21-482: Major Harold William Tilman , CBE , DSO , MC and Bar , (14 February 1898 – November 1977) was an English mountaineer and explorer , renowned for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages. Bill Tilman was born on 14 February 1898 in Wallasey , Cheshire , the son of a wealthy sugar merchant John Hinkes Tilman and his wife Adeline Schwabe (née Rees). He was educated at Berkhamsted Boys school . During
42-588: A Reichskommissar , and finally part of a theoretical Reichsgau of Flanders. Rich in coal , facing the North Sea , bordered by usually powerful neighbors, French Flanders has been fought over numerous times in the thousand years between the Middle Ages and World War II. The traditional language of northern French Flanders ( Westhoek ), related to the Dutch language , is known as West Flemish , specifically,
63-424: A subdialect known as French Flemish , spoken by around 20,000 daily speakers and 40,000 occasional users. The traditional language of Walloon Flanders (part of Romance Flanders ) is Picard (and its dialects, such as Ch'ti [ fr ] or Rouchi ). Many schools in this region teach Flemish to schoolchildren, partially in an effort to revive the language. In 2008, this part of France gained exposure to
84-591: Is a crown . The equivalent rank in the Royal Navy is lieutenant commander , and squadron leader in the Royal Air Force . By the time of the Napoleonic wars , an infantry battalion usually had two majors, designated the "senior major" and the "junior major". The senior major effectively acted as second-in-command and the majors often commanded detachments of two or more companies split from
105-432: Is a part of the historical County of Flanders , where Flemish —a Low Franconian dialect cluster of Dutch —was (and to some extent, still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day northern French region of Hauts-de-France , and roughly corresponds to the arrondissements of Lille , Douai and Dunkirk on the northern border with Belgium . Together, with French Hainaut and Cambrésis , it makes up
126-1061: The First World War he entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and, on 28 July 1915, he graduated from Woolwich where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Field Artillery of the British Army . Tilman fought at the Battle of the Somme , and was twice awarded the Military Cross for bravery. His climbing career, however, began with his acquaintance with Eric Shipton in Kenya , East Africa , where they were both coffee growers. Beginning with their joint traverse of Mount Kenya in 1929 and their ascents of Kilimanjaro and
147-655: The French Department of Nord . French Flanders consists, mostly, of flat marshlands in the coal-rich regions just south of the North Sea . It comprises two areas: Once a part of ancient and medieval Francia from the inception of the Frankish kingdom (descended from the Empire of Charlemagne ) under the Merovingian monarchs such as Clovis I , who was crowned at Tournai , Flanders gradually fell under
168-774: The Royal Geographical Society 's Founder's Medal for his achievements. He volunteered for service in the Second World War ; he first saw action during the Battle of France helping to cover the retreat in Flanders before getting to the beaches at Dunkirk . Tilman then served in North Africa , Iraq and Iran before being called on for special duty in 1943. He then was dropped by parachute into Albania behind enemy lines to fight with Albanian and Italian partisans. For his actions there he
189-807: The Southern Netherlands . It was separated from the county (part of Habsburgs ' Burgundian inheritance) in 1659 due to the Peace of the Pyrenees , which ended the French-Spanish conflict in the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), and other parts of the region were added in successive treaties in 1668 and 1678. The region was ceded to the Kingdom of France , and became part of the province of Flanders and Hainaut . The bulk became part of
210-743: The control of the English and then Spanish , becoming part of the Spanish Netherlands and retained by Spain at the end of the Eighty Years' War . When French national military power returned under the Bourbons with King Louis XIV "The Sun King" (1638–1715), a part of historically French Flanders was returned to the Kingdom. The region now called "French Flanders" was once part of the feudal state County of Flanders , then part of
231-497: The cuff badges were abolished. From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force maintained the rank of major. It was superseded by the rank of squadron leader on the following day. By World War I , majors were often commanding independent companies, squadrons , and batteries , but those that were organically part of a regiment or battalion were still usually commanded by captains. After World War II , major became
