Bill Tilman

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Major Harold William "Bill" Tilman, CBE, DSO, MC and Bar (14 February 1898–1977) was a mountaineer and explorer, famous for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages.

Tilman was born on 14 February 1898 in Wallasey in Cheshire, the son of a well-to-do sugar merchant and educated at Berkhamsted Boys school. At the age of 18, Tilman joined the British Army and fought in the First World War, including the Battle of the Somme, and was twice awarded the Military Cross for bravery. His climbing career, however, began with his acquaintance with Eric Shipton in Kenya, East Africa, where they were both coffee growers. Beginning with their joint traverse of Mount Kenya in 1929 and their ascents of Kilimanjaro and the fabled "Mountains of the Moon" Ruwenzori, Shipton and Tilman formed one of the most famed partnerships in mountaineering history. When it came time to leave Africa, Tilman was not content with merely flying home but rode a bicycle across the continent to the West Coast where he embarked for England.

He later volunteered for service in the Second World War, seeing action in North Africa, and on the beaches at Dunkirk. He then was dropped by parachute behind enemy lines to fight with Albanian and Italian partisans, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts, and the keys to the city of Belluno which he helped save from occupation and destruction.

Tilman was involved in two of the 1930s Mount Everest expeditions - participating in the 1935 Reconnaisance Expedition, and reaching 27,200 feet without oxygen as the expedition leader in 1938. After penetrating the Nanda Devi sanctuary with Eric Shipton in 1934, Tilman went on to make the first ascent of Nanda Devi with Noel Odell in 1936.This remained the highest mountain climbed until 1950. In 1939, he was the first man to attempt climbing in the remote and unexplored Assam Himalaya , exploring the Southern approaches of Gori Chen, 6538 metres, before his team succumbed to malaria. In 1947 he attempted Rakaposhi, then made his way to Kashgar to join up with Eric Shipton in a lightweight attempt on Muztagh Ata,7546 metres, which nearly succeeded. On his way back to India, he detoured through Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to see the source of the river Oxus. During his extensive exploration of the areas of Langtang, Ganesh and Manang in Nepal in 1949 he was the first to ascend Paldor, 5896 metres, and found the pass named after him beyond Gangchempo.

Following his military career behind enemy lines in the Second World War, Tilman took up deep sea sailing. Sailing in deep seas on the cutter Mischief, which he purchased in 1954, and subsequently on his other pilot cutters "Sea Breeze" and "Baroque", Tilman voyaged to Arctic and Antarctic waters in search of new and uncharted mountains to climb. Tilman disappeared during a sailing trip to climb Smith Island in the Antarctic in 1977. He had accompanied the youthful Simon Richardson and his crew aboard an old, converted steel tug. They made it successfully and without incident to Rio de Janeiro, but disappeared without trace on their way to the Falkland Islands. Tilman was almost 80 years of age.

He has been described by some as a self-indulgent risk-taker impervious to the sensitivities of others; one who had little time for those who didn’t live up to his high standards and expectations; and he was even accused of disliking women. In reality, these labels were grossly inaccurate, for he was in fact a very shy, private man who was self-effacing and hated publicity. He was a deep thinker, an avid reader of the classics, and although he never married, he adored his sister and two nieces with whom he lived when not on some distant shore.

Tilman had a great sense of humour, perhaps too subtle for many of his listeners. It was one of his greatest joys to laugh at himself, and see the funny side of life's little foibles. An example is his 'discovery' of Tilman's Disease, characterized as "the inability to put one foot before the other". He wrote seven books about his mountain travels, and eight books on his years sailing to extreme climates. One of the last 'gentleman adventurers', Bill Tilman's stoic and courageous exploits have earned him a place of honour as one of the greatest in the pantheon of explorers.

[edit] Documentary DVD

• "Warrior, Wanderer" The Life & Times of the Legendary Explorer Bill Tilman. DVD. Mistral Films.

[edit] Books

• H. W. Tilman. Nepal Himalaya. Pilgrims Publishing. ISBN 81-7303-107-X
• H. W. Tilman. The Seven Mountain-Travel Books. Mountaineers` Books. ISBN 0-89886-960-9
• H. W. Tilman. Eight Sailing/Mountain-Exploration Books. Diadem Books. ISBN 0-89886-143-8
• Anderson, John Richard Lane. High Mountains and Cold Seas: Life of HW Tilman. Gollancz Books. ISBN 0-575-02806-8
• Glen, David. "Warrior, Wanderer" The Life & Times of the Legendary Explorer Bill Tilman. Mistral Books. ISBN 1-887062-02-5
• Madge, Tim. The Last Hero - Bill Tilman: A Biography of the Explorer. The Mountaineers Books. ISBN 0-89886-452-6