Hodgkinson David Antony

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Biografie:
David Antony Hodgkinson (1909- 1958)
David Hodgkinson, who died last December, was born in 1909. He was educated at Sherborne and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he read Mods. and Greats. He went down in 1933 and spent a year as a Master at Haileybury before moving to Uppingham, and in 1947 he became ·House Master of Farleigh. He was a most efficient and successful housemaster; he never spared himself, and was much loved and respected. He was a good rugger player and an Authentic. For a number of years he commanded the C.C.F., and despite his many school duties he even found time to be a lay reader. In the years before the war he used to take parties of Uppinghamians climbing during the Christmas and Easter holidays. He was elected a member of the Alpine Club in 1936, resigned during the war and was re-elected in 1947. He was married in 1939 and leaves a widow and two sons.
He started his climbing on British hills and could not afford to visit the Alps until he went down from Oxford. Before the war he climbed in Britain at least once and generally twice a year. Most of these climbs were in North Wales, but there were occasional excursions to the Lakes or Skye. He did most of the standard ' severes ' in Wales, including the Devil's Kitchen, and in Skye he did the complete traverse of the Cuillin ridge (Gars Benn to Sgurr nan Gillean) in 1938. He also did the Cioch Direct and attempted the Water Pipe Gully, only to be driven out by the torrent after forcing the great second pitch.
His first visit to the Alps was in 1934 and thereafter he never missed a summer season until the war. After the war his visits to the Alps were less frequent, but altogether he had eleven Alpine seasons with over sixty expeditions to his credit, including twenty-two 4.000-metre peaks. His Alpine climbs included the traverses of the Meije, Ecrins and Rateau (all accomplished in his first season). The Meije was a particularly tough expedition as the mountain had been sheeted in ice by a thunderstorm on the previous evening and he was out 20 1/2 hours. In the Oberland his most important expeditions were the traverses of the Bietschhorn by the North ridge and East spur, the Aletschhorn over the Sattelhorn and down to the Concordia, the Jungfrau by the Guggi route, and the W etterhorn in very bad conditions. In the Pennines he accomplished the Weisshorn, the traverse of the Obergabelhorn, the Dent D'Herens, the Matterhorn twice, including an ascent of the Zmutt ridge with descent by the Italian ridge, the Lyskamm by the North-\yest ridge, Castor by the North ridge, Monte Rosa by the Cresta Rey, the Alphubel by the Rotgrat, the Nadelhorn and many others. In the Chamonix area his climbs included the Peigne, the Blaitiere, traverse of the Grepon, the Rochefort arete, Mont Blanc by the Brenva route, the traverse of the Drus, the traverse of Les Courtes by the Col des Cristaux attained from the Argentiere glacier, and the North face of the Aiguille d 'Argentiere.
In Britain he nearly always climbed in nailed boots and disdained the use of rubber. He never wore vibrams. He was a good rockclimbing leader with powerful arms and shoulders, and an almost perfect second. He hardly ever led in the Alps except on difficult rock, though he could well have done so, but he always insisted in descending as last man, which was typical of his unselfishness. He was a wonderful companion in the mountains and would always back up and encourage the leader in a difficult situation. He never complained and would stoically endure a bombardment of ice chips dislodged by the leader's axe rather than make any complaint which might disturb him. His courage and determination were remarkable. When descending the Petit Dru in 1936 he had a narrow escape. We were very late, due to a loss of four hours in the ice-fall in the early morning. In climbing down an open chimney he was hurrying and, missing a hold, he fell some ten feet, landing head downwards in a patch of boulders. By good fortune his head happened to land in a hole and he fell on his shoulder, tearing a muscle. Despite this injury he insisted in continuing to descend as last man.
His love for mountains was profound. He could recite the whole of Godley's ' Switzerland ' and every line had a deep meaning for him. He had a good collection of Alpine books. His death at the age of 49 has left a gap in the lives of his many friends which can never be filled, but his memory and example will remain. He could not get to meetings of the Alpine Club owing to distance and pressure of work, but he was one of its most loyal and devoted members and the Club can ill afford his loss.
T. A. H. Peacocke
Quelle: Alpine Journal Vol. 64. Nr. 298, 1959, Seite 286-288


Geboren am:
1909
Gestorben am:
12.1958