Gordon Noel Humphreys (1883–1966) was a British born

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

, pilot,

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, 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 Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, was shot down and spent his

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

training himself in botany.

Oxford University Ellesmere Land Expedition

After the war it was his survey work and exploration of the

Ruwenzori Range The Ruwenzori, also spelled Rwenzori and Rwenjura, are a range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches , and the range' ...

in Uganda that brought him to the attention of

Edward Shackleton Edward Arthur Alexander Shackleton, Baron Shackleton, (15 July 1911 – 22 September 1994) was a British geographer, Royal Air Force officer and Labour Party politician. Early life and career Born in Wandsworth, London, Shackleton was the you ...

. Humphreys was chosen as the leader and head surveyor of the "Oxford University Ellesmere Land Expedition" (OUELE) by Shackleton, who was the organiser of the expedition. Consisting of 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, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize in ...

A. W. Moore (sometimes listed as Morris), H. W. Stallworthy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, geologist Robert Bentham and

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

David Haig-Thomas David Haig-Thomas (1 December 1908 – 6 June 1944) was a British ornithologist, wildlife photographer, explorer and rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was an army commando during the Second World War, and was ...

, along with their Greenland Inuit guides, Inutuk and Nukapinguaq, they set up camp at

Etah, Greenland Etah is an abandoned settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northern Greenland. It was a starting point of discovery expeditions to the North Pole and the landing site of the last migration of the Inuit from the Canadian Arctic. Geography ...

, in 1934. From the camp Inutuk, Nukapinguaq, Stallworthy and Moore proceeded to Lake Hazen on

Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island ( iu, script=Latn, Umingmak Nuna, lit=land of muskoxen; french: île d'Ellesmere) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. ...

, Canada, where they set up camp. From there Moore and Nukapinguaq continued up the

Gilman Glacier Gilman may refer to: Places United States *Gilman Ranch, California *Gilman, Colorado *Gilman, Illinois *Gilman, Iowa * Gilman, Minnesota *Gilman, Montana *Gilman, Vermont * Gilman, Washington, former name of Issaquah *Gilman, Pierce County, ...

and then made the first known ascent of Mount Oxford. Naming the mountain after the University of Oxford, Moore estimated the height to be , it rises to about . From the summit they could see a mountain range that the "great imperialist" (as Humphreys was called by Shackleton in 1937) named the

British Empire Range The British Empire Range is a mountain range on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada. The range is one of the most northern ranges in the world and the Arctic Cordillera, surpassed only by the Challenger Mountains which lies immediately to the ...

. Again Moore was to overestimate the height of the range at , in fact the highest point, Barbeau Peak, is . By the end of May 1935 the group had returned to Etah and to England in late September the same year.

Mount Everest

In 1936 Humphreys was a member of the 6th British Expedition to attempt to climb Mount Everest. The expedition, led by Hugh Ruttledge, reached a height of on the North Col. However, due to bad weather they could not go any higher. Included in the party were

Eric Shipton Eric Earle Shipton, CBE (1 August 1907 – 28 March 1977), was an English Himalayan mountaineer. Early years Shipton was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. When he was eigh ...

and Tenzing Norgay.

Retirement

Humphreys retired to Devon and died there in 1966.

External links & references

Expedition members listing Morris instead of MooreExpedition members listing Moore rather than MorrisExtract from "Oxford University Ellesmere Land Expedition: Discussion"6th British Everest Expedition
*''Geographical Names of the Ellesmere Island National Park Reserve and Vicinity'' by Geoffrey Hattersley-Smith (1998) {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, Gordon Noel 1883 births English mountain climbers Explorers of the Arctic British explorers of North America Explorers of Canada 1966 deaths Royal Flying Corps officers