Frank Kingdon-Ward (1885-1958), OBE, the son of a leading British research botanist and professor, graduated with honours from Cambridge in Natural Sciences. In 1911, he was engaged by a British horticultural firm to collect specimens in Yunnan, an assignment which began for Kingdon-Ward a lifelong career as a professional explorer and plant collector. In all Kingdon-Ward made a total of twenty-two expeditions, spanning a period of some forty-five years, in western China, northern Burma, Assam and south-eastern Tibet; much of this travel involved extreme hardship, and was undertaken at great risk to his health and personal safety
'So superbly did he write that the "armchair explorer" can almost feel the breeze upon the cheek, almost smell the blossoms, see the distant blue hills, or hear the pounding of the mighty rivers.' Tony Schilling, in 'Frank Kingdon-Ward: Plant Hunter and Romantic, ' Journal of the American Rhododendron Society, 1991.
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