Theodore Howard Somervell OBE (16 April 1890 - 23 January 1975) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 surgeon

Surgeon

In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...

, 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...

 and missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 who was a member of two expeditions to 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 the 1920s, and then spent nearly 40 years working as a doctor in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Early life

Somervell was born in Kendal

Kendal

Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...

, Westmorland

Westmorland

Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...

, England

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...

 to a well-off family which owned a shoe-manufacturing business. He attended Rugby School

Rugby School

Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...

, and at the age of eighteen joined the Fell and Rock Climbing Club, beginning an interest in climbing

Climbing

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...

 art, and mountaineering which would last a lifetime. After completing his schooling, he studied at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge where he developed his strong Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 faith and gained First Class Honours in the Natural Sciences Tripos. He then began training as a surgeon at University College Hospital

University College Hospital

University College Hospital is a teaching hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is closely associated with University College London ....

; eventually graduating in 1921 after his training had been interrupted by the First World War.

World War I

Between 1915 and 1918 Somervell served in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 with the Royal Army Medical Corps

Royal Army Medical Corps

The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...

. He was commissioned as a lieutenant

First Lieutenant

First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...

 with the West Lancashire Casualty Clearing Station on 17 May 1915, having previously been a member of the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 Officer Training Corps. He was Mentioned in Despatches, but the horrors of the war had a profound effect on him. During the Battle of the Somme in 1916 he was one of four surgeons working in a tent, while hundreds of wounded men lay dying on stretcher

Stretcher

A stretcher is a medical device used to carry casualties or an incapacitated person from one place to another. It is a simple type of litter, and still called by that name in some cases....

s outside. On short breaks from surgery, he spoke with some of the dying men, and noted that not one asked to be treated ahead of the others. The experience immediately turned Somervell into a pacifist

Pacifism

Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...

, a belief he continued to hold for the rest of his life. He relinquished his commission in 1921, by which time he held the rank of captain

Captain (OF-2)

The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...

.

First Everest expedition

By 1922, Somervell had shown himself a capable climber in the Lake District

Lake District

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

 and the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

, where he climbed in particular with Bentley Beetham

Bentley Beetham

Bentley Beetham was an English mountaineer, ornithologist and photographer, and a member of the 1924 British Mount Everest Expedition.-Early life:...

, a climber, photographer and ornithologist from Darlington. Somervell was invited to join the 1922 British Everest expedition

British Mount Everest Expedition 1922

The 1922 British Mount Everest Expedition was the first mountaineering expedition with the express aim of making the first ascent of Mount Everest. This was also the first expedition that attempted to climb Everest using bottled oxygen. The expedition would attempt to climb Everest from the...

. During the expedition, he formed a close friendship with George Mallory

George Mallory

George Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s....

, and the two famously read Shakespeare to one another in their tent at night. By May 18, Somervell, Mallory and two other climbers and several Sherpa

Sherpa people

The Sherpa are an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. Sherpas migrated from the Kham region in eastern Tibet to Nepal within the last 300–400 years.The initial mountainous migration from Tibet was a search for beyul...

 porters

Porter (carrier)

A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who shifts objects for others.-Historical meaning:Human adaptability and flexibility early led to the use of humans for shifting gear...

 had established camp on the North Col

North Col

The North Col refers to a sharp-edged pass or col carved by glaciers connecting Mount Everest and Changtse in Tibet. It forms the head of the East Rongbuk Glacier....

, at 7020 metres the highest man had ever camped, and prepared to make the first ever attempt on the summit of Everest along the North Ridge and then the Northeast Ridge. Their plan had been to establish a further camp at around 8000 m, but in the thin air it proved impossible to climb as quickly at they hoped, and they were forced to send the Sherpas down and make camp on a cramped ledge at around 7600 m. The following day, exhausted and suffering from frostbite

Frostbite

Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...

, they reached a height of 8170 m before turning round, realising that they had no hope of reaching the summit before dark. They had set a world altitude record

World altitude record (mountaineering)

In the history of mountaineering, the world altitude record referred to the highest point on the Earth's surface which had been reached, regardless of whether that point was an actual summit. The world summit record referred to the highest mountain to have been successfully climbed...

, but such is the scale of Everest that they had not even reached the junction with the Northeast Ridge.

Over the next few days a second group of climbers Geoffrey Bruce and George Finch

George Finch (chemist)

George Ingle Finch FRS was a chemist and mountaineer.He was born in Australia but educated in German-speaking Switzerland and studied physical sciences at Geneva University....

, using oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

, made a second unsuccessful attempt on the summit. With the weakened climbers back at Base Camp (only Somervell was considered fit to continue by the expedition doctor), and the weather becoming worse with the imminent arrival of the monsoon

Monsoon

Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...

, Somervell and Mallory argued that the team should make a third attempt, against the advice of Charles Bruce

Charles Granville Bruce

Brigadier-General Charles Granville Bruce, CB, MVO was a Himalayan veteran and leader of the second and third British expeditions to Mount Everest in 1922 and 1924.-Background and early life:...

