George Everest
entered the Bengal Artillery as a Lieutenant on 4 April
1806 before he had even reached his 16th birthday. This
rapid promotion was due to the number of vacancies at
that time. Little has come to light about the first
few years of his service in India until the siege of
Kalinjar near Allahabad in 1812.
The first corroborated appearance of Everest involved
in survey work is in 1813 when he was in Java although
one reference suggests that he may have been there as
early as 1807. Java at that time under Dutch control
was of prime importance to the East India Company which
had various settlements there but the capital, Batavia
was overrun by the French in 1811. As a result the Governor
General of India sent a force to recapture the city
which they achieved on 26 August 1811. It was held until
1816 when it was restored to the Dutch. In the intervening
5 years the East India Company took the opportunity
to make detailed surveys of important parts of the island.
A reconnaissance was started in 1812 but in 1815 Lt
Everest was appointed to complete the survey. Maybe
it was because of his known interests in mathematics
and astronomy that Everest was given this task as there
is no mention of any survey practice for him before
then except that which he would have done whilst at
the Woolwich Academy. In fact young Everest was very
keen to learn and it is said that one of his first acts
after reaching India was to seek out appropriate teachers
of the local languages so that he might be achieve reasonable
fluency. After this he sought fresh subjects to study
and found some mathematical and astronomical textbooks
and became self-taught to a very high standard in these
subjects. This ability was to be of considerable use
throughout his life.
For any survey work he did he was obliged to purchase
his own equipment so he had but a simple form of theodolite
to use. As might be
expected, the areas of particular interest were the
strategic ones of mountains, harbours, communication
routes and near-shore waters. Everest arrived back in
Calcutta on 20 November 1916.
A few months later his skills were sought in relation
to the introduction of a visual telegraphic system stretching
west from Calcutta. He had hardly got half way on this
scheme that was to cover 400 miles when he heard of
his appointment as Chief Assistant to Col. William Lambton
on the Great Trigonometrical Survey. On completing the
telegraph line he marched from its terminal at Chunar
to Hyderabad surveying the route as he went.
Everest joined Lambton on 8 January 1819 and the two
of them observed some of the Arc stations near Bidar.
An indication of Everest’s ability is given by
the fact that within three weeks he was in full control
of the sections he was observing. Unfortunately his
initiation into the GTS was in one of the worst parts
of the country as far as health, vegetation, and climate
was concerned He had one problem after another and he
described many of these eloquently and at some length
in various of his Reports. But conditions only worsened
and by October 1819 he was seized by fever and in just
five days 150 of his followers were similarly struck
down. While making their way back to Hyderabad 15 of
the followers were to die. Although Everest tried to
continue the next year within weeks he was a gain struck
down and on 1st October 1820 sailed to the Cape of Good
Hope to recuperate. |
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