Herbert Walter Elmes

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Biografie:
Professor WaIter Elmes Herbert (1902-1980)
My brother Waiter joined the Club in 1931, so that with my late brother Edwin (President of the Club 1953) and myself we had 3 members of the Club in the family. As children we had all been keen walkers which naturally led on to fell walking and mountaineering.
My brother Waiter's life's work was at Guy's Hospital where he played a major part in the development of dental education in this country. He qualified at Guy's as a dentist and also obtained there his qualification as a doctor. After post-graduate work in the USA and experience in private practice he was in 1931 appointed Director of the Department of Conservative Dental Surgery at Guy's, a post he held for 36 years. In 1938 he was made Professor of Dental Surgery in London University and later was appointed to the Consultant Staff at Guy's as Dental Surgeon. He took a leading part in numerous activities connected with dental education and was also, for many years, a member of the Council of the Medical Defence Union and Chairman of its Dental Committee. For a long period he was primarily responsible for the standard textbook on operative dentistry. After his retirement from Guy's at 65, as well as continuing many activities connected with dental education he spent a year in Teheran as Visiting Professor teaching in the new Dental School of the National University of lran. He and his wife decided to make the journey to Iran both out and back by car, thus enabling them (despite some hazards) to visit many unfrequented parts of Turkey.
Waiter was a competent rock climber and was from the mid 20s up to the war a regular member of our Easter parties at Wasdale, where he was well able to lead the climbs which in those days were thought quite hard. From the late 20s up to the war he climbed in the Oberland and the Valais and frequently in the French Alps. I did a few Oberland climbs with him and he climbed also with his wife, but a great part of his climbing was done with the late Dr Ronald Harward, particularly in the Dauphine and in the Aralia district. In the course o(these holidays he climbed many of the “Viertausender” in Switzerland and most of the well known peaks in the Dauphine. He and Ronald Harward must have been able to move quite fast as I remember his telling me of roping up in the dark in the Promontoire and being down in La Grave around lunch-time after traversing the Meije.
After the war he did no serious climbing, but with his wife and family, had many holidays of mountain walking in Europe. He also skied both before and after the war: indeed the last time he was on skis was during his year as Visiting Professor in Iran. He always took a great interest in the Club and was frequently at its meetings until prevented by illness a few months before his death.
H. S. Herbert
Quelle: Alpine Journal Volume 86, 1981, Seite 266


Geboren am:
1902
Gestorben am:
1980