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Sir Francis Younghusband | |
|---|---|
 Francis Younghusbandc. 1905 | |
| Birth name | Francis Edward Younghusband |
| Born | 31 May 1863 (1863-05-31) |
| Died | 31 July 1942(1942-07-31) (aged 79) |
| Allegiance |  Great Britain |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Service years | 1881–1919 |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Conflicts | British Expedition to Tibet First World War |
| Awards | Order of the Star of India Order of the Indian Empire Charles P. Daly Medal(1922) MacGregor Medal[1] |
| Alma mater | Royal Military College, Sandhurst |
| Spouse | Helen Augusta Magniac |
Lieutenant ColonelSir Francis Edward Younghusband,KCSI KCIE (31 May 1863 – 31 July 1942) was aBritish Army officer,explorer and spiritual writer. He is remembered for his travels in theFar East andCentral Asia; especially the1904 British expedition toTibet, led by him, and for his writings on Asia and foreign policy. Younghusband held positions including British commissioner to Tibet and president of theRoyal Geographical Society.
Francis Younghusband was born in 1863 atMurree,British India (now Pakistan), to a British military family, being the brother of Major-GeneralGeorge Younghusband and the second son of Major-General John W. Younghusband[2] and his wife Clara Jane Shaw. Clara's brother,Robert Shaw, was a noted explorer ofCentral Asia. His uncle Lieutenant-GeneralCharles Younghusband CB FRS, was a British Army officer and meteorologist.
As an infant, Francis was taken to live in England by his mother. When Clara returned to India in 1867 she left her son in the care of two austere and strictly religious aunts. In 1870 his mother and father returned to England and reunited the family. In 1876 at age thirteen, Francis enteredClifton College,Bristol. In 1881 he entered theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst, and was commissioned as asubaltern in the1st King's Dragoon Guards in May 1882.[2][3]
In 1886–1887, on leave from his regiment, Younghusband made an expedition across Asia though still a young officer. After sailing to China his party set out, with Colonel Mark Bell's permission, to cross 1200 miles of desert with the ostensible authority to survey the geography; but in reality, the purposes were to ascertain the strength of the Russian physical threats to the Raj. Departing Peking with a senior colleague,Henry E. M. James (on leave from hisIndian Civil Service position) and a young British consular officer fromNewchwang,Harry English Fulford, on 4 April 1887, Lieut Younghusband exploredManchuria, visiting the frontier areas ofChinese settlement in the region of theChangbai Mountains.[4][5]
On arrival in India, he was granted three months' leave by the Commander-in-ChiefField Marshal Lord Roberts; the scientific results of this travel would prove vital information to theRoyal Geographical Society. Younghusband had already carried out numerous scientific observations in particular, showing that theChangbai Mountains' highest peak,Baekdu Mountain, is only around 8,000 feet tall, even though the travellers' British maps showed [nonexistent] snow-capped peaks 10,000-12,000 ft tall in the area.[7][original research?][8][original research?] Younghusband crossed the most inhospitable terrain in the world to the Himalayas before being ordered to make his way home. Parting with his British companions, he crossed theTaklamakan Desert toChinese Turkestan, and pioneered a route fromKashgar toIndia through the unchartedMustagh Pass.[4] He reported to the Viceroy,Lord Dufferin, his crossing through theKarakoram Range, theHindu Kush, thePamirs and where the range converged with the Himalayas; the nexus of three great empires. In the 1880s the region of the Upper Oxus was still largely unmapped. For this achievement, aged still only 24, he was elected the youngest member of theRoyal Geographical Society and received the society's 1890Patron's Medal.
In February 1889, he was made captain[9] and was dispatched with a small escort ofGurkha soldiers to investigate an uncharted region north ofLadakh, where raiders fromHunza had disrupted trade betweenYarkand and India the previous year.[10] Whilst encamped in the valley of theYarkand River, Younghusband received a messenger at his camp, inviting him to dinner with CaptainBronislav Grombchevsky, his Russian counterpart in "The Great Game". Younghusband accepted the invitation to Grombchevsky's camp, and after dinner the two rivals talked into the night, sharing brandy and vodka, and discussing the possibility of a Russian invasion of British India. Grombchevsky impressed Younghusband with the horsemanship skills of hisCossack escort, and Younghusband impressed Grombchevsky with the rifle drill of his Gurkhas.[11] After their meeting in this remote frontier region, Grombchevsky resumed his expedition in the direction ofTibet and Younghusband continued his exploration of theKarakoram.
