John Weston Brooke

Infobox Military Person
name=John Weston Brooke
lived= birth date|1880|7|2 – death date and age|1908|12|24|1880|7|2
placeofbirth= Fenay Hall, near Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
placeofdeath=Lolo Land (Yi people)


caption="Lt. John Weston Brooke, FRGS"
nickname=
allegiance=United Kingdom
serviceyears= 1898 - 1902
rank=Lieutenant
branch=Army
commands=
unit=Yorkshire Dragoons, 7th Hussars
battles=Second Boer War
awards=
relations=
laterwork=Explorer

John Weston Brooke, FRGS (2 July 1880 - 24 December 1908) was a British military officer and explorer born at Fenay Hall, near Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England. He went to school at Repton. In 1898, he joined the Yorkshire Dragoons, [LondonGazette|issue=27030|startpage=7903|date=6 December 1898|accessdate=2008-05-06] a Yeomanry unit, and served with the Imperial Yeomanry in the Second Boer War. [LondonGazette|issue=27030|startpage=7903|date=6 December 1898|accessdate=2008-05-06] He was promoted to lieutenant in the Imperial Yeomanry on 10 march 1900. [LondonGazette|issue=27172|startpage=1630|date=9 March 1900|accessdate=2008-05-06] An act of gallantry in the field won him a commission as second lieutenant in the 7th Hussars of the regular British Army, on the recommendation of Field Marshal (United Kingdom) the Lord Roberts, the commission was dated 3 October 1900, [LondonGazette|issue=27175|startpage=1880|date=20 March 1900|accessdate=2008-05-06] and in November 1900 he returned to England and joined the unit at Aldershot. [Fergusson, W.N. (1911). "Adventure, Sport and Travel on the Tibetan Steppes", p. preface. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York ]

In 1902, Brooke resigned from the army and returned to England. There he met and worked with Major Frederick Russell Burnham, the famous American scout and then a Director of the East African Syndicate. In April 1903, as part of the Syndicate, Brooke left England for East Africa and went on an expedition with John C. Blick, Mr. Bittlebank, and Mr. Brown. The party, known as the "Four B.'s", traveled from Nairobi via Mount Elgon northwards to the western shores of Lake Rudolph, experiencing plenty of privations from want of water, and of the danger from encounters with the natives. [Fergusson, W.N. (1911). "Adventure, Sport and Travel on the Tibetan Steppes", p. preface. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York]

Brooke returned to England in April 1904 and applied himself to the study of scientific objects. He received his diploma for survey from the Royal Geographic Society and was made a Fellow of the Society. [Fergusson, W.N. (1911). "Adventure, Sport and Travel on the Tibetan Steppes", p. preface. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York] ["Obituary: J. W. Brooke", The Geographical Journal, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 222-223 (Feb. 1909)]

In March 1906, Brooke went to India to organize an expedition to Tibet to investigate the much debated question of the relation of the Yarlung Tsangpo (then called the Sampo) and Brahmaputra Rivers. Because of a treaty between Russia and the government of India, Brooke's party had to enter Tibet from the North, and this meant travelling via Hankow, Singan, Pingliang, Lanchow, to Siningu, where the party collected ponies, yaks, and supplies. In October 1906, the Dalai Lama (Thubten Gyatso) arrived from Urgu, and Mr. Brooke obtained an audience to see him, the first for an Englishman. During this audience, Brooke was given permission to enter into Tibet. [Fergusson, W.N. (1911). "Adventure, Sport and Travel on the Tibetan Steppes", p. preface. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York ] ["Obituary: J. W. Brooke", The Geographical Journal, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 222-223 (Feb. 1909)]

Brooke crossed Tibet and returned to Shanghai in October 1907. He left Shanghai for a second expedition in December 1907 and travelled in Western Sechuan and Eastern Tibet until 24 December 1908, when he was cruelly murdered in the Independent Lolo Land (Yi people). [Fergusson, W.N. (1911). "Adventure, Sport and Travel on the Tibetan Steppes", p. preface. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York ] ["Obituary: J. W. Brooke", The Geographical Journal, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 222-223 (Feb. 1909)]

Peerage

He was the son of Sir John Arthur Brooke, 1st Bt. (1844-1920) and Blanche Weston. His father was the 1st of the Brooke Baronets of Almondbury, and his brother Sir Robert Weston Brooke, was the 2nd Baronet (1885-1942). [Charles Mosle (editor) (2003). "Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage", p. preface. 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, volume 1, page 520.] [Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors) (1990). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage", New York: St Martin's Press]

References