Persistence of Light (with the British Alpine Hannibal Expedition): Review by Neill McKee

Neill McKee sent us his review of the book Persistence of Light by John Hoyte, which also features Richard Jolly trekking across the Alps with an elephant.

Neill McKee: I bought this memoir about five years ago and set it aside. When going through my bookshelf recently, to see what to pass on to a used book store, I picked it up and began to read it. It's a very interesting memoir about a man, son of Christian missionaries from the UK, who spent some of his early years in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in China during World War II, when the nationalist and communist forces were fighting Japan and each other in China. He and his siblings were separated from their parents and his mother died during the war. They reunited with their father after the war and returned to the UK. He was admitted to Cambridge in the 1950s and he and a friend named Richard Jolly applied for a travel scholarship to retrace the route of Hannibal and his North African army of men and elephants as they attacked Rome by crossing over the Alps in 218 BCE.

Richard Jolly, in the grass, third from left.

This humorous Cambridge Hannibal Expedition received enough publicity to raise money and partners for the “British Alpine Hannibal Expedition” in the summer of 1959, along with "Jumbo" the elephant, who was treated very well. When I read the name "Richard Jolly" and saw the photos of a young Richard, I was quite sure I knew who it was but it wasn't until page 162 that it was confirmed. The author eventually became one of Silicon Valley's first innovators and a successful businessman, and he mentions his old friend Richard became UNICEF's Deputy Director and was also knighted by the Queen for his achievements. I'm not sure if these Hannibal Expeditions were among the achievements that made Richard "Sir Jolly." At any rate, John Hoyte's memoir is a good read that mixes difficult challenges, light hearted youthful adventures, and the drive to achieve and make a difference in the world. It's available on Amazon and other platforms, and you can see some chapter excerpts and a group photo, including the young Richard Jolly on this link: https://johnhoyte.com/persistenceoflight