Romilly Lisle Holdsworth, commonly known as R. L. Holdsworth, (25 February 1899 – 20 June 1976) was an English scholar, academic,
educationalist,
cricketer
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
and a distinguished
Himalaya
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 planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
n
mountaineer
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
. He was a member of the first expedition to
Kamet in 1931, which included other stalwarts such as
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
Frank Smythe.
Holdsworth, along with Shipton and Smythe, are credited with the discovery of the
Valley of Flowers
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
, now a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
, during their return from Kamet.
Early life
Holdsworth was educated at
Repton School, where he was a pupil of
Victor Gollancz
Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian.
Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Christ ...
, later a famous publisher. He attended Repton under the headmastership of
William Temple, the future
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
.
He later attended the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, where he read
Literae Humaniores or Classics at
Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...
.
At Oxford he earned a
Triple Blue for
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
.
He was a first-class batsman and played cricket for
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
,
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
and
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...
.
Holdsworth briefly served in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as a lieutenant in the
Rifle Brigade
The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...
in 1918 (he served until 1919), after leaving Repton.
Career
Holdsworth held various distinguished positions in his lifetime. In 1922, he joined
Harrow School
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God)
, established = (Royal Charter)
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, religion = Church of E ...
as a schoolmaster. He was made the master-in-charge of cricket and played for
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Sussex. Its limited overs team is called the Sussex Sharks. The c ...
. In order to encourage
ski mountaineering
Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipmen ...
at Harrow, he established a club called the Marmots.
After leaving Harrow in 1933, he took over as principal of
Islamia College in
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
, Pakistan (at the time in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
), in which position he served for seven years until 1940, when he joined
The Doon School in
Dehradun
Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
.
At Doon, he met his old colleague
J. A. K. Martyn, whom he had known since his days at Harrow. Martyn was the second headmaster of Doon School.
He later retired in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England.
Climbing highlights
*1924 – Holdsworth was invited by
George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s.
Born in Cheshire, Mallory became a student at Winchester ...
to join him on the
1924 British Mount Everest expedition but he was so adamant on taking his
skis along that the invitation was withdrawn. Holdsworth later remarked that his "intransigence saved my life" because it was on this expedition that Mallory disappeared along with Irvine.
* 1931 – Holdsworth was a member of the first expedition to climb
Kamet (7,756 m) in 1931, at the time the
highest peak yet climbed. During the Kamet expedition Holdsworth, Shipton and Smythe discovered what they called the
Valley of Flowers
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
in the Himalaya, now in the state of
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
, India. Holdsworth also holds the record of smoking a pipe at the summit of Mt. Kamet.
Cricket career
Holdsworth was active in
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...
from 1919 to 1942. He played for
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
and
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
. He appeared in 109 first-class matches as a righthanded
batsman who scored 4,716
runs with a highest score of 202 among eight centuries.
Romilly Holdsworth at CricketArchive
/ref>
See also
* Role of The Doon School in Indian mountaineering
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* F. S. Smythe,
Kamet Conquered
' (1932) Gollanz, London
* F. S. Smythe, ''An Alpine Journey'' (1934) Hodder, London
* F. S. Smythe, ''The Spirit of the Hills'' (1935) Hodder, London
* F. S. Smythe,
The Valley of the Flowers
' (1938) Hodder, London
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holdsworth, R. L.
English mountain climbers
20th-century English writers
English explorers
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
The Doon School faculty
1899 births
1976 deaths
People educated at Repton School
English cricketers
Sussex cricketers
Warwickshire cricketers
Oxford University cricketers
Northern India cricketers
Heads of schools in Pakistan
British Army personnel of World War I
Rifle Brigade officers