, the expedition leader. On the 7th June, Somervell was part of a party of four British climbers leading fifteen Sherpas through waist-deep fresh snow on the slopes below the North Col. An avalanche

Avalanche

An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...

 occurred, killing seven Sherpas. Somervell was shocked, and felt great guilt that it was the Sherpas who had paid the price for the poor judgement of the British climbers, writing

Travels in India

With the expedition over, Somervell set out to see India, travelling from the far north to Cape Comorin. He was shocked by the poverty he saw, and in particular the poor medical facilities. At the main hospital of the south Travancore

Travancore

Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

 medical mission in Neyyoor

Neyyoor

Neyyoor is a village situated in the south of India near Kanya Kumari. The nearest major towns are Thiruvananthapuram and Nagercoil . The nearest railway station is Eraniel Station....

 he found a single surgeon struggling to cope with a long queue of waiting patients, and immediately offered to assist. On his return to Britain, he abandoned his promising medical career, and announced his intention to work in India permanently after his next attempt on Everest. Most of his famous paintings sold today are from his travels in various part of India. Even though most of his time was in Kerala where many landmarks to his name still remain.

Second Everest expedition

Somervell returned to Everest with the 1924 expedition

British Mount Everest Expedition 1924

The 1924 British Mount Everest Expedition was—after the 1922 British Mount Everest Expedition—the second expedition with the goal of achieving the first ascent of Mount Everest. After two summit attempts in which Edward Norton set a world altitude record, the mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew...

. Throughout the expedition he was dogged by a sore throat, hacking cough and occasional difficulty breathing, but remained one of the strongest members of the team. The team's first summit attempt was aborted due to bad weather, and during the retreat four porters who had refused to descend the avalanche prone slopes below the North Col were left sitting on a ledge overnight. Somervell led the rescue operation the next morning, undertaking a delicate traverse of the avalanche slope to reach the four men.

Once the team had regrouped and high camps re-established, Somervell made the next summit attempt with Edward Norton

Edward Felix Norton

Edward Felix Norton DSO MC was a British army officer and mountaineer.He was educated at Charterhouse School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and then joined artillery units in India and served in World War I. He had been introduced to mountain climbing at the home in the Alps of his...

. Setting out from Camp VI at 6:40 a.m. on 4 June, they made a traverse

Traverse (climbing)

A traverse is a lateral move or route when climbing; going mainly sideways rather than up or down. Traversing a climbing wall is a good warm-up exercise....

 of the North Face below the Northeast Ridge, thereby by-passing the now notorious Second Step. Somervell, racked by coughing fits, decided at noon that he could go no further. Norton continued alone for a short distance before judging that snow conditions were too dangerous for a lone, unroped climber. They had reached an altitude of 8570 m; a record which would not be broken, with certainty, until 1952.

On the descent, the throat problems which had plagued Somervell reached a climax, and he found himself fighting for his life as some flesh came loose and caused him to choke

Choking

Choking is the mechanical obstruction of the flow of air from the environment into the lungs. Choking prevents breathing, and can be partial or complete, with partial choking allowing some, although inadequate, flow of air into the lungs. Prolonged or complete choking results in asphyxia which...

. Unable to speak or attract Norton's attention he sat down in the snow to die. He later wrote of what happened next;
The obstruction was the entire mucous membrane

Mucous membrane

The mucous membranes are linings of mostly endodermal origin, covered in epithelium, which are involved in absorption and secretion. They line cavities that are exposed to the external environment and internal organs...

 lining Somervell's throat, which had become badly frostbitten in the cold air.

After Everest

From 1925 to 1949, Somervell worked at the south Travancore medical mission, which became one of the largest missionary hospitals in the world. He attracted new staff, and built an innovative viewing gallery in the operating theatre

Operating theatre

An operating theater was a non-sterile, tiered theater or amphitheater in which students and other spectators could watch surgeons perform surgery...

 where friends and relatives of the patients could observe the surgery and learn about its benefits. This helped build trust between the doctors and the surrounding people, and helped encourage sick people to come for treatment earlier than had been the case in the past. He was also an early pioneer of the treatment of leprosy

Leprosy

Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...

, which until that time had been considered incurable. For his work at the hospital, he was awarded a Kaisar-I-Hind Medal in 1938.

Somervell became an associate professor of surgery at Vellore Christian Medical College in 1949, a post he would hold until his retirement. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1953 New Year Honours

New Year Honours

The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...

. On his retirement in 1961 he returned to England, and was President of the Alpine Club

Alpine Club (UK)

The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first mountaineering club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'.-History:...

 for three years.

Death and commemoration

Somervell died in Ambleside

Ambleside

Ambleside is a town in Cumbria, in North West England.Historically within the county of Westmorland, it is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake...

 in 1975. A teaching hospital at Karakonam, south of Trivandrum – the Dr. Somervell Memorial CSI Medical College Hospital – is named in his honour.