NAM.1994-05-326-1

Flag of 1 British Corps taken to Mount Everest by Brig Sir John Hunt on the 1953 expedition. Hunt who was serving with Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force at the time. Associated with the British Army of the Rhine (1945-1993). 1 British Corps was formed during the First World War and was disbanded in 1947. When it was reformed in October 1951, it became a principal combat element of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). It’s HQ was in Bielefeld, Germany. By March 1952, after 6 Armoured Division was reactivated, its component formations were 2 Infantry Div, 6 Armoured Div, 7 Armoured Div and 11 Armoured Div. Brigadier Sir John Hunt, while still a Colonel, led the expedition to Everest that saw Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay become the first confirmed people to reach the summit, at 11.30 on 29 May 1953. Hunt retired from the Army in 1956

British Army of the Rhine (1945-2008)

British Mount Everest Expedition, 1953 (Exploratory Expeditions 1900-1999)