Charles Wylie

Jul 26 2007 by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post

THEY called it the “Great Carry”, and the man with the wiry beard and steady stare, who had all the pluck of the old British Empire in the thump of his heart, was chosen to lead it.

But when the bunting was out to celebrate our conquest of Everest on May 29, 1953, as the nation prepared for the Coronation, the name of Charles Wylie wasn’t heard much.

Most praise went to Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing, who had reached the summit, and John Hunt, expedition leader.

That’s the way Wylie liked it. He was a team man, though he personally invited Tenzing to join them. Fifty years later, when the Queen asked him and the other surviving expedition members to a commemoration, he said, with an accent still brushed by Marlborough College and a childhood in the British Raj: “We knew mountaineers would be glad we had climbed Everest, but we had no idea there would be such world interest”.

Wylie was transport officer, responsible to ensuring that supplies reached Tenzing and Hillary as they approached the final ascent. In this he was supported by 14 Sherpas, each of whom carried loads of 30 pounds. During this time the snow was so heavy that it was feared the whole thing would have to be called off. Yet the phlegmatic Wylie’s team made a breakthrough to the south col (mountain pass). When a Sherpa began to falter, Wylie took on his load. He had had an undying respect for them.

A little earlier there was news from his wife, Diana, in England. “I am transported with great exultation to announce the birth of your son,” wrote the head of the wireless station. “I hope you have cause for similar rejoicing at least once a year. Please pay the bearer one rupee.”

In fact, they had three more children.

Wylie was born in at Bakloh in the Punjab hills. From school he went to Sandhurst, passing out in 1939 when he was the British pentathlon champion. He was commissioned into the 1st Gurkha Rifles, having by then established his reputation as a fine climber.

He was captured by the Japanese in Malaya and suffered appalling treatment on the Burma-Siam railway.

After the war, Lieutenant Colonel Wylie returned to the North West frontier. He later settled in Surrey.

Charles Wylie, climber, born December 24, 1919; died July 18, 2007.