Younghusband received a telegram from Simla, to attend the Intelligence Department (ID) to be interviewed by Foreign SecretarySir Mortimer Durand, transferred to theIndian Political Service. He served as a political officer on secondment from the British Army. He refused a request to visit Lhasa as an interpreter, disguised as a Yarkandi trader, a cover not guaranteed to fool the Russians, afterAndrew Dalgleish, a Scots merchant, had been hacked to death. Younghusband was accompanied by a Gurkha escort, celebrated for their ferocity in combat. The Forward policy was circumscribed by a legal offer to all travellers of peaceable security crossing borders. Departure fromLeh on 8 August 1889 on the caravan route took them up the mountain pass ofShimshal towards Hunza, his aim being to restore the tea trade toXinjiang and prevent any further raids intoKashmir. Colonel Durand fromGilgit joined him. Younghusband probed the villages to gauge the reception: calculating it was a den of thieves, they ascended the steep ravine. The Hunza was barred to them, a trap was sprung; the parley terms took him inside to negotiate. The nervous reception over, they were all relieved to find safety; Younghusband wanted to know who was waylaying innocent civilian traders, and why. The ruler,Safdar Ali extended a letter of welcome to his Kashmiri kingdom; the British investigated whence came the Russian infiltrators under Agent Gromchevsky. Further south atLadakh, he kept a close watch on their movements. Reluctantly, Younghusband dined with the Cossack leaders, who divulged the secrets of their common rivalry. Gromchevsky explained that the Raj had invited enmity for meddling in the Black Sea ports. The Russian displayed little grasp of strategy, but basic raw courage; he betrayed the confidence ofAbdul Rahman as no friend to the British. Younghusband tentatively concluded that their possessions atBokhara andSamarkand were vulnerable. Having drunk large quantities of vodka and brandy, the Cossacks presented arms in cordial salute and they parted in peace. Woefully unprepared for winter, the British garrison at Ladakh refused them entry.
Younghusband finally arrived atGulmit to a 13-gun salute. In khaki, the envoy greeted Safdar Ali at the marquee on the Karakoram Highway, the men of Hunza kneeling at their ruler's feet. This was colonial diplomacy, based on protocol and etiquette, but Younghusband had not come for merely trivial discussions. Reinforced by Durand's troops, Younghusband's arguments were to prevent criminal looting, murder, and highway robbery. Impervious to reason though Safdar Ali was, Younghusband was not prepared to allow him to laugh at the Raj. A demonstration of firepower "caused quite a sensation", he wrote in his diaries. The British major was disdainful, but content when he left on 23 November to return to India, which he reached by Christmas.
In 1890, Younghusband was sent on a mission toChinese Turkestan, accompanied byGeorge Macartney as interpreter. He spent the winter inKashgar, where he left Macartney as British consul.[12] Younghusband sought to investigate the Pamir Gap, a possible Russian entry route to India, but first needed to address issues with the Chinese authorities in Kashgar. It was for this reason he recruited a Mandarin interpreter, junior officer George Macartney, to accompany his missions into the frozen mountains. They wintered in Kashgar as a listening post, meeting in conference with the RussianNikolai Petrovsky, who had always resisted trade with Xinjiang (Sinkiang). The Russian agent was well-informed about British India, but proved unscrupulous. Believing he had succeeded, Younghusband did not reckon on Petrovsky's deal with theTaotai of Xinjiang.
