Tom Bourdillon
Encyclopedia
Thomas Duncan Bourdillon, known as Tom Bourdillon (16 March 1924 in Kensington
, London
- 29 July 1956 in Bernese Oberland
, Switzerland
), was an English
mountaineer
, a member of the team which made the first ascent
of Mount Everest
in 1953.
in 1909, and of his wife, Harriet Ada Barnes. He was a grandson of Francis William Bourdillon
, nephew of Francis Bernard Bourdillon and cousin of John Francis Bourdillon.
He was educated at Gresham's School
, Holt
, and Balliol College, Oxford
, where he read Physics
and was president of the Oxford University Mountaineering Club
.
and Mount Everest
.
Bourdillon had been with Eric Shipton
on the 1951 reconnaissance of Everest and on Cho Oyu
in 1952, and he was put in charge of oxygen equipment on the 1952 and 1953 British Everest expeditions. With his father, Robert Bourdillon, he developed the closed-circuit oxygen apparatus used by Charles Evans and himself on their pioneering climb to the South Summit of Everest on 26 May 1953. They came within three hundred feet of the summit, which was reached by Edmund Hillary
and Tenzing Norgay
three days later.
Bourdillon died with another climber, Richard Viney, in a climbing accident on 29 July 1956 while ascending the east buttress of the Jägihorn in the Bernese Oberland
.
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- 29 July 1956 in Bernese Oberland
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps .The flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field The Bernese Oberland (Bernese...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
), was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
mountaineer
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
, a member of the team which made the first ascent
First ascent
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route...
of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
in 1953.
Background and education
Bourdillon was the elder son of Robert Benedict Bourdillon (1889–1971), a scientist who had been a founder member of the Oxford University Mountaineering ClubOxford University Mountaineering Club
The Oxford University Mountaineering Club was founded in 1909 by Arnold Lunn, then a Balliol undergraduate.The club has taken a significant part in the development of mountaineering in the United Kingdom, and many famous British climbers have been members of the club...
in 1909, and of his wife, Harriet Ada Barnes. He was a grandson of Francis William Bourdillon
Francis William Bourdillon
Francis William Bourdillon was a British poet and translator.-Life:Born in Runcorn, Cheshire, Bourdillon was educated at Worcester College, Oxford. He acted as tutor to the sons of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein...
, nephew of Francis Bernard Bourdillon and cousin of John Francis Bourdillon.
He was educated at Gresham's School
Gresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, Holt
Holt, Norfolk
Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
, and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, where he read Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and was president of the Oxford University Mountaineering Club
Oxford University Mountaineering Club
The Oxford University Mountaineering Club was founded in 1909 by Arnold Lunn, then a Balliol undergraduate.The club has taken a significant part in the development of mountaineering in the United Kingdom, and many famous British climbers have been members of the club...
.
Mountaineer
Active as a climber while still a schoolboy, Bourdillon developed his climbing during his years at Oxford. By his mid twenties he was an inspiring figure in the renaissance of British climbing in the Alps, and he then moved on to the challenge of the Greater RangesGreater Ranges
The Greater Ranges comprise the high mountain ranges of Asia:*the Himalayas,*the Karakoram,*the Hindu Kush and Hindu Raj,*the Pamir Mountains,*the Tien Shan,*the Kunlun Shan,...
and Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
.
Bourdillon had been with Eric Shipton
Eric Shipton
Eric Earle Shipton CBE was a distinguished British Himalayan mountaineer.-Early years:Born in Ceylon in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. His mother buried her grief by taking Eric and his sister Marge and travelling constantly for the next five years...
on the 1951 reconnaissance of Everest and on Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu lies in the Himalayas and is 20 km west of Mount Everest, at the border between China and Nepal...
in 1952, and he was put in charge of oxygen equipment on the 1952 and 1953 British Everest expeditions. With his father, Robert Bourdillon, he developed the closed-circuit oxygen apparatus used by Charles Evans and himself on their pioneering climb to the South Summit of Everest on 26 May 1953. They came within three hundred feet of the summit, which was reached by Edmund Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
and Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay
Padma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
three days later.
Bourdillon died with another climber, Richard Viney, in a climbing accident on 29 July 1956 while ascending the east buttress of the Jägihorn in the Bernese Oberland
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps .The flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field The Bernese Oberland (Bernese...
.
Family
On 15 March 1951 Bourdillon married Jennifer Elizabeth Clapham Thomas (born 1929), the daughter of Ronald Clapham Thomas. They had one daughter and one son, the latter ten weeks old when his father died. He is the Great Uncle to a Matthew Kings of Brackley, Northamptonshire.Films
Bourdillon appears as himself in two films, The Conquest of Everest (1953) and (archive footage) The Race for Everest (2003).Sources
- Thomas Duncan Bourdillon by Audrey Salkeld in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004)
- Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition 1951 by Eric ShiptonEric ShiptonEric Earle Shipton CBE was a distinguished British Himalayan mountaineer.-Early years:Born in Ceylon in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. His mother buried her grief by taking Eric and his sister Marge and travelling constantly for the next five years...
(1952) - The Ascent of Everest by John HuntJohn Hunt, Baron HuntBrigadier Henry Cecil John Hunt, Baron Hunt KG, PC, CBE, DSO, was a British army officer who is best known as the leader of the successful 1953 British Expedition to Mount Everest.-Early life and career:...
(1953) - Tom Bourdillon at the Royal Geographical Society
- Image of Bourdillon
- Thomas Duncan Bourdillon at the DNB
- First to Summit
- Conquest of Mount Everest
- The Conquest of Everest (1953) at IMDb
- Tom Bourdillon at IMDb
- Audrey Salkeld, ‘Bourdillon, Thomas Duncan (1924–1956)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2007