TREK to KAMET

THE ICE SOLDIERS

Ralph (Joe) Ridley
Henery Joseph Bull
Sidney Frederic Hillier
John Alfred Williams
Lionel James Hamilton
Kamet 7756m South-East Face

A testament to the men of the
East Surrey Regiment
and their 1937 Mt Kamet Expedition
Base camp,
May 24 1937.
14,500 feet
Kamet KEEP LEFT,
L/Cpl H. Bull Cpl R. Ridley, Pte S. Hillier,
and L/Cpl J. Williams.
The Return,
Cpl R. Ridley,L/Cpl J. Williams
and Pte S. Hillier.

Click on any framed image like those above to view a larger image. The bandwidth of this site is limited displaying too many large, around 30 to 35 images may exceed the allocated bandwidth this will result in you being shut out of the site of a period of time. I also apologize for the pop ups, they are place by the internet service provider.


This web page is the result of the research of Paul Rogers of the Blackpool and The Fylde College and Peter Osborne, Librarian of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club of The University of Lancaster.

The research of Mr. Osborne and Mr. Rogers resulted in an exhibition at the Millais Gallery in Southampton form 26 June to 26 July of 2003.

My sister Ann Cording (daughter of Ralph Ridley) was gathering information on the 1937 Kamet expedition and as luck would have it came across a web page for the exhibition at the Millais Gallery. Ann gave me her findings and the Catalog of the exhibit for Christmas off 2004. And here we are, a web page I’m hoping someone will stumble across who can shed some light on the Ice Soldiers. A long shot for sure but who knows?

Should you find yourself viewing this page and have any information on the men or the Mt Kamet
expedition please email icesoldiers@rogers.com




The following frame is an extract form the Millais Gallery Exhibition catalog and tells the
story of Mr. Osborne and Mr. Rogers research.



This catalogue tells of a tale in a tobacco tin, or rather, three tobacco tins (1). Given to Paul Rogers when the Grundy House Museum at Blackpool was closed in 1980, the tins contained photographic negatives. The top pictures, of soldiers sitting in a row, proved less than interesting, and the tins were put by. Only when, a few years later, he looked again, was his interest aroused by photographs of the same men on a snowy peak. Who and where were they? Closer inspection of the negatives gave the first important clues. One photograph (Plate 20 ) showed soldiers with a hand-lettered sign at their feet: "TO KAMET - KEEP LEFT". Kamet was famous in the 1930s. When scaled by F Smythe and party in 1931, it was the highest mountain yet climbed, and the ascent was as much a matter of pride to the British in the '30s as was Everest in the '50s. The soldiers had attempted to climb it; another image gave a clue to their identity. It bore the label "East Surrey Regiment". The Tobacco tins became a research project at Blackpool and Fylde College. Early contact was made with the Regimental Museum at Clandon Park, near Guildford. By coincidence the Director, Penny James, had recently looked at material relating to the event. She knew the names of the men and that their journey had been made in 1937. Furthermore the leader, Corporal Ridley, had kept a journal, extracts from which had been printed in the Regimental Journal. Mrs James sent a copy. The outline of the expedition as given by Ridley are summarised in "The Expedition". There was little hope of finding more of the Journal, which was probably destroyed with regimental records, when the East Surreys were amalgamated into the Surrey Regiment in 1953. Also there were unanswered questions: whence the photographs in Blackpool; why the expedition; what else was known about the soldiers; what exactly do the photographs show? The first question has not been answered. Those from Blackpool taking mountain photographs at the time, including Everest photographer Alf Gregory, knew nothing of the images. Evidently fellow soldiers were given copies of them. For example an album with small prints in the Museum belonged to Albert Skinner, who was at Fyzabad with the East Surreys in 1937. It is possible that the negatives remained the property of one of the climbers, "Pinky" Williams ( 2), who was repatriated to a Morecambe address on 30.10.1945. Some of the answers to the other questions emerged from numbers of the regimental Journal and Regimental History, as well as from newspaper articles and contact with contemporary soldiers. What is known of the expedition is outlined below as is information so far discovered about the men.

Footnotes:

1. The tins were Players Navy Cut ( mentioned by the soldier/climbers) Ardath and Lambert and Butler.
2. The nickname was common for Williamses; it came from that then popular medicament 'Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale and Languid Ladies'.



The Men

Ralph (Joe) Ridley
The start - the party at Ranikhet,
May 3rd 1937.
Pte S. Hillier,L/Cpl H. Bull Cpl R. Ridley,
L/Cpls L Hamilton,and J. Williams.
Click for info on Ralph (Joe) Ridley


Sidney Frederic Hillier
Click for info on Sidney Frederic Hillier


Henry Joseph Bull
H. Bull and R. Ridley in the back L. Hamilton in the front.
While not of the best quality this photo does show the facial
features of three of the men
Clip from a larger image take on the trek to Kamet.
Click for info on Henry Joseph Bull


John Alfred Williams
Click for info on John Alfred Williams


James Hamilton
Click for info on James Hamilton




The Expedition.



In reading the preamble of this expedition in the regimental journal, one gains some insight to
the difficulties this group must have encountered. We must remember they where not well equipped,
self funded and had little or no climbing experience, and certainty no high altitude experience.


