T. Howard Somervell: War Surgeon, Everest Pioneer, and Medical Missionary.

Abstract

A full century has passed since George Leigh-Mallory and Andrew (Sandy) Irvine disappeared on the upper reaches of Mount Everest in June 1924. Theodore Howard Somervell (April 16, 1890-January 23, 1975), mountaineer, surgeon, and medical missionary, also was a key player in the 1924 expedition-as well as the 1922 Everest expedition where he was a member of the first ever team of climbers to break the 8000-m barrier. More commonly known as Howard or T.H., Somervell was one of those rare individuals whose multiple talents qualified him as nothing short of a polymath while simultaneously providing an example of outstanding humanitarian qualities. British born, he was resident in India for nearly 40 y while working there as a medical missionary. He bore witness as a battlefield surgeon to the horrors of the First World War after receiving his medical training at University College, London. An active climber for much of his early life, he made notable ascents not only in the Himalaya but also closer to home in the mountains of the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. Somervell contributed numerous articles to the medical literature, but he is perhaps best known for 3 books published between 1936 and 1947 that touch largely on his experiences as a medical missionary. His decades of practice as a medical missionary in service to the poor of India allowed him to save lives on a scale approaching that of the slaughter he witnessed years earlier as an Army medical officer.