Scottish explorer and plant collector George Sherriff is known for his joint activities with Frank Ludlow, with whom he made extensive, pioneering collections in the eastern Himalayan region. The pair gathered some 21,000 dried plant specimens as well as sending much live material for introduction to European horticulture.

Sherriff was born in Carronvale, Stirlingshire, the fourth of six children. His father was a businessman and his mother a keen gardener. Determined to follow an army career, he attended the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich and was commissioned in 1918, fighting in the First World War in France. After being gassed in June 1918 he spent the remainder of the war in hospital.

Once recovered, Sherriff went on to serve in India, being posted to a mountain battery at Nowshera, Waziristan, in 1919. He enjoyed exploring the remote mountain region and readily accepted the appointment of British vice-consul in Kashgar, Chinese Turkestan (Xinjiang, China), in 1927. It was here, in 1929, that he met Frank Ludlow, who was invited to stay in Kashgar by the consul, Frederick Williamson. Ludlow, a retired teacher and schools inspector who had been working in India, was on his way to the Tien Shan mountains. Finding that they shared an interest in exploration, ornithology and plants, Sherriff and Ludlow saw an opportunity to collaborate in the future.

Sherriff and Ludlow made their first expedition together in 1933. They travelled to Bhutan along with Frederick Williamson and his wife, separating from the latter couple to continue through Tibet to Nangkartse, and then back to India, gathering 500 plants along the way. A plan to work their way eastwards through Tibet to the great bend of the Tsangpo river was formulated at this time and realised in a series of expeditions over the coming years. They were occasionally funded by the British Museum, but most often relied on Sherriff's means, and were occasionally accompanied by botanists (as well as their party of local assistants). Among those that joined Ludlow and Sherriff were Dr Kenneth Lumsden in 1936 and George Taylor of the British Museum (Natural History) in 1938, on an exploration of the area from Molo to Gyala in Tibet.

The Second World War interrupted the collectors' plans, with Sherriff resuming military service in Assam and conducting politics in Sikkim. In 1943 Ludlow finished a two-year term in charge of the British Mission in Lhasa, after which Sherriff took over the role. At this time he married Elizabeth Hannah, daughter of a missionary. Continuing to collect plants, Sherriff also made films of Tibetan ceremonies, recording some rites no longer practised.

After the war, having settled at Kalimpong, north-east India, Sherriff resumed his travels with Ludlow, setting out for south-east Tibet and the great gorge of the Tsangpo in 1946. They were accompanied by Sherriff's wife and Colonel Henry Elliot of the Indian Medical Service, but separated when they reached the junction of the Tsangpo at Gompo Ne, for Sherriff was suffering heart problems.

Sherriff and Ludlow made a final expedition together in 1949, returning to their first port of call together, Bhutan. (They had hoped to collect in the Mishmi hills of northern India that year, but were refused permission.) A further 5,000 items were amassed on this last venture.

Sherriff was a skilled photographer, and in addition to the plants he gathered, provided a great wealth of images to document his travels. Among the horticultural introductions credited to Sherriff and Ludlow, meanwhile, are Paeonia lutea var. ludlowii and Euphorbia griffithii, as well as a number of rhododendrons and primulas.

After returning to Britain, Sherriff settled on an estate near Kirriemuir, Angus, where he created a fine garden with many Himalayan plants. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1947 and received the Victoria Medal of Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society. Sherriff's papers and films are to be found at the Royal Geographical Society, the British Museum (ethnography department), the National Film Museum and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Sources:
H.R. Fletcher, 1975, A quest of flowers: the plant exploration of Frank Ludlow and George Sherriff told from their diaries and other occasional writings
D.J. Mabberley, 2011, "Sherriff, George (1898-1967)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edn:
www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36065, accessed 23 May 2012
W.T. Stearn, 1976, "Frank Ludlow (1885-1972) and the Ludlow-Sherriff expeditions to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet of 1933-1950", Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Botany, 5(5): 243-289.