David Haig-Thomas (1 December 1908 – 6 June 1944) was a British ornithologist, wildlife photographer, explorer and
rower
Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...
who competed for Great Britain in the
1932 Summer Olympics. He was an
army commando during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, and was killed in action during the
Normandy Landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
.
Haig-Thomas Island in the Canadian Arctic is named after him.
Biography
Haig-Thomas was born in London and educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
and
St John's College, Cambridge. In 1930, 1931 and 1932 he was
bowman of the winning
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
boats in the
Boat Race
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...
. He was also the bow of the
eight that came fourth
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
for
Great Britain at the 1932 Summer Olympics, and rowing correspondent of the ''
Daily Mail''.
Haig-Thomas married Nancy Catherine Bury, daughter of Major Lindsay Edward Bury. They had two sons.
Initially a hunter with catapult and gun, he became an ornithologist and took up bird photography.
His articles and photographs were published in ''
Country Life'' and ''
The Field''.
Expeditions
In 1933 he went on an expedition to
Abyssinia
The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...
with his school contemporary
Wilfred Thesiger
Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger (3 June 1910 – 24 August 2003), also known as Mubarak bin Landan ( ar, مُبَارَك بِن لَنْدَن, ''the blessed one of London'') was a British military officer, explorer, and writer.
Thesiger's trav ...
to trace the route of the
Awash River
The Awash (sometimes spelled Awaash; Oromo: ''Awaash'', Amharic: አዋሽ, Afar: ''We'ayot'', Somali: ''Webiga Dir'') is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia and empties into a chain of i ...
. In 1934, he was the ornithologist on the
Oxford University Ellesmere Land Expedition which was organised by
Edward Shackleton with the main purpose of exploring northern
Ellesmere Island and to map its coastline. The expedition was led by
Gordon Noel Humphreys
Gordon Noel Humphreys (1883–1966) was a British born surveyor, pilot, botanist, explorer and doctor. Originally trained as a surveyor, Humphreys worked in both Mexico and Uganda. During World War I he served as a pilot with the Royal Flying Corp ...
who was head surveyor. Other members of the expedition were Shackleton, photographer and
biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
A. W. Moore (sometimes listed as Morris), H. W. Stallworthy of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
, and geologist R. Bentham. With their
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
guides, Inutuk and Nukapinguaq, they set up camp at
Etah, Greenland in 1934. After wintering Greenland in 1934–1935, they sledged across Smith Sound and Ellesmere Island and in spring 1935. By the end of May 1935, the group had returned to Etah and reached England in late September the same year.
[Freeze Frame]
/ref>
In 1936, Haig-Thomas led an ornithological expedition to Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. From 1937 to 1938, he led a British Arctic Expedition in northwest Greenland and Ellesmere Island, accompanied by John Wright and Richard Hamilton. The expedition arrived at Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq (), formerly known as Thule or New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the local Inukt ...
in northwest Greenland in August 1937. They left Etah in March 1938 and crossed Ellesmere Island where they met up with the MacGregor Arctic Expedition. They then sledged to Amund Ringnes Island, Axel Heiberg Island and Haig-Thomas Island in the Canadian Arctic. They returned to Greenland and spent the summer of 1938 in Qaanaaq.[ Haig-Thomas's collection of Arctic objects from Greenland and northern Canada was donated in two instalments to the ]British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
Second World War
Haig-Thomas purchased Horsey Island
Horsey Island is an island in the parish of Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex. It lies in Hamford Water and is part of the Hamford Water National Nature Reserve, managed by Natural England. Permission is required to visit.
Geography
The western section o ...
in 1939 and lived there until called up to serve in the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
Shortly after the outbreak of the war, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps on 2 March 1940. He then served in Iceland and East Greenland. In 1942, he was part of Special Commando Boating Group, No. 14 Commando which was made up of Canadians and Norwegians. As well as Haig-Thomas, this included other polar explorers including Sir Peter Scott
Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest in ...
, Andrew Croft
Colonel Noel Andrew Cotton Croft, (30 November 1906 – 26 June 1998) was a member of the Special Operations Executive in World War II, with operations in Norway and Corsica, as well as military attaché to Sweden. He was also an Arctic explo ...
, August Courtauld and others. They specialised in using canoes and kayaks for limpet attacks in arctic waters. In 1944 in Operation Overlord he was in C Troop, No. 4 Commando. He was killed in action on D-Day in Normandy aged 35 and is buried in the churchyard in the village of Bavent
Bavent () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Baventais'' or ''Baventaises''.
Geography
Bavent is located on the northern edge of the Caen plain ...
.Commando Veterans
/ref>
Publications
*Haig-Thomas, David "I Leap Before I Look", London, William Clowes & Sons, 1936
*Haig-Thomas, David ''Expedition to Ellesmere Island'', 1937–38. Geographical Journal, 1940, 95(4):265–277.
*Haig-Thomas, David ''Tracks in the Snow'' London: Hodder & Stoughton 1939
See also
*List of Cambridge University Boat Race crews
This is a list of the Cambridge University crews who have competed in The Boat Race since its inception in 1829.
Rowers are listed left to right in boat position from bow to stroke. The number following the rower indicates the rower's weight ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haig-Thomas, David
1908 births
1944 deaths
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
English male rowers
British male rowers
Olympic rowers for Great Britain
Rowers at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Cambridge University Boat Club rowers
English ornithologists
Explorers of the Arctic
English explorers of North America
Explorers of Canada
Royal Army Service Corps officers
British Army Commandos officers
British Army personnel killed in World War II
20th-century British zoologists
Military personnel from London