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| Missionary, surgeon & mountaineer, teacher Dr.Somervell, FRCS journals.sagepub.com |
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| Missionary, surgeon, teacher & mountainer. Somervell, FRCS en.wikipedia.org |
Dr. Howard Somervell FRCS (16 April 1890 – 23 January 1975), born in Kendal, England was a man of many talents. Coming from an affluent family, at an early age he showed keen interest in mountain climbing which lasted for a long time. While in college, he developed interest in Christian faith, He gained a medical degree in 1921. Married to Margret Hope Simpson, he had three children by her. He joined the Royal Medical Corps and his military experience in France and later in England during the battle of Somme in May 1916 exposed him to the horrors of war and made him a pacifist. Dejection drove him to resign from the military post in 1921.
Being a good mountain climber when he was in the Alpine area in 1922, he got a chance in the same year to join a British expedition to Mt. Everest, a challenging task in those days. He developed friendship with George Mallory, an ace mountain climber and one of the expedition members. On this expedition on 18 May, Somervell, Mallory and two other climbers and several Sherpa porters had set up camp on the North Col at 7020 m. Their idea was to set one more camp at 8000 m before the final aasault. However, their plan did not go well as oxygen in the air was very low - too dangerous to survive. Following day, they reached 8170 m despite exhaustion and, frostbite they experienced previous day. in an oxygen-starved mountain zone. Reaching the peak before the fall of night was an impossible one. They made history by setting a world altitude record, At that point of time with poor quality mountain gear, they could not make it to the junction with the Northeast Ridge. In June against the advice of team head Charles Bruce, Mallory Somerville and other two British climbers again made an attempt on the formidable peak with a compliment of 15 Sherpha porters. Below the North Col they had to move slowly through waist -high snow. Again, it was a futile attempt that ended in tragedy with the death of seven Sherpas in an avalanche. Dr. Somervell took considerable risk in the avalache-prone area and saved sherpas stranded there.
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1924 British wxpedition, Mt. Everest. artsandculture.google.com
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| CSI mission hospital, Neyyoor, KanyakumariDist.thehindu,com |
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| Location of Kanyakumari Dist. TNthemapspro.blogspot.com |
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| Dr.Somervell Memorial CSI Medical College Hospital.Karakonam missionariesoftheworld.org |
Somervell (1890-1975) was responsible for setting up an X-ray unit and latee a radium treatment unit for cance patients there. Besides, he not only performed hundreds of surgeries in a month but also visited many villages to treat cholera and malaria epidemic that broke out in South Travancore. In those days leprosy was the most dreaded disease and people were afraid to go near thelepors, hence they lived in separate colonies near the towns. Somerville, being sympathetic as he was, opened an exclusive hospital to treat for leprosy patients in Colachel in Kanyakumari district. He retired in 1945 and later became an associate professor of surgery at Vellore Christian Medical College (TN) in 1949, a post he held until his retirement in 1961. His paintings covering various themes related to his travel in India, and Tibet during his Everest expeditions in 1922 and 1924 was popular. The Royal Geographical Society in April 1925 and at the Redfern Gallery, London in 1926 exhibited many of his sketches. He was the recipient of an OBE in 1953. Somervell died in Ambleside in 1975. A teaching hospital at Karakonam, (now in Kerala state) carries his name the Dr. Somervell Memorial CSI Medical College Hospital. Here is a selfless man who lived not his personal gains, but for others to relieve them of their pain and suffering. Dr. Somervell disapproved of conversion of natives to Christianity.. Indeed a noble soul.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/096777209400200102?journalCode=jmba
https://alchetron.com/Howard-Somervell
South Travancore Medical Mission Hospital in Neyyoor,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1924_British_Mount_Everest_expedition.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Somervell
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