Bill Strutt

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameEdward Lisle "Bill"•Strutt
Used nameBill•Strutt
Born8 February 1874 in Belper, England (GBR)
Died7 July 1948 in Edinburgh, Scotland (GBR)
NOC Great Britain
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 0
Bronze 0
Total 1

Biography

Lieutenant-colonel Edward Strutt went on the 1922 and 1924 Everest expeditions, and was second-in-command to Charles Granville Bruce on the first one. Educated at Beaumont College in Old Windsor, Strutt then went to Christ Church College, Oxford, and Innsbruck University. It was during his time in Austria that he indulged in climbing in the Tirol at an early age and was elected a member of the Alpine Club when just 21. Strutt later became one of the Club’s vice-presidents (1916-19), and was president between 1935-38. He also edited the Alpine Journal 1927-37.

Strutt served as an officer in The Royal Scots, and between 1900-02 fought in the South African War. He also fought in World War I and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1917 and made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1919. He was mentioned in dispatches four times and in March 1919, while serving with the Allied Council in Wien (Vienna), he rescued the Austrian Imperial Family from an unruly revolutionary mob, commandeered a train, and drove them to safety in Switzerland.

Strutt joined the Reserve Battalion of the Royal Scots from 1919 and then served as High Commissioner of the Baltic sea-port of Danzig until 1922, when he could not resist the lure of his first Everest Expedition. When the 1922 British expedition was awarded their Olympic medal at Chamonix in 1924, it was Strutt who collected the medal on their behalf.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1924 Winter Olympics Alpinism GBR Bill Strutt
Alpinism, Open (Olympic) Mixed team 1 Gold