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Welcome  | Revealing the history of civilisation through journeys off the beaten track
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FORGOTTEN TRAVELLERS Biographies of six forgotten British travellers, each of whom felt driven to abandon ‘normal‘ living, and undertake intrepid journeys during the 1920s and 30s, before the Second World War altered forever the world through which they travelled, and extinguished the memory of their exploits.Their journeys speak eloquently of a vanished historical age, when the colonial powers still boasted empires, and the world clung on to its last few unexplored corners. Such was the demand for tales of adventure that all of them became celebrities of the day. To follow in their footsteps one must journey from the scorching deserts of Libya to the icy wastes of Greenland, from war-torn Serbia to the mountains of Kenya, and from the hidden gorges of Tibet to the steamy jungles of the Brazilian Mato Grosso. Theirs is a heady tale, indeed.  The Hunt for Colonel Percy FawcettLt.-Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett (1867-?), last seen in the Amazon searching for the lost city of Z. Extract: "For every Colonel Fawcett known to the world, there are a hundred such who have disappeared and remain entirely unheard of." (The Rivers Ran East, Leonard Clark, 1953) Percy Harrison Fawcett (1867-?) was born in Torquay, Devon in 1867. His Indian-born father Edward was something of a rake, a friend of the Prince of Wales, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, from whom young Percy undoubtedly got his penchant for adventure (Percy‘s older brother Edward became a writer of adventure books). From an early age, however, he disproved of his parents‘ racy lifestyle and became a serious, academic loner. Aged nineteen, and against his will, he took up a commission in the Royal Artillery and was posted to Trincomalee in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka). As Lieutenant Colonel Fawcett he served brilliantly and met his future wife Nina there, but it was how he filled his leisure time that was to set the tone for the rest of his life. Leaving his fellow officers to their drinking, gambling, and fraternising with the locals, he would wander off into the jungle interior of the island, seeking out ancient ruins and recording mysterious inscriptions. More... Appointments in the SunRosita Forbes (1890-1967), around the world in a wide-brimmed hat. Driven by DevilsK. C. Gandar Dower (1908-1944), in Kenya on the trail of the mythical spotted lion. Watkins, Explorer, EnglandGino Watkins (1907-1932), in Greenland pioneering Atlantic air routes for PanAm. In the Land of the Blue PoppyF. Kingdon Ward (1885-1958), in India and Nepal with the last of the great plant hunters. Vagabonds AbroadJan (1882-1944) and Cora Gordon (1879-1958), through Europe and America with pen and paint. Duncan meets Maasai men on trail of African legend Sheffield Star (May 2009) More Forgotten Travellers this way... |
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