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My father, Robert Jordan, who has died aged 77, was a pioneering academic of English language teaching whose life traversed the blitz, Manchester University and a period in the Himalayas – where he helped inspect Sir Edmund Hillary’s “schoolhouses in the clouds”.My father, Robert Jordan, who has died aged 77, was a pioneering academic of English language teaching whose life traversed the blitz, Manchester University and a period in the Himalayas – where he helped inspect Sir Edmund Hillary’s “schoolhouses in the clouds”.
The son of Kenneth Jordan, a detective sergeant in special branch, and his wife, Christabel, he grew up in Chiswick, west London, where he developed a love of rowing: first on the Thames, then on the Cam while studying economics at St John’s College, Cambridge. After graduating he dipped his oar into English language teaching, living in Finland before joining the British Council. While training as a teacher at the Institute of Education, London, he met my mother, Jane; he proposed at the Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race in 1965, and within a few months had been posted to Nepal, a place he could scarcely pinpoint on the map but which would become one of his life’s passions.The son of Kenneth Jordan, a detective sergeant in special branch, and his wife, Christabel, he grew up in Chiswick, west London, where he developed a love of rowing: first on the Thames, then on the Cam while studying economics at St John’s College, Cambridge. After graduating he dipped his oar into English language teaching, living in Finland before joining the British Council. While training as a teacher at the Institute of Education, London, he met my mother, Jane; he proposed at the Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race in 1965, and within a few months had been posted to Nepal, a place he could scarcely pinpoint on the map but which would become one of his life’s passions.
They travelled by boat via the Suez Canal, shipping out a Land Rover and a Wedgwood dinner set to start their married life together in a country that had only been open to the west since the 1950s. Based in Kathmandu, my father’s job was to train high-school teachers of English, but it was a chance encounter at an embassy cocktail party that led to one of his most memorable experiences. Hillary, a regular visitor to the country since conquering Everest in 1953, was funding village schools through his Himalayan Trust charity. “But once they’ve been built,” my father asked him, “what goes on inside them?”They travelled by boat via the Suez Canal, shipping out a Land Rover and a Wedgwood dinner set to start their married life together in a country that had only been open to the west since the 1950s. Based in Kathmandu, my father’s job was to train high-school teachers of English, but it was a chance encounter at an embassy cocktail party that led to one of his most memorable experiences. Hillary, a regular visitor to the country since conquering Everest in 1953, was funding village schools through his Himalayan Trust charity. “But once they’ve been built,” my father asked him, “what goes on inside them?”
A month later my parents were in a six-seater plane heading for Lukla, 9,000ft above sea level, and the start of a hazardous, 17-day expedition. Assisted by Sherpas, and sleeping in tents, they trekked over mountainsides to inspect the schools, along the way encountering leeches, “yeti skulls” and an elderly Sherpa artist, Kappa Kalden, whose work decorated many of the local monasteries.A month later my parents were in a six-seater plane heading for Lukla, 9,000ft above sea level, and the start of a hazardous, 17-day expedition. Assisted by Sherpas, and sleeping in tents, they trekked over mountainsides to inspect the schools, along the way encountering leeches, “yeti skulls” and an elderly Sherpa artist, Kappa Kalden, whose work decorated many of the local monasteries.
After four years in Kathmandu, and a year studying in Edinburgh, my father was posted to Sierra Leone, an unhappy experience because of political unease. Then came the relative peace of Manchester University, where he helped run the English language teaching unit until taking early retirement in 1992. He co-founded Selmous (later Baleap), an organisation for teachers of English for academic purposes, and fostered writing talent for Collins as well as authoring several books, including the popular Academic Writing Course (1980).After four years in Kathmandu, and a year studying in Edinburgh, my father was posted to Sierra Leone, an unhappy experience because of political unease. Then came the relative peace of Manchester University, where he helped run the English language teaching unit until taking early retirement in 1992. He co-founded Selmous (later Baleap), an organisation for teachers of English for academic purposes, and fostered writing talent for Collins as well as authoring several books, including the popular Academic Writing Course (1980).
He is fondly remembered by former colleagues for his encouragement and generosity of time, and his love of excruciating puns. He was a regular at the Jai Kathmandu restaurant in Manchester and amassed one of the largest book collections on Nepal in the UK; he also returned to the country itself several times, and ran workshops for the British Council in China, the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia.He is fondly remembered by former colleagues for his encouragement and generosity of time, and his love of excruciating puns. He was a regular at the Jai Kathmandu restaurant in Manchester and amassed one of the largest book collections on Nepal in the UK; he also returned to the country itself several times, and ran workshops for the British Council in China, the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia.
In 2010, already suffering from Alzheimer’s, he returned to Nepal one last time, to launch a book about early visitors to the country, From Missionaries to Mountaineers.In 2010, already suffering from Alzheimer’s, he returned to Nepal one last time, to launch a book about early visitors to the country, From Missionaries to Mountaineers.
He is survived by Jane, his brother, Clive, my sister and me, Catherine, and his grandchildren, India, Alex and Alfred. He is survived by Jane, his brother, Clive, my sister, Catherine, and me, and by his grandchildren, India, Alex and Alfred.