David Cox (historian and mountaineer)

Cox spent most of his adult life at Oxford University. He was elected as a Fellow of All Souls (1937), before becoming a Fellow and Praelector in Modern History at University College (1939–1980). Apart from war service, for the rest of his working life he remained a fellow of University College, where he held a number of roles, including being senior tutor for almost 30 years and vice-master for a period in the late 1970s until his retirement in 1980.{{cite web | title = UC:S24 – Papers of David Cox (Fellow 1939-80) | website =University College, Oxford| access-date = 15 November 2024 |url = https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Cox.pdf }}

His academic expertise was in medieval history, ranging from medieval domestic and parish records, the history of University College, Oxford and its early members,{{cite book| last=Darwall-Smith | first=Robin | authorlink=Robin Darwall-Smith | title=A History of University College, Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press | date=2008 | isbn=978-0-19-928429-0 | chapter=Appendix I | page=529 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zrCfAAAAMAAJ | access-date = 14 November 2024}} through to crusader castles and the orders of chivalry.

Cox was not only a mountaineer, modern commentary on several of his first ascents shows that he was also a highly proficient technical rock climber who played a significant part in new developments. As a boy, before he went to university in 1932, Cox was climbing on the tors of Dartmoor in Devon. The 1976 climbing guidebook to Dartmoor credits him with the first ascent of "most of the routes on Sheeps Tor",{{cite book | title = Dartmoor Climbers Guide | date=1976| first = Anthony John James| last = Moulam | isbn = 9780901516862 |publisher =West Col |pages= 13 }} he climbed those between 1930 and 1935.

Whilst an undergraduate he became President of the Oxford University Mountaineering Club and he and Robin Hodgkin "were central in a bright pre-war flowering of the Oxford University Mountaineering Club".{{cite news | title = Obituaries: Robin Hodgkin – talented mountaineer turned educationist | work =The Independent| date= 25 August 2003| first =Stephen | last = Goodwin | access-date =16 November 2024 |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/robin-hodgkin-36990.html }} Together they were involved in numerous significant first ascents, many in the upper grades of difficulty for the period. These included, in 1936, the climb Climbers Club Direct on the Dewerstone in Devon, which is now regarded as '3 star' classic and has been described as "one of the technical masterpieces of its time, as hard, perhaps, as any pitch yet done in Britain" and "one of the hardest routes in the country at the time, and not repeated for a decade".{{cite book | title = Who's Who in British Climbing | date=2008| first = Colin| last = Wells | isbn = 9780955660108 |publisher =The Climbing Company Ltd |pages= }} In 1935 Cox, with Rennie Bere, made the first ascent of Climbers Club Ordinary on the same cliff; this route is featured in the compendium Classic Rock{{cite book | title = Classic Rock | date=1985| first = Ken| last = Wilson | isbn = 0246109386 |publisher =Granada |pages= 231–233 }} and was the first recorded climb on the Dewerstone,{{cite book | title = Rock Climbs in the South West: South Devon and Dartmoor | date=1985| first1 = Pat | last1 = Littlejohn | first2 = Pete| last2 = O’Sullivan| isbn = 9780904405972 |publisher =Cordee |pages= 7 }} a cliff which "offers the finest climbs" on Dartmoor.

During a week spent camping beneath Clogwyn Du'r Arddu in 1937, Cox and Hodgkin, along with Clare and Berridge Mallory (the daughters of George Mallory the Everest pioneer), repeated most of the existing routes on the cliff and made significant variations on several of the existing climbs as well as making a major first ascent (of Sunset Crack). He visited the cliff on several other occasions, perhaps the most significant of those being in October 1945, when he and Jock Campbell made the first ascent of the climb Sheaf (HVS **), which has been described as "a superb discovery"{{cite book | title = Clogwyn Du'r Arddu | date=1989| first = Paul| last = Williams |publisher =Climbers Club |pages= 10 }} and "a masterpiece of route finding".{{cite book | title = The Black Cliff - The History of Rock Climbing on Clogwyn du'r Arddu | date=1971| first1 = N. Jack | last1 =Soper | first2 = Ken | last2 = Wilson | last3 = Crew | first3 = Peter| isbn = 9780718207908 |publisher =Kaye & Ward |pages= 46 }}

Cox also co-authored a climbing guide book for Craig yr Ysfa in North Wales.{{cite book | title = Craig yr Ysfa | date=1945| first1 =A. D. M.| last1 = Cox | first2 = H. E.| last2 = Kretschmer| publisher =Climbers Club }} Whilst carrying out preparatory work for the guide book he made a number of first ascents on the crag, including several when he was climbing alone and unroped. One of those, his solo first ascent of Spiral Route on Craig yr Ysfa in 1938 has been described as "a solo effort which ranks with the great achievements on Welsh rock" and "one of the outstanding achievements of the pre-war era".{{cite book | title = Menlove: Life of John Menlove Edwards | date=1985| first = Jim| last = Perrin | isbn= 9780575035713 |publisher =Gollancz |pages= 263 }}

