John Baptist Lucius Noel
Encyclopedia
John Baptist Lucius Noel (26 February 1890 – 12 March 1989) was a mountaineer and filmmaker best known for his film of the 1924 Mount Everest
expedition. His father, Col. Edward Noel (1852–1917), was the younger son of the second earl of Gainsborough
. Noel was educated in Switzerland, where he fell in love with the mountains, and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
, after which he joined the Army and was posted to India.
Noel's regiment spent summers near the Himalayas
and in 1913 he travelled in disguise into Tibet in order to approach Mount Everest
. After serving in Europe during the First World War
, in 1919 he lectured about his travels near Everest to the Royal Geographical Society
. Sir Francis Younghusband
used the occasion to call for the ascent of Mount Everest in 1921. Noel eventually became a Fellow
of the Royal Geographical Society
(FRGS). He joined the 1922 Everest expedition
as its official photographer and filmmaker and produced a short film, Climbing Mount Everest (1922).
In 1924, Noel formed a private company which paid for the photographic rights of that year's Everest expedition
. Noel reached the North Col and used a specially adapted camera to film the ascent of the peak. A note from George Mallory
to Noel was the last contact with the lost explorer before his body was discovered in 1999. The disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine
added drama to the film, The Epic of Everest (1924), but it was not a commercial success. Noel brought to London a group of Tibetan monks which performed before screenings of the film, and the performances of the "dancing lamas" offended Tibetan religious sensibilities and caused a breakdown in diplomatic relations between Britain and Tibet. Noel lectured widely in North America and published a book about his adventures, Through Tibet to Everest (1927).
After the first ascent
of Everest in 1953, Noel lectured once again about the mountain and his footage and photographs appeared widely in many films and television programmes. He was also the author of two early books on handgun marksmanship.
In his later years, Noel restored old houses. He died on .
References are to Ray Riling
, Guns and Shooting, a Bibliography, New York: Greenberg, 1951.
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
expedition. His father, Col. Edward Noel (1852–1917), was the younger son of the second earl of Gainsborough
Charles Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough
Charles George Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough , styled Viscount Campden between 1841 and 1866, was a British peer and Whig politician.-Background:...
. Noel was educated in Switzerland, where he fell in love with the mountains, and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
, after which he joined the Army and was posted to India.
Noel's regiment spent summers near the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
and in 1913 he travelled in disguise into Tibet in order to approach Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
. After serving in Europe during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in 1919 he lectured about his travels near Everest to the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
. Sir Francis Younghusband
Francis Younghusband
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer...
used the occasion to call for the ascent of Mount Everest in 1921. Noel eventually became a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
(FRGS). He joined the 1922 Everest expedition
British Mount Everest Expedition 1922
The 1922 British Mount Everest Expedition was the first mountaineering expedition with the express aim of making the first ascent of Mount Everest. This was also the first expedition that attempted to climb Everest using bottled oxygen. The expedition would attempt to climb Everest from the...
as its official photographer and filmmaker and produced a short film, Climbing Mount Everest (1922).
In 1924, Noel formed a private company which paid for the photographic rights of that year's Everest expedition
British Mount Everest Expedition 1924
The 1924 British Mount Everest Expedition was—after the 1922 British Mount Everest Expedition—the second expedition with the goal of achieving the first ascent of Mount Everest. After two summit attempts in which Edward Norton set a world altitude record, the mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew...
. Noel reached the North Col and used a specially adapted camera to film the ascent of the peak. A note from George Mallory
George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s....
to Noel was the last contact with the lost explorer before his body was discovered in 1999. The disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine
Andrew Irvine (mountaineer)
Andrew "Sandy" Comyn Irvine was an English mountaineer who took part in 1924 British Everest Expedition, the third British expedition to the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest....
added drama to the film, The Epic of Everest (1924), but it was not a commercial success. Noel brought to London a group of Tibetan monks which performed before screenings of the film, and the performances of the "dancing lamas" offended Tibetan religious sensibilities and caused a breakdown in diplomatic relations between Britain and Tibet. Noel lectured widely in North America and published a book about his adventures, Through Tibet to Everest (1927).
After the first ascent
First ascent
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route...
of Everest in 1953, Noel lectured once again about the mountain and his footage and photographs appeared widely in many films and television programmes. He was also the author of two early books on handgun marksmanship.
In his later years, Noel restored old houses. He died on .
Sources
- Peter H. Hansen, ‘Noel, John Baptist Lucius (1890–1989)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
- Noel, Sandra, Everest pioneer: the photographs of Captain John Noel (2003)
- Peter H. Hansen, "The Dancing Lamas of Everest: Cinema, Orientalism, and Anglo-Tibetan Relations in the 1920s," American Historical Review 101:3 (Jun., 1996), pp. 712-747.
- Walt Unsworth, Everest (2000)
Books by J.B.L. Noel
- How to Shoot with a Revolver, London: Forster Groom, 1918. [Riling 1865]
- The Automatic Pistol, London: Forster Groom, 1919. [Riling 1881]
References are to Ray Riling
Ray Riling
Raymond "Ray" Riling , a Philadelphia builder and arms collector, was an important arms book collector, dealer, author and publisher from the 1940s into the 1970s....
, Guns and Shooting, a Bibliography, New York: Greenberg, 1951.
External links
- John Noel Photographic Collection, including a biographical summary
- Internet Movie Database entry for Noel