Eric Newby

Eric Newby was born in Hammersmith Bridge, London, in 1919. At the age of sixteen, he left school and worked at an advertising agency on Regent Street. Two years later, he embarked as an apprentice on the Finnish commercial sailing ship Moshulu, heading to South Australia. In 1940, with the outbreak of war, he volunteered in India, Egypt, and Italy and was eventually captured and held in concentration camps in Czechoslovakia and Germany. After the war, he traveled frequently and, from 1964, became the travel editor for the Observer newspaper. This was followed by countless journeys and missions to the most unlikely destinations. Newby remained a traveler and amateur in the literal sense of the term. When he wasn't traveling, he gave the impression of being on vacation. However, he was always on standby... His most well-known books include "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush" (1958), "Slowly Down the Ganges" (1966), and "Round the World in 80 Years" (2000). He passed away in 2006.