Scan of the preamble.


In July, 1937, The Times published the notifications of an amazing- attempt by
five soldiers of the Ist Bn. The East Surrey Regiment to climb Mount Kamet.
This peak, which is situated in the Himalayas in the extreme north of Garhwal
on the borders of Tibet is one of the highest mountains in the world rising to the
height of 25,447 feet. Although several attempts have been made to climb it,
its summit has only once been reached, when in 1931 a strong- party of climbers,
under the leadership of F. S. Smythe, conquered it. Kamet has defeated such
experienced climbers as Generals Bruce and Meade.

In describing some of the difficulties encountered by his successful party and
by other parties before him, F. S. Smythe, in his book, "Kamet Conquered,"
writes: “Putting aside the peculiar difficulties of altitude, the mountaineer finds
himself confronted by difficulties and dangers which can only be described as
appalling in their frequency and magnitude."

Dr. Longstaff and General Bruce, in the account of their climb in 1907, give
the following description of the East Kamet Glacier, up which Cpl. Ridley's
party climbed: "The East Kamet Glacier narrows abruptly and becomes little
more than an ice-filled gorge less than half a mile wide, bounded on its northern
side by a steep wall of peaks. Every hollow and shelf in this wall is filled with
hanging glaciers hundreds of feet thick, which appear ready to discharge ice avalanches
of appalling magnitude across the whole breadth of East Kamet Glacier beneath."
Cpl. Ridley and his party based their plan on Smythe's experiences, and are
grateful to him for the most valuable information and guidance which they received
from his book, which they took with them and followed closely throughout their climb.

Their party, under the leadership of Cpl. R. Ridley, consisted of L./Cpls. J.
Williams, J. Bull and L. Hamilton, and Pte. S. Hillier. They carried out their
preparations quite quietly, and after being granted two months' leave from the
Battalion for the purpose of “trekking," they set out from Ranikhet without
disclosing their real intentions to anyone. The account now published is in Cpl.
Ridley's own words and is largely reproduced direct from the diary which he kept
from day to day during the expedition.



The following two images show the men resting as they approached Meade's Col (7138m)
and a modern day expedition at about the same location




Extracts from the diary of Cpl. Ridley and photographs take by the men can be accessed via the following links.


A few of mountaineering terms that may help as you read the accounts of the expedition.

Col ... A small pass between two peaks.

Couloir ... A steep gully or gorge frequently filled with snow or ice.

For more mountaineering terms click here

Paul Rogers research / Millais Gallery Exhibition

Reading this provides a good indication into the inspiration for the expedition and a trip planning overview

View photographs take by the men of the expedition

The 1936 trek part of the plan

The full account of the 1936 trek, as published in the regimental journal can be found here.
On reading this one reasonably concludes that this trek was a test of logistics for the 1937
Kamet Expedition


Planning The Trip

The above link will provide information on the actual planning for the Expedition


"All the skill, courage, and foresight will avail nothing if the himalayas is in a bad
mood, for then it becomes a relentless and merciless foe and its avalanches and
storms will sweep to destruction those who have dared to approach its strongholds"

The foods mentioned fascinate me:


Bovril

Horlicks Malted Milk

Cadbury’s Chocolate

Bourn-Vita
Organising the Stores, Fyzabad
This picture provide a vital clue in Paul Rogers research
The regiment name and Ridley’s name on the crate.


Also the fact that tobacco was considered an essential.
The Trek to Kamet, May 3 to May 23 1937

Camp 1, May 25 to May 27 1937

Camp 2 & 3, May 28 to June 3 1937 Syd tells me that the porters would be willing to stand by us and go farther up, but we all agree it is better to keep to our plan of carrying on alone from here. Whatever happens we involve no one but ourselves. Excellent fellows though, these porters. Willing and loyal to the core. Their work has been of the greatest possible assistance to us.

June 4th to June 10th Camp 4 1937

June 11 1937. The Last Slope Of Kamet

June 12 to 18 1937. The Return Journey


The bungalow at Josimath


The diary of Cpl. Ridley Reproduced by permission of Surrey History Service
http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreyhistoryservice

Link to East Surrey Regiment page maintained by The Surrey History Centre


Extracts from the Times of India

May 22 1937 "FRESH ATTEMPT ON KAMET"

June 17 1937 "KING'S BIRTHDAY PARADE IN LONDON: MT. KAMET EXPEDITION"

June 25 1937 "Attempt on Kamet Ends"

Other


The picture of Mt. Kamet at the top of this page was from a 2003 ascent by Satya Dam an Indian Naval Officer.


You will find here an account of a 1937 meeting between Corporal Hamilton
and Frank Smythe the first man to climb Kamet in 1931.
There are two paragraphs around the middle of the page

Below is a link to the regiments web page that references the Kamet expedition.
http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/reg_in_india/india39_1.html

Here you will find an account of a 2005 attempt on Kamet, a history of all known attempts,
and other interesting information about Mt. Kamet.

       **NEW** Nov 25 2005

More info on from Wikipedia.org Mt. Kamet.


Contact icesoldiers@rogers.com



site updated Nov 5 2006