In July 1891, they were still in the Pamirs when news reached them that the Russians intended to send troops "to note and report with the Chinese and Afghans". AtBozai Gumbaz in theLittle Pamir on 12 August he encountered Cossack soldiers, who forced him to leave the area.[13] This was one of the incidents which provoked theHunza-Nagar Campaign. The troop of 20 or so soldiers planted a flag on what they anticipated was unclaimed territory, 150 miles south of the Russian border. However, the British considered the area to be Afghan territory. ColonelYonov, decorated with theOrder of St George, approached his camp to announce that the area now belonged to the Tsar. Younghusband learnt that they had raided theChitral territory; furthermore, they had penetrated theDarkot Pass into theYasin Valley. They were joined by eager intelligence officer Lieutenant Davison, but the British were disabused by Ivanov of British sovereignty: Younghusband remained polite, maintained protocol but hospitable to the big Russian bear hug.
During his service in Kashmir, he wrote a book calledKashmir at the request ofEdward M. J. Molyneux. Younghusband's descriptions went hand in glove with Molyneux's paintings of the valley. In the book, Younghusband declared his immense admiration of the natural beauty of Kashmir and its history. Younghusband participated in the geopolitical rivalry between Britain and Russia, known as 'The Great Game,' which persisted into the 20th century before being formally concluded by the 1907 Anglo-Russian Treaty. Younghusband, among other explorers such asSven Hedin,Nikolay Przhevalsky,Shoqan Walikhanov andSir Marc Aurel Stein, had participated in earnest.[14] Rumours of Russian expansion into theHindu Kush with a Russian presence in Tibet prompted the newViceroy of IndiaLord Curzon to appoint Younghusband, by then a major, British commissioner to Tibet from 1902 to 1904.
In 1903, Curzon appointed Younghusband as the head of theTibet Frontier Commission;John Claude White, the political officer ofSikkim, and E. C. Wilton, served as his deputy commissioners in the commission.[15] Younghusband subsequently led theBritish expedition to Tibet, which had the putative aim of settling disputes over theSikkim–Tibet border, but eventually exceeded instructions from Younghusband's superiors and became ade facto invasion. Roughly 100 miles (160 km) inside Tibet, on the way toGyantse, thence to the capital ofLhasa, Younghusband's troops defeated 600–700 Tibetan troops near the hamlet of Guru. The expedition's troops, equipped with rifles and machine guns, easily routed the poorly-equipped Tibetan forces, who were armed with hoes, swords, and flintlocks.[16]
Ultimately, 202 men of Younghusband's expedition were killed in action while 411 died of non-combat causes.[17] The expedition was supported byUgyen Wangchuck of theKingdom of Bhutan (who was to become the King of Bhutan in 1907), who wasknighted in return for his services. However, the invasion embarrassed the British government, which desired good relations with theQing dynasty for the sake of Britain's trade with Chinese coastal settlements. As a result, the British government repudiated theConvention of Lhasa signed by Younghusband and Tibetan officials due to concerns over its impact on Anglo-Chinese relations and trade with Chinese coastal regions.
In 1891, Younghusband received the Companion of theOrder of the Indian Empire,[2] and then he was awarded the honour of Knight Commander of theOrder of the Star of India in December 1904.[18] He was also awarded theKaisar-I-Hind Medal (gold) in 1901,[2] and theGold Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in 1905.[19] In 1906, Younghusband settled inKashmir as the British Resident representative before returning toBritain in 1909,[20] where he was an active member of many clubs and societies. In 1908, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. During theFirst World War, his patrioticFight for Right campaign commissioned the song "Jerusalem".
In 1889, Younghusband reached base ofTurkestan La (North) from north, and he noted that this was a long glacier and a major Central Asian dividing range.[21]
In 1919, Younghusband was elected President of theRoyal Geographical Society, and two years later became Chairman of theMount Everest Committee which was set up to coordinate the initial1921 British Reconnaissance Expedition toMount Everest.[22] Younghusband supported efforts to summit Mount Everest and endorsedGeorge Mallory's participation in early expeditions, and they followed the same initial route as the earlier Tibet Mission. Younghusband remained Chairman through the subsequent1922 and1924 British Expeditions.
