R. L. Holdsworth

R. L. Holdsworth
Born (1899-02-25)25 February 1899
Mysore, India
Died 20 June 1976(1976-06-20) (aged 77)
Somerset, England
Nationality British
Other names Holdie
Alma mater Magdalen College, Oxford
Occupation Scholar, schoolmaster, cricketer, mountaineer
Known for Schoolmaster at Harrow School, England
Deputy Headmaster at The Doon School, India
Principal of Islamia College University

Romilly Lisle Holdsworth, commonly known as R. L. Holdsworth, (25 February 1899 – 20 June 1976) was a British scholar, academic, educationalist, cricketer and a distinguished Himalayan mountaineer. He was a member of the first expedition to Kamet in 1931, which included other stalwarts such as Eric Shipton and Frank Smythe.[1] Holdsworth, along with Shipton and Smythe, are credited with the discovery of the Valley of Flowers, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, during their return from Kamet.[1][2]

Early life

The Oxford University Cricket Team, 1922; Holdsworth sits on the chair at the left corner.

Holdsworth was educated at Repton School, where he was a pupil of Victor Gollancz, later a famous publisher. He attended Repton under the headmastership of William Temple, the future Archbishop of Canterbury.[3] He later attended the University of Oxford, where he read Literae Humaniores or Classics at Magdalen College.[3] At Oxford he earned a Triple Blue for cricket, football and boxing.[4] He was a first-class batsman and played cricket for Sussex, Warwickshire and Marylebone Cricket Club.[5][6][7][8]

Holdsworth briefly served in the First World War as a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade in 1918 (he served until 1919), after leaving Repton.[9]

Career

Holdsworth held various distinguished positions in his lifetime. In 1922, he joined Harrow School as a schoolmaster. He was made the master-in-charge of cricket and played for Sussex County Cricket Club. In order to encourage ski mountaineering at Harrow, he established a club called the Marmots.[10] After leaving Harrow in 1933, he took over as principal of Islamia College in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which position he served for seven years until 1940, when he joined The Doon School in Dehradun.[11] At Doon, he met his old colleague J. A. K. Martyn, whom he had known since his days at Harrow. Martyn was the second headmaster of Doon School.[12]

He later retired in Somerset, England.

Climbing highlights

Cricket career

Holdsworth was active in first-class cricket from 1919 to 1942. He played for Warwickshire and Sussex. He appeared in 109 first-class matches as a righthanded batsman who scored 4,716 runs with a highest score of 202 among eight centuries.[17]

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 "Colonel Frank Smythe – Francis Sydney Smythe, 1900–1949". Voyages in Time ~ The Family Vault. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  2. ↑ Nalni D. Jayal (2006). "Early Years of Indian Mountaineering". Himalayan Club. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  3. 1 2 "OBITUARY – KENNETH MASON". Himalayan Club. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  4. ↑ Shalini Shah (27 November 2009). "VISHRANTI: an ode to rest". The Hindu : Life & Style. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  5. ↑ "First-class Bowling For Each Team by Romilly Holdsworth". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  6. ↑ "First-class Batting and Fielding Against Each Opponent by Romilly Holdsworth". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  7. ↑ "County Championship Matches played by Romilly Holdsworth (62)". Cricket World Statistics. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  8. ↑ "FIRST-CLASS BATTING AND FIELDING AGAINST EACH OPPONENT BY ROMILLY HOLDSWORTH". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  9. ↑ Dale Vargas (2010). "Assistant Masters". Harrow Association. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  10. ↑ "IN MEMORIAM – ANDRE ROCH (1906–2002)". Himalayan Club. 2003. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  11. 1 2 Shaw, Michael (1 November 2008). In Search of Time Wasted: Peregrinations from Seil Island. AuthorHouse. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-4343-4443-4. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  12. ↑ "Trek to Harkidoon- Ruinsaratal- Kalanag Base camp". My Himalayan Adventure. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  13. ↑ Kapadia, Harish (1999). Across Peaks and Passes in Garhwal Himalaya. Indus Publishing Company. p. 40. ISBN 978-81-7387-097-2.
  14. ↑ Narinder Kumar and Kapil Malhotra, Kamet East, Kamet West: The Kumaoni Expedition, New Delhi: Vision, 1987, ISBN 978-81-7094-003-6, p. 12.
  15. ↑ F. S. Smythe (1949). The Valley of Flowers. W.W. Norton. ISBN 81-85019-98-3.
  16. ↑ "In Memoriam" (PDF). The Alpine Journal. p. 307. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  17. ↑ Romilly Holdsworth at CricketArchive
Bibliography
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