A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK
HOW will the Queen reward the conquerers of Everest ? Though it is premature--for the men are not yet safely off the mountain, and all we know for certain about their achievement is that Hillary and Tensing Bhutia reached the summit—the question provides an interesting subject for speculation. If the expedition had distinguished itself in the Arctic or the Antarctic its members would have been eligible for the Polar Medal, whose pure white ribbon always looks a bit incongruous alongside other decorations on the breasts of its few holders, and which is I believe tech- nically bestowed by the Hydrographer Royal; but nothing like it exists for mountaineering, and even if something did it would hardly meet the present case. Shackleton and Scott were both knighted, the latter posthumously, and the Queen may consider granting this honour to Colonel Hunt. But when the exploit is seen in perspective it may well appear that a big share of the credit is due to Mr. Eric Shipton, who pioneered the new route and incidentally picked, trained and swore by Hillary. The latter, and any other climber who may reach the summit, obviously deserves some recognition. -An O.B.E. ? With all due respect to the most honourable order, this might not be altogether congruous. And then what about Tensing ? Some of these problems might have been solved by the Albert Gold Medal, a rare decoration which it has lately been decided to supersede by the George Cross. They could all be solved by creating a new decoration—the Everest Cross, or something of the kind. But this in its turn would create problems. Would the members of past expeditions be eligible for it ? Ought it to be awarded for exploits on mountains other than Everest ? A sensible idea might be to create an Elizabeth Cross as a sort of general purposes peace-time award for feats of uncommon enterprise or endurance in any sphere—including the air, where at the moment test-pilots do not seem to come off very well.
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