SHIPTON, Eric (1907-1977)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0402 ESH
Held at	: Royal Geographical Society   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.rgs.org/OurWork/Collections/Collections.htm ›
Full title	: SHIPTON, Eric (1907-1977)
Date(s)	: 1921-1972
Level of description	: Collection level
Extent	: 1 box
Name of creator(s)	: Shipton | Eric Earle | 1907-1977 | explorer and mountaineer

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Born 1907; as a child he travelled frequently between Ceylon and Europe; became interested in mountaineering in the Alps and Norway; went to Kenya to work on a coffee plantation, 1928; with Percy Wyn-Harris made the second ascent of Batian and the first of Nelion, the twin peaks of Mount Kenya; made the first complete traverse of the twin peaks of Mount Kenya with Harold William Tilman; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, 1930-1977; joined the expedition led by Francis Sydney Smythe to Kamet in Garhwal Himalaya, 1931; undertook a series of Himalayan ventures throughout the 1930s; Mount Everest expedition of 1933 on which he reached 27,900 feet; with Tilman and three Sherpas he spent three months in Garhwal Himalaya and forced an entry, for the first time, up the Rishi gorge and into the Nanda Devi sanctuary which, with its satellite peaks, they surveyed; expeditions to the north side of Everest, 1935, 1936, and 1938; two journeys of exploration to the remote areas of the Karakoram bordering on Tibet and Sinkiang (Xinjiang), 1937 and 1938; Patron's medal of the Royal Geographical Society, 1938; At the outbreak of the Second World War, Shipton was engaged on the second Karakoram expedition; consul-general at Kashgar; returned to Britain, 1942; Foreign Office posting to Persia; second tour of duty at Kashgar, 1946-1948; consul-general at Kunming, Yunnan, 1949-1951; reconnaissance of the south side of Everest, 1951; warden of the Outward Bound Trust school in Eskdale, 1952-1954; undertook a series of exploratory journeys in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, 1958-1964; adviser to the Chilean government in the boundary dispute with Argentina; President of the Alpine Club, 1965-1967; died, 1977. Publications:
Nanda Devi (1936)
Blank on the Map (1938)
Upon that Mountain (1948)
Mountains of Tartary (1951)
Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition (1951)
Land of Tempest (1963)
That Untravelled World (1969) FRGS 1930-1977; .

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Eric Shipton, 1921-1972, including correspondence, 1952-1967; exercise book containing notes on the Vulim Wolf party describing a visit to a volcanic crater, Galapagos Islands; drafts of publications by Shipton including That Untravelled World, Mountain Conquest and Land of Tempest; drafts of articles by Shipton and typescripts of talks for the BBC; photographic prints, negatives, postcards and press cuttings of Shipton and Shipton in group photographs and VHS cassette of an interview with Shipton, broadcast on Australian television, 1972.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Original order.

Conditions governing access:

Accessed via the Foyle Reading Room. Free of charge for Fellows, Members and those with valid academic identification. All other users pay a charge and must bring identification in order to register on arrival.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Photocopying at the discretion of the Archivist, and subject completion of 'application for copies' form. No reproduction or publication without permission of the RGS-IBG Archivist.

Finding aids:

Detailed catalogue available in the Foyle Reading Room.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

MS notes in an exercise book and family photographs donated by Nicolas Shipton (son), 5 Sept 1977; VHS tape donated by Jane Allen, Sep 2002.

Allied Materials

Related material:

RGS Correspondence Block: 1931-1940 (includes papers on the 1939 Central Asia expedition).

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Prepared by an archives volunteer using existing finding aids. Revised by Sarah Drewery.
Sources: Oxford DNB; Obit. Geog. Jnl: Vol. 143, 1977, pp 363-364.

Rules or conventions:
ISAD(G) ed. 2, name authority NRA.

Date(s) of descriptions:
22 March 1977; Jul 2008.