The Name's Hunt, John Hunt Baron Hunt

A man who didn't back down once he set out to accomplish something; a man of courage and visionary leadership, Henry Cecil John Hunt Baron Hunt.

John Hunt, Illustrated by Gowri Suresh: Visual Storyteller at ThisDay

John Hunt was born in Shimla when his father, Cecil Edwin Hunt was serving as the captain of the Indian Army. He was a descendent of the renowned explorer Sir Richard Burton and many years down the line, he'd tread the same path.

Cecil Hunt lost his life in the First World War when John could barely make sense of his surroundings, let alone mourn for his father. Despite the absence of his father, he lead a comfortable life, spending most of his vacations in the Alpine countries of Europe, which is when he learnt the craft of mountaineering.

At just 14 years of age, with guided assistance, he scaled the Piz Palu ranges between Italy and Switzerland.

From India, he shifted to Marlborough and then The Royal Military College, the training ground for soldiers of the erstwhile British Empire. He passed with flying colours and was honoured with the King's Gold Medal and the Anson Memorial Sword.

His posting in India began in 1931 and even though he had been part of a family that was in the higher echelons of the British Society, he never got accustomed to the social climate of the Raj in India. Nevertheless, he knew he was there to serve his country and that's what he did, without much care of the qualms he had.

During his time as a military intelligence officer in the Indian Army, he was particularly useful because of the undercover work he did in Chittagong when the Indian Independence Movement was beginning to gain traction.

He applied for the Everest expedition of 1936 but was unable to go because of a minor heart condition.

When he came back to Britain in 1940, he was assigned to lead the British offensive in Italy during World War 2. Owing to his impressive track record, he was sent over to Greece as a Civil War became imminent.

His impeccable command of the forces not only got him laurels from the British State but was also the reason behind a surprising invitation to lead the Everest Expedition of 1953. This was a make or break situation for the Brits as they wouldn't get a chance till at least 1956 for another try at reaching the peak.

Hunt had been appointed in place of Eric Shipton, who was well-liked by the crew. He took winning them over as another challenge and like all of his previous endeavours, he came out on top of this one and later, the expedition.

A month and a half after establishing the base camp on 12th April, Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the peak of Everest, becoming the first people to have been recorded for accomplishing the feat.

The trust of the camp and the Joint Himalayan Committee of the Alpine Club had paid off once again and Hunt became the man under whose astute leadership, the first-ever successful expedition took place. He returned to Britain to serve the army and post-retirement too, kept himself occupied with one work or another. On November 7 1998, he died but after having lived through and achieved everything that he could.

Scaling horizons; Source: Hyper Leap