Quintin Riley
{{short description|British explorer & soldier (1905-1980)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{infobox person
| honorific_prefix = Lt Cmdr
| name = {{nowrap|Quintin Theodore Petroc Molesworth Riley}}
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Quintin Riley.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1905|10|27}}
| birth_place = {{nowrap|Little Petherick, Cornwall, England}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1980|12|25|1905|10|27}}
| death_place =
| resting_place =
| education = Lancing College
| alma_mater = Pembroke College, Cambridge
| father = {{nowrap|Athelstan Riley}}
| mother =
| spouse =
| children =
| occupation = {{nowrap|Explorer & soldier}}
| known_for = Riley Glacier, Antarctica
| relatives =
| module = {{infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch = {{navy|United Kingdom}}
| serviceyears = 1938-1945
| unit = No. 30 Commando
| rank = Lieutenant commander
| awards =
| battles = {{tree list}}
{{tree list/end}}
}}
}}
Quintin Theodore Petroc Molesworth Riley (27 October 1905 – 25 December 1980) was a British Arctic explorer who was awarded the Polar Medal.
Biography
Quintin Riley was born in 1905 in Little Petherick, Cornwall, the youngest son of the eminent Anglo-Catholic layman, Athelstan Riley. He was educated at Lancing College, where he met Gino Watkins (1907–1932). He continued his education at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1927.[http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPOL%2FPOL20_128%2FS0032247400003818a.pdf&code=90b8fe0748496116d563057d88374391 Quintin Riley obituary - Cambridge Journals]
In 1930–31 Riley joined the British Arctic Air Route Expedition as a meteorologist. This expedition consisted in a team of fourteen men led by Watkins with the mission to survey and monitor weather conditions in the little explored east coast of Greenland.{{cite web
|url = http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/geoscientist/features/page3007.html
|author = Glasby, Geoff
|title = Geological Society – Skaergaard, Everest and more...
|publisher = www.geolsoc.org.uk
|access-date = 4 March 2008
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080311022759/http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/geoscientist/features/page3007.html
|archive-date = 11 March 2008
|df = dmy-all
}} Barely a year later Riley returned to Greenland with the smaller 1932-33 East Greenland Expedition, led by Watkins as well. He was one of the only three remaining team members following Watkin's death[http://www.freezeframe.ac.uk/resources/expeditions/arctic/east-greenland-expedition-pan-am-1932/east-greenland-expedition-1932 East Greenland Expedition (Pan Am) 1932 -33] at Tuttilik Fjord.{{cite journal |date= 1933|title= Mr Watkins' Expedition to East Greenland, 1932–33|url= http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5615156|journal=Polar Record |publisher= Cambridge University Press|volume= 1|issue= 5|pages= 28–30|doi= 10.1017/S0032247400030138 |bibcode= 1933PoRec...1...28.|s2cid= 251051734|access-date=26 July 2016|url-access= subscription}}
Riley next joined the 1934-1937 British Graham Land Expedition led by his former Greenland teammate John Rymill. In 1938 Riley joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and became active in Norway and Iceland – among other places – during World War II. Towards the end of WW2, Riley was appointed Commanding Officer of No. 30 Commando – the brainchild of Commander Ian Fleming.{{Cite web|last=Trewhela|first=Lee|date=2020-02-23|title=Intrepid polar explorer from Cornwall who inspired James Bond|url=https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/history/intrepid-polar-explorer-cornwall-who-3833725|access-date=2021-08-15|website=CornwallLive|language=en}}
Riley died in a road accident on Christmas Day 1980 while he was living in retirement in Essex.[http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/ark:/99166/w6jz3kk7 Quintin Theodore Petroc Molesworth Riley; Biographical notes]
Honours
The Riley Glacier in Palmer Land, Antarctica, was named after him.
Further reading
- {{cite book |title=From pole to pole, the life of Quentin Riley 1905-1980 | last=Riley |first=Jonathan P. |year=1989 |publisher=Bluntisham Books |location= Bluntisham}}
- {{cite book |title=Gino Watkins |last=Ridgway |first=John |year=1974 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-273136-4 }}
- Courtauld, Simon, The Watkins Boys, London, Michael Russell, 2010. {{ISBN|9780859553186}}.
- Scott, J.M., The Land That God Gave Cain, London, Chatto and Windus, 1933.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.essexchronicle.co.uk/quintin-relished-adventuring-normal-home-life-difficult/story-12631179-detail/story.html Essex Chronicle - Quintin relished adventuring but he found 'normal' home life difficult]
- [http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb15-quintinriley Archives - Riley, British Arctic Air Route Expedition]
{{Authority control}}
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Category:British explorers of the Arctic
Category:English polar explorers
Category:Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
Category:Military personnel from Cornwall
Category:People educated at Lancing College
Category:Recipients of the Polar Medal