Frazer Robert Alexander

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Biografie:
Robert Alexander Frazer (1891- 1959)
In addition to the brief note in A.J. 65. 93, Dr. N. E. Odell writes: “Owing to absence abroad I had not seen the announcement of the death of R. A. Frazer at his home at Ockham in Surrey on December 9 last. He had been a member of the Club for some years ( 1921 - 41), and was my excellent companion in the post-First-War period. He was a strong and skilled rock-climber on many difficult courses in Great Britain, and he had a good many Alpine seasons, both of climbing and winter skiing. He, R. F. Stobart and myself, in 1920 and again in 1922, made a number of climbs in the Chamonix district, including the traverse of the Charmoz, Grepon, Dru as well as an abortive attempt on the East face of the Aiguille Verte, when Frazer's all-round powers as a mountaineer were well brought out, and were a signal comfort to his weary leader, quite out of condition, after a long day and an enforced night spent on a ledge. He was with me in Spitsbergen on the first two Oxford expeditions of 1921 and 1923, and was mainly responsible for the topographical survey, during our crossing of the “highland ice” and mountains of the interior. In 1924 he was leader of a sledging party in North-east Land on the third Oxford expedition, one of his companions being the late W. B. Carslake.
He was a keen skier, but being shy and sensitive he did not regard himself as a “clubbable” man. He had, however, a very kindly disposition, and was beloved by all his companions and colleagues.
“At the City of London School (where F. W. Hill, of the Dent Blanche tragedy of 1899, was one of his masters), and later as Senior Scholar of Pembroke College, Cambridge, he proved himself to be an outstanding mathematician, and became a Wrangler and Rayleigh Prizeman. Later he proceeded to the degree of D.Sc. of London University, and was in 1946 elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Frazer made his name in the field of aeronautical research, and almost the whole of his professional career was spent in the Aerodynamics Department of the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington. Having been a leader in research on the difficult problems of "flutter" in aircraft, he was later in charge of wind-resistance problems, and flutterresearch, on the Severn suspension bridge. He also tackled, and solved intricate questions of wind-resistance in bridges on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences in America, winning the R.38
Memorial Prize of the former Society. It was only by participation in a Spitsbergen expedition that he had been spared the disaster of the airship R.38 in 1921 . . Other facets of his outstanding work have been cited in an obituary in Nature (16.i.60). It should be added that Alec Frazer was a keen student of music and an accomplished pianist: he was indeed that interesting compound of mathematician-musician. I remember how years ago he had hoped to compose a mountaineering symphony, or at least a sonata! He leaves a widow, a son and two daughters, to whom our sympathies are extended.”
Mr. R. F. Stobart adds: “I first met Alec Frazer forty-one years ago, when he joined a party on Scafell Pike for the Peace Celebration bonfire, the beginning of a friendship that ended with his death last December.
“He was a splendid companion on a mountain, reliable and goodtempered under trying conditions, which never failed to produce some wisecrack. He not only enjoyed climbing, but, unlike some, appeared to enjoy the stress of it at the time, rubbing his hands with a boyish gesture of delight, when some difficulty had been surmounted: a gesture that gave rise to the irreverent name of "Pontius ". Never a peakbagger, he was happy on either end of the rope, and alike reliable.
His friendship was as rewarding at home as on the hills; and although circumstances often made contact impossible, and correspondence scanty, there was no break, until now.”
Quelle: Alpine Journal Volume 65, 1960, Seite 225-227


Geboren am:
1891
Gestorben am:
1959