He made his first visit to the Alps in 1933, returning on several occasions during the 1930s.{{cite journal | title = Early Years | journal =Alpine Journal| date= 1980| first =David | last = Cox | issn= 0065-6569 |volume =#85 |issue = 329 | pages=89–97 | access-date =16 November 2024 |url = https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1980_files/AJ%201980%2089-97%20Cox%20Memoir.pdf }} The war years marked a break but for about 10 years, around the 1950s, Cox was Wilfrid Noyce's regular climbing partner{{cite book | title = Far, Far, the Distant Peak: The Life of Wilfrid Noyce Mountaineer, Scholar, Poet | page =43| date=2014| first = Stewart| last = Hawkins | isbn = 9780957404304 |publisher =Curbans Books }} and from 1949 through to 1958 they spent several seasons climbing together in the Alps.{{cite journal | title = In Memoriam: Cuthbert Wilfrid Frank Noyce (1917-1962) | journal =Alpine Journal| date= 1962| first =A.D.M.| last = Cox| issn= 0065-6569 |volume =#67 | pages=384–388 | access-date =16 November 2024 |url = https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1962_files/AJ%201962%20378-407%20In%20Memoriam.pdf#page=7 }}{{cite journal | title = Wilfred Noyce 1917-1962: Some Personal Memories | journal =Alpine Journal| date= 1993| first1 =John | last1 = Hunt | first2 =David | last2 = Cox |isbn=978-0948153273 | issn= 0065-6569 |volume =#98 | issue = 342 | pages=67–70 | access-date =15 November 2024 |url = https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1993_files/AJ%201993%2067-70%20Hunt%20Noyce.pdf }}

In 1942, after two years service with the Royal Artillery, he was seconded to the Commando Mountain and Snow Warfare Centre in Braemar, where he and John Hunt trained troops under Frank Smythe.{{cite journal | title = Some Experiences in Mountain Warfare Training | journal =Alpine Journal| date= 1946| first =Frank | last = Smythe | issn= 0065-6569 |volume =#55 | issue =272 | pages=233–240 | access-date =16 November 2024 |url = https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1946_files/AJ55%201946%20233-240%20Smythe%20Mountain%20Warfare.pdf }} In 1943 Cox was promoted to the rank of Major and became 'Chief Instructor, Rock'{{cite book | title = Dog in the Snow: The Story of the Wartime Middle East Ski School | date=2018| first =James | last = Riddell | isbn= 978-0-9941323-1-4 |publisher =John Douglas Publishing |pages= 142 | access-date = 15 November 2024 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FM0rw3fc_a4C&q=Dog+in+the+Snow+riddell }} to the Middle East Ski and Mountaineering School at the Cedars of Lebanon above Beirut.{{cite journal | title = The Lebanon: Some Memories of Mountain Warfare Training during World War II | journal =Alpine Journal| date=1992| first =A. D. M. | last = Cox | issn= 0065-6569 |volume =#97 |issue =341 | pages= 191–197 | access-date = 11 November 2024 |url = https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1992-93_files/AJ%201992%20191-197%20Cox%20Lebanon.pdf }}{{cite journal | title = Mountaineering with the Army in the Middle East | journal =Alpine Journal| date= 1949| first =A.D.B. | last = Side | issn= 0065-6569 |volume =#57 | pages=66–75 | access-date =16 November 2024 |url = https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1949_files/AJ57%201949%2066-75%20Side%20Middle%20East.pdf }}

By 1945 he was Commanding Officer of a Mountain Commando Training Wing in Llanberis.{{cite book | title = Welsh Rock: 100 Years of Climbing in North Wales | date=1986| first1 = Trevor Geoff| last1 = Jones | first2 = Geoff | last2 = Milburn | isbn = 9780951111406 |publisher =Pic Publication |pages= 78 }} In autumn 1945 Chris Preston, who was a mountain instructor under Cox's command, attempted to make the first ascent of the climb now known as Suicide Wall on the flank of Idwal Slabs (Rhiwiau Caws), in Wales. Cox had insisted that Preston carry out an abseil inspection, when he made the actual attempt he reached the half way ledge but his climbing partners were unable to follow, a safe retreat was impossible and Cox provided a rope from above so that Preston could safely escape. The following weekend Preston returned and accomplished the first ascent; in an attempt to minimise his responsibility if Preston had fallen and been fatally injured, Cox absented himself by going to climb at Clogwyn Du'r Arddu instead. Suicide Wall was regarded as "a leap forward in wall-climbing - the hardest climb in Britain for over a decade".

