, personally, like other members of the 1954 Kangchenjunga Reconnaissance team, was most grateful to Jill Henderson for placing at our disposal her large bungalow at Rungeet Tea Estate as a starting point for our expedition, although she and her husband were away at the time. She extended the same hospitality to Charles Evans and his expedition in 1955. By a happy co-incidence in Janaury 1954 Jill Henderson co-hosted, with the Club's President Charles Crawford, a tea party in Darjeeling for Sherpas with their wives and families. The Occasion, believed to be only the second of its kind (General Bruce hosted the first on 1924) and almost certainly the last, marked the presentation of Coronation Medals awarded by H.M. The Queen to 22 Sherpas for their valuable contribution to the 1953 Everest expedition. In addition 8 Sherpas were awarded the coveted H.C. 'Tiger' badge for outstanding services.

Jill Henderson left India in 1958 upon her husband's retirement. After a short spell in East Africa she and her husband returned to England. During the last few years of her life Jill Henderson lived in America, where she died in 1991.

Trevor Braham

ALL THOSE who knew Chris Briggs will be very sorry to know that he died in October 1992. He was a Life Member of the Himalayan Club and of the Mountain Rescue 8c Climbing Clubs of Snowdon and he and his wife ran the Penny Guryd Hotel in North Wales and were well known. And there was, among other things, the Annual Reunion of the Everest 1953 party, with Sir John Hunt and Sir Edmund Hillary taking a large part in the proceedings. Chris did a lot of work among climbers in the Himalaya and in Snowdon, where he was awarded the BEM and was High Sheriff of Cumberland. He and his wife ran a hotel which was very popular among climbers and others. Once when the Earl of Snowdon brought the Prince of Wales in unexpectedly, the latter asked if 'shepherd's pie' which was on the menu was a good dish; and Chris replied that Welsh shepherds were usually very tender.

R. E. HOTZ

 

 

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KATSUMASA ITAKURA was ka distinguished scholar and moutaineer. He was born in Tokyo as member of distinguished Samurai family which served Tokugawa Shogunate (1615-1868). He graduated from the Tokyo Imperial University (Faculty of the Western History) in 1937. He worked as a professor of the Ancient Oriental History in Hokkaido University and Chuoh University in Tokyo. He co-founded with Prince Mikasa 'Japan Oriental Study Association'. He led a successful Hindukush mountaineering expedition 1967 to Koh-i-Bandakor, organised by Chuoh University Alpine Club. H« was a distinguished member of the Japanese Alpine Club, and was its Hon. Secretary.in 1974-1975.

He published many scholarly books on ancient Middle-eastern history including the translation of 'They Wrote on Clay' written by Edward Chiera, 'The Genesis Mystery' written by Jeffrey Goodman which are still good sellers.

JIRO TAGUCHI

 

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