Harold 'Hal' Lister was a glaciologist, explorer and academic whose career included participation in many notable polar expeditions and academic research into glacial recession in both North and South polar regions. Born in 1921, Lister served in both the Merchant Navy and Royal Navy during World War 2, afterwards, he attended King's College (later Newcastle University) and studied Pure Science. He then went on to undertake a PhD at Cambridge University. While there he also participated in several notable polar expeditions including the British North Greenland Expedition (1952-1954). From the late 1950s until his retirement in the late 1980s Lister worked as an academic in the Geography Department at Newcastle University, leading teaching and research on glaciology, and leading field trips to arctic regions.