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#1732781039314252-526: The expedition leader in 1938. He penetrated the Nanda Devi sanctuary with Eric Shipton in 1934, and in 1936 he went on to lead an Anglo-American expedition to Nanda Devi . With the support of a team which included Peter Lloyd and H. Adams Carter , Tilman and Noel Odell succeeded in making the first ascent of the 7,816 metres (25,643 ft) mountain, which remained the highest summit climbed by man until 1950. Tilman later described their arrival on
273-586: The fabled "Mountains of the Moon" Ruwenzori , Shipton and Tilman formed one of the most famed partnerships in mountaineering history. When it came time to leave Africa, Tilman was not content with merely flying home but rode a bicycle across the continent to the West Coast where he embarked for England. Tilman was involved in two of the 1930s Mount Everest expeditions - participating in the 1935 Reconnaissance Expedition , and reaching 27,200 feet without oxygen as
294-458: The main body. The second-in-command of a battalion or regiment is still a major. During World War I, majors wore the following cuff badges: During World War I, some officers took to wearing similar jackets to the men, with the rank badges on the shoulder, as the cuff badges made them conspicuous to snipers. This practice was frowned on outside the trenches but was given official sanction in 1917 as an alternative, being made permanent in 1920 when
315-541: The modern French administrative Nord department , although some western parts of the region, which separated in 1237 and became the County of Artois before the cession to the French, are now part of Pas-de-Calais . During World War II , 'French Flanders' referred to all of Nord-Pas de Calais , which was first attached to the military administration of German -occupied Belgium, then part of Belgien-Nordfrankreich under
336-579: The source of the river Oxus . In doing so, he traversed the Wakhjir Pass now marking the Afghanistan–China border , and is thought to be the last Westerner to have done so. During his extensive exploration of the areas of Langtang , Ganesh and Manang in Nepal in 1949, Tilman was the first to ascend Paldor, 5896 metres, and found the pass named after him beyond Gangchempo. He was awarded in 1952
357-530: The summit: In 1939, Tilman was the first man to attempt climbing in the remote and unexplored Assam Himalaya , exploring the Southern approaches of Gori Chen, 6538 metres, before his team succumbed to malaria. In 1947 he attempted Rakaposhi , then made his way to Kashgar to join up with Eric Shipton in a lightweight attempt on Muztagh Ata , 7546 metres, which nearly succeeded. On his way back to India, he detoured through Afghanistan 's Wakhan Corridor to see
378-490: The usual rank held by officers commanding all companies, squadrons, and batteries. In the 21st century British Army, officers normally attain the rank after around eight to 10 years of commissioned service. A common job for a major is the command of a sub-unit of 120 or fewer junior officers and soldiers. French Flanders French Flanders ( French : Flandre française [flɑ̃dʁ(ə) fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ; Dutch : Frans-Vlaanderen ; West Flemish : Frans-Vloandern )
399-785: Was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts, and was given the keys to the city of Belluno which he had helped save from occupation and destruction. Following his military career behind enemy lines in the Second World War , Tilman took up deep sea sailing. Sailing in deep seas on the Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter Mischief , which he purchased in 1954, and subsequently on his other pilot cutters Sea Breeze and Baroque , Tilman voyaged to Arctic and Antarctic waters in search of new and uncharted mountains to climb. On his last voyage in 1977, in his eightieth year, Tilman
420-584: Was invited to ship as crew in En Avant with mountaineers sailing to the South Atlantic to climb Smith Island . The expedition was led, and the boat skippered, by the youthful Simon Richardson . He and his crew aboard the old, converted steel tug made it successfully and without incident to Rio de Janeiro . Thereafter, en route to the Falkland Islands , they disappeared without trace - it
441-462: Was presumed the ship had foundered with all hands. Sources: H.W.Tilman, the seven Mountain Travel Books H.W.Tilman, the eight Sailing / Mountain exploration Books Major (United Kingdom) Major ( Maj ) is a military rank which is used by both the British Army and Royal Marines . The rank is superior to captain and subordinate to lieutenant colonel . The insignia for a major
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