On This Day 2 January 1877 Stanley Portal Hyatt was born
Stanley was born in the "Hawthorns" in Mount Ephraim Road
Stanley Portal Hyatt (2 January 1877 – 30 June 1914) was an English explorer, hunter, and writer. Hyatt left his comfortable family home and struck out around the world c. 1896.
He arrived in Africa to seek his fortune during 1898. In his written works, Hyatt describes his life and experiences in Australia, Rhodesia and the Philippines. He wrote fluently and skilfully about life on "The Road", and about his fellow-riders and his animals. Hyatt had a bitter contempt for commercially inspired progress, vehemently defending the "underdog" whenever he could, and was a savage critic of The Establishment. The Old Transport Road and The Diary of a Soldier of Fortune are his famous works.
He was born in 1877, and educated at Dulwich College. He left school early in 1892 after studying engineering. He then spent two years in the workshops of a big firm of electrical engineers pioneering electric lighting, and then wanderlust gripped him.
He rejected his family's great wealth (although he took a fair amount with him) to strike out on his own as one of the minor Victorian explorers. He was a great traveller, opening up trade routes across Africa, notably Rhodesia where he used ox carts to supply the trading posts of the great white hunters. He also travelled to Singapore, the Phillipines, China and America. He was involved in several wars, notably as a mercenary and not fighting for anyone in particular. God only knows how many children he left around the world. He returned home to England in his 30's (1905) and started writing Boys stories of his adventures and books about his travels.The books are documented, and some are online. By 1910 he was quite ill as a result of his travels and was addicted to Morphine.
(New York Times)
July 2, 1914, Thursday
Birth 2 January 1877 Hawthorns, Mt. Ephraim Rd. Streatham, Surrey
Death 30 June 1914 Longton Grove, Sydenham, Kent
Baptism 11 February 1877 St. Leonard, Streatham, Surrey
Occupation Writer & Adventurer
(Ref Hyatt family tree)
Stanley was born in the "Hawthorns" in Mount Ephraim Road
Stanley Portal Hyatt (2 January 1877 – 30 June 1914) was an English explorer, hunter, and writer. Hyatt left his comfortable family home and struck out around the world c. 1896.
He arrived in Africa to seek his fortune during 1898. In his written works, Hyatt describes his life and experiences in Australia, Rhodesia and the Philippines. He wrote fluently and skilfully about life on "The Road", and about his fellow-riders and his animals. Hyatt had a bitter contempt for commercially inspired progress, vehemently defending the "underdog" whenever he could, and was a savage critic of The Establishment. The Old Transport Road and The Diary of a Soldier of Fortune are his famous works.
He was born in 1877, and educated at Dulwich College. He left school early in 1892 after studying engineering. He then spent two years in the workshops of a big firm of electrical engineers pioneering electric lighting, and then wanderlust gripped him.
He rejected his family's great wealth (although he took a fair amount with him) to strike out on his own as one of the minor Victorian explorers. He was a great traveller, opening up trade routes across Africa, notably Rhodesia where he used ox carts to supply the trading posts of the great white hunters. He also travelled to Singapore, the Phillipines, China and America. He was involved in several wars, notably as a mercenary and not fighting for anyone in particular. God only knows how many children he left around the world. He returned home to England in his 30's (1905) and started writing Boys stories of his adventures and books about his travels.The books are documented, and some are online. By 1910 he was quite ill as a result of his travels and was addicted to Morphine.
(New York Times)
July 2, 1914, Thursday
Birth 2 January 1877 Hawthorns, Mt. Ephraim Rd. Streatham, Surrey
Death 30 June 1914 Longton Grove, Sydenham, Kent
Baptism 11 February 1877 St. Leonard, Streatham, Surrey
Occupation Writer & Adventurer
(Ref Hyatt family tree)
