Christopher Maitland Stocken, D.S.C., R.N. (Born

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

17 April 1922. Died eastern

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 is t ...

23 August 1966). Lieut. Commander,

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. Led the R.N. expedition to East Greenland. An amateur botanist and a keen

mountain climber 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 ...

Background

He joined the navy in 1935, passing out at Dartmouth Royal Navy College in 1939. During

World War II 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 opposin ...

he was liaison officer with Yugoslav partisans and

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

for a successful attack on heavily armed barges of the Istrian coast. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

in 1947 during the

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

troubles. He was stationed in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

1961-1965 where he explored the flora of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

. He was killed by a falling boulder when leading the R.N. expedition to East Greenland, and is buried in a crevasse with a memorial cairn at the Schweizerland base. Silene stockenii

Commemorated by

Silene ''Silene'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Containing nearly 900 species, it is the largest genus in the family. Common names include campion and catchfly. Many ''Silene'' species are widely distributed, particularl ...

stockenii Chater, which he had collected at Bornos, near Jerez. A mountain, Stockenbjoerg (66° 36' N 37° 10' W, 2520m altitude), in eastern Greenland is named after him as a memorial. He was married in 1951 and had three children.

Publications

"Andalusian Flowers and Countryside" (Published Privately (1969)).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stocken, Christopher Maitland 1922 births 1966 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) English mountain climbers Military personnel from Bristol Royal Navy officers of World War II British expatriates in Yugoslavia British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Accidental deaths in Denmark