In 1957 Cox joined Noyce on a Himalayan expedition when they were part of a team, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Roberts, attempting the first ascent of Machapuchare in Nepal ({{convert|6993|m|abbr=on}}). The party also included Roger Chorley and Charles Wylie.{{cite web | title = British Machhapuchare 1957 | website =MEF – Mount Everest Foundation| access-date = 15 November 2024 |url = https://www.mef.org.uk/expeditions/british-machhapuchare-1957 }} Cox and Noyce successfully climbed to within {{convert|150|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} of the summit via the north ridge (an approximate altitude of {{convert|22,793|ft|abbr=on}}).{{Cite book|title=Climbing the fish's tail|last=Noyce|first=Wilfrid|publisher=Pilgrims Book House|year=1998|isbn=978-8173031007|language=en|oclc=857085947|author-link=Wilfrid Noyce|orig-year=1958 | url=https://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.3112/page/n67/mode/2up | access-date = 13 November 2024}}

Although they stopped their ascent a short way below the summit, the Nepali government have not given any other parties permission to climb the mountain since the Roberts expedition.{{Cite web|last=Vallangi|first=Neelima|title=The Himalayan peak off limits to climbers|url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210216-the-himalayan-peak-off-limits-to-climbers|access-date=2024-11-16|website=www.bbc.com|date=17 February 2021 |language=en}}

Before leaving Nepal, Cox and Noyce went on to make the first ascent of Singu Chuli (also known as Fluted Peak) ({{convert|6501|m|abbr=on}}).{{cite journal | title = Asia, Nepal, Machapuchare | journal =American Alpine Journal| date=1958| first =Wilfrid | last = Noyce | issn= 0065-6925 |volume =#11 |issue =32 | pages= 118–120 | access-date = 12 September 2024 |url = http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12195811800/Asia-Nepal-Machapuchare }} They climbed the north-east face, finishing by the top section of the east ridge, and reached the summit on 13 June 1957.{{cite book | title = The Trekking Peaks of Nepal | date=1992| first = Bill| last = O’Connor | isbn = 9781852236519 |publisher =Crowood }}

In the early stages of the Machapuchare expedition Roger Chorley contracted polio and was evacuated.{{cite journal | title = Climbing the Fish's Tail | journal =Alpine Journal| date= 1957| first =Wilfred | last = Noyce | issn= 0065-6569 |volume =#62 |issue = 94 | pages=113–120 | access-date =16 November 2024 |url = https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1957_files/AJ62%201957%20113-120%20Noyce%20Fish%27s%20Tail.pdf }}

In 1958, the year after the Machapuchare expedition, Cox, Noyce and Anthony Rawlinson were climbing in the Alps when Cox himself contracted polio. It was thought unlikely that he would walk again{{cite magazine | magazine = The Hertford College Magazine | title = David Cox, 8 June 1913 — 25 October 1994 | date=1995| issue = #81 |pages= 103–107 | access-date = 15 November 2024 | url = https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1995-No.-81-The-Hertford-College-Magazine.pdf#page=104 }} but he managed to recover enough to return to hiking up hills in the UK although permanently weakened arms and chest meant that he was never again able to do any serious climbing.

Cox was elected as President of the Alpine Club (1971–1973); in that role he has been credited for preparing the ground "in the face of many die-hards" for the amalgamation of the Ladies Alpine Club with the (then) male only Alpine Club.{{cite journal | title = Obituary – A. David M. Cox (1913 – 1994) | journal =Yorkshire Ramblers Club| date= 1995| first = Dennis | last = Armstrong | issn= |volume =#12 |issue =3 | pages= | access-date =14 November 2024 |url = https://www.yrc.org.uk/journal-and-image-archive/journal-selector/yrc-journal-1995-vol-12-no-3/journal-s12i3p32/ }}

He died on 25 October 1994 on the last day of a holiday in Cyprus.{{cite journal | title = Obituary: David Cox 1913 (1933) – 1994 | journal =Climbers Club Journal| date=1994| first =Jim | last =Perrin | volume =#22 | issue =113 | pages= 114–118 }}

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Category:1913 births

Category:1994 deaths

Category:People educated at Clifton College

Category:Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford

Category:Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford

Category:Fellows of University College, Oxford

Category:British mountain climbers

Category:British rock climbers

Category:20th-century English historians

Category:British medievalists

Category:People from the Borough of West Devon

Category:Presidents of the Alpine Club (UK)

Category:Polio survivors

Category:Sportspeople from Plymouth, Devon