Sandra
Noel is the daughter of Capt. John Noel official film
maker of the 1924 Everest expedition. Her father first set
sight on Mount Everest, the highest known mountain,
unconquered and inaccessible, during his time serving in the
British army. He learnt the Tibetan language, engaged some
hillsmen as his travelling companions, disguised himself by
blacking his face with boot polish, and set off from his Army
base in India. In 1913, he reached to within 40 miles of the
great mountain, the closest any white man had ventured, but
had to turn back through lack of food. But his perseverance
was rewarded when he was invited to join the 1922 and 1924
Everest expeditions as photographer. Although marred by the
loss of Mallory and Irvine, Noel’s photographic record, in
both stills and film, ranks today as a great reminder of the
spirit and fortitude of the early climbers. He also wrote a
book, entitled ‘Through Tibet to Everest’, which he dedicated:
To my father, from whom I inherited my love of travel.
By raising £8,000 to
fill the Mount Everest Committee’s financial shortfall to
mount the 1924 expedition, Noel acquired copyright on all
photographic material relating to that attempt. His only
child, Sandra, is now the copyright holder and custodian of
this memorable collection, and she lectures widely using both
black and white images, as well as the plates hand-painted by
her father, and the film. She has written a book entitled
’Everest pioneer; the photographs of Captain John Noel’,
published by Suttons 2003, which she dedicated to her father,
from whom she has inherited her love of travel. Not a
mountaineer, she has travelled widely on the Indian
subcontinent, often following in her father’s footsteps, and
is spiritually attracted to the people and places, much as her
father was almost 100 years ago.
She lives in Wye,
Kent, is a part-time Lecturer in Travel and Tourism, as well
as presently scanning the entire collection of glass plates
and saving them to disc.