In 1938, Younghusband encouragedErnst Schäfer, who was about to lead a German expedition, to "sneak over the border" when faced with British intransigence towards Schäfer's efforts to reach Tibet.[23]
In 1897 Younghusband married Helen Augusta Magniac, the daughter ofCharles Magniac, MP. Augusta's brother, Vernon, served as Younghusband's private secretary during the expedition to Tibet.[24] The Younghusbands had a son who died in infancy, and a daughter,Eileen Younghusband (1902–1981), who became a prominent social worker.[25]
From 1921 to 1937 the couple lived atWesterham, Kent, but Helen did not accompany her husband on his travels. In July 1942 Younghusband suffered a stroke after addressing a meeting of theWorld Congress of Faiths inBirmingham. He died of cardiac failure on 31 July 1942 at Madeline Lees' home Post Green House, atLytchett Minster, Dorset.[26] He was buried in the village churchyard.[25]
He was a member of theBath and County Club.[27]
BiographerPatrick French described Younghusband's religious belief as one who was
brought up anEvangelical Christian, read his way intoTolstoyan simplicity, experienced a revelatory vision in the mountains of Tibet, toyed withtelepathy inKashmir, proposed a new faith based on virileracial theory, then transformed it into whatBertrand Russell called 'a religion of atheism.'[28]
Ultimately he became a spiritualist and "premature hippie" who "had great faith in the power ofcosmic rays, and claimed that there are extraterrestrials with translucent flesh on the planetAltair."[29]
Younghusband described having a mystical experience during his retreat from Tibet, which he said instilled him with a profound sense of 'love for the whole world and convinced him that "men at heart are divine".[30] This conviction was tinged with regret for the invasion of Tibet, and eventually, in 1936, profound religious convictions invited a founder's address to theWorld Congress of Faiths (in imitation of theWorld Parliament of Religions). Younghusband published a number of books with titles includingThe Gleam: Being an account of the life of Nija Svabhava, pseud. (1923);Mother World (in Travail for the Christ that is to be) (1924); andLife in the Stars: An Exposition of the View that on some Planets of some Stars exist Beings higher than Ourselves, and on one a World-Leader, the Supreme Embodiment of the Eternal Spirit which animates the Whole (1927). The last drew the admiration of LordBaden-Powell, the Boy Scouts founder.[31] Younghusband explored speculative concepts such aspantheism, a Christlike 'world leader' residing on the planet 'Altair,' and ideas reminiscent of theGaia hypothesis, exploring the theology of spiritualism, and guidance by means of telepathy.
In his bookWithin: Thoughts During Convalescence (1912), Younghusband stated:
We are giving up the idea that the Kingdom of God is in Heaven, and we are finding that the Kingdom of God is within us. We are relinquishing the old idea of an external God, above, apart, and separate from ourselves; and we are taking on the new idea of an internal spirit working within us – a constraining, immanent influence, a vital, propelling impulse vibrating through us all, expressing itself and fulfilling its purpose through us, and uniting us together in one vast spiritual unity.[32]
Younghusband exploredEastern philosophy andTheosophy advocating for a non-anthropomorphic understanding of divinity.[33] Taking influence fromHenri Bergson'sCreative Evolution, he proposed purpose in the cosmos through a creativelife force. Younghusband's philosophy of cosmic spiritual evolution was outlined in his booksLife in the Stars (1927) andThe Living Universe (1933).[33] In the latter book he proposed the idea that the universe is a living organism. Younghusband held the view that spiritual forces in the universe are directing evolution and producing life and intelligence on many different planets.[33] Younghusband's philosophical ideas, such as cosmic spiritual evolution, received limited acceptance within the scientific community. He founded the World Congress of Faiths to promote dialogue between different religions.[33]
Younghusband allegedly believed infree love ("freedom to unite when and how a man and a woman please"), marriage laws examined as a matter of "outdated custom".[34]
Association withParamahansa Yogananda:In July 1935, Sir Francis Younghusband introduced the Indian yogi and spiritual teacher, Paramahansa Yogananda, during a lecture at Caxton Hall in London. This event is detailed in Yogananda’s “Autobiography of a Yogi,” where he describes his interactions with Younghusband.
One of Younghusband's domestic servants,Gladys Aylward, became a Christian missionary in China. TheIngrid Bergman filmThe Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) is based on Gladys Aylward's life, withRonald Squire portraying Younghusband.[35]
Younghusband wrote prolifically between 1885 and 1942. Subjects ranged from Asian events, exploration, mountaineering, philosophy, spirituality, politics and more.
