George W. Hayward
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George W. Hayward | |
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Born | c. 1839 The Great Game |
Parent(s) | George Hayward Sr. (father) Eleanora Whitaker (mother) |
George Jonas Whitaker Hayward (c. 1839 – 18 July 1870) was a well-known nineteenth-century English explorer. Information for all but the final few years of his life is scarce. His exploration efforts and eventual murder in South Asia during "
Pre-exploration life
Hayward was long believed to have been Irish but research in the 1990s by Charles Timmis revealed that he was in fact a
Affiliation with the Royal Geographical Society
Hayward appeared in England in 1868 and approached
Political turmoil in Central Asia
The era that Hayward operated in was one of imperial expansion in Central Asia. In the south the British Empire, based out of India, was consolidating and expanding its positions to the north. In the north the Russian Empire was expanding its territory at a dramatic pace. Soon the Russians were expanding south into central Asia. The area between the two empires was shrinking fast and clandestine agents and explorers were sent to map this unknown area of the world full of lawless tribes, murderous despot rulers and some of the most formidable and challenging terrain on Earth.[3]
Although the Royal Geographical Society was strictly apolitical, Rawlinson was also a member of the government's India Council and a known
Journey to Kashgar and Yarkand
Hayward's official Royal Geographical Society mission was to explore the
Another Englishman, Robert Shaw, uncle of Sir Francis Younghusband, was making a similar journey to Yarkand and Kashgar at the same time. Shaw seems to have resented Hayward's presence, and although they were often within a few hundred metres of one another, they only met once at the start of their approach to Kashgaria, and then again many months later.
While awaiting permission to proceed at the Kashgaria border Hayward escaped from his guards and spent 20 days exploring and charting the course of the Yarkand River.
Shaw reached Kashgaria in December 1868 after sending ahead envoys announcing his arrival and carrying with him gifts for
In Yarkand Hayward and Shaw were separately kept under house arrest. After sometime Shaw was allowed to proceed to Kashgar to meet with Yakub Beg. After a warm reception Shaw eventually found himself once again under house arrest. A few weeks later Hayward arrived in Kashgar and was also placed under house arrest. The two were able to periodically communicate by passing secret notes.
Neither man knew at the time, but they were being held while Yakub Beg was waiting for the response to his recent envoy to Russia. When no positive response came from Russia Shaw again was allowed an audience with the King. Afterwards he was free to return home and was able to arrange for Hayward's release as well as that of Mirza Shuja, a Pundit exploring the region for Britain.[2]
For his efforts exploring the Kun Lun and
Himalayas, Hindu Kush and source of the Oxus
In November 1869 Hayward started his next journey north through the Himalaya. With almost no provisions or gear he travelled in the dead of winter almost 300 miles to Gilgit. The winter crossing took over two months instead of the ten to twenty days it took when the passes were clear.
While traveling in this region he had to cross a war zone between Hindu Kashmiris and Muslim Dardistan. In search of a new approach to the Pamirs he visited the Yasin Valley and became friends with Mir Wali who convinced him it was impossible to proceed through the Hindu Kush until the summer thaw.[3]
Hayward returned to India, again crossing the Himalaya with no supplies in the dead of winter. Upon returning he wrote a letter to a
In June 1870 Hayward again headed north now that the mountain passes were clear. He travelled through Kashmiri territory and reached Gilgit with no difficulty. In mid July he reached Yasin once more and proceeded to the
On the morning of 18 July 1870 Hayward stayed up all night after receiving word he might be attacked. Towards dawn he fell asleep and he was attacked. His hands were tied behind his back and he was dragged into the woods where he was murdered.
Death
Controversy and mystery surrounded Hayward's death.
One version states that his friend Mir Wali arranged his death on the orders of Aman ul-Mulk.[3][4]
An alternate version - that which was least convenient for the British - had it that the Maharaja of Kashmir had arranged Hayward's death as revenge for the letter about the Kashmiri atrocities in Dardistan. The theory says the Maharaja exacted revenge against Hayward and also benefited by framing the ruler's enemy, Mir Wali.[2]
Hayward's body was later recovered by a Kashmiri soldier. It was found under a small pile of stones, taken back to Gilgit, and buried in an orchard that later became the town's Christian cemetery. His tombstone, paid for by the Maharaja of Kashmir, reads: "To the memory of G. W. Hayward, Gold Medallist of the Royal Geographical Society of London, who was cruelly murdered at Darkot, 18 July 1870, on his journey to explore the Pamir steppe. This monument is erected to a gallant officer and accomplished traveller at the instance of the Royal Geographical Society."[5]
Since his death, Hayward received little acclaim or recognition. However, he stands alone among the explorers of the Western Himalaya in terms of the areas he surveyed and the size of his expeditions – usually just himself and three to six porters and bearers.
Miscellaneous
In the 1930s Colonel
Biography: "Murder in the Hindu Kush"
A biography of Hayward, entitled Murder in the Hindu Kush: George Hayward and the Great Game, by travel writer Tim Hannigan was published by
See also
- The Great Game
- Geostrategy in Central Asia
- Royal Geographical Society
References
- ^ a b "Gilgit's Gora Qabristan or white graveyard – Pakistan Saga". pakistansaga.com. 23 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f WildHare Services, Inc. "Death in the Morning – The story of George J. W. Hayward". WildHare Services, Inc. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
- ^ ISBN 1-56836-022-3.
- ISBN 9788120612174.
- ^ Siddiqui, Dr Raheal Ahmad (31 October 2021). "Tales from the graveyard". Jang Group.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Works by or about George W. Hayward at Internet Archive
- Death in the Morning, WildHare Services, Inc
- Works by Henry Newbolt at Project Gutenberg – He fell among Thieves
- https://web.archive.org/web/20100926003647/http://www.murderinthehindukush.com/