EARLY KMC YEARS - David Swann
By David Swann
On April 3rd 1960 typically spring wet cold weather I went on a KMC Meet ambitiously called 'The Longest Ridge in Europe.' The route began in Glossop and went over Bleaklow, down to Yorkshire Bridge and from there returned to Hayfield by way of Win Hill and Kinder. The brief entry in my diary indicated "Enjoyed a good day's map and compass work. Members of our small group included D. Seddon, Millie Black and Dorothy Wright".
At the time I didn't realise it was to be my last outing with the KMC. During this walk Millie Black explained she wouldn't mind travelling overseas but could never imagine living away from the hills of England. Her remark was because we were discussing my expected departure for New Zealand two weeks later.
My plan was to work there for a couple of years, explore the Southern Alps then move on to British Columbia before returning to England. I had no idea at the time it would be many years before I would make a return visit to England.
I am sure my KMC adventures between 1951 and 1960 set the stage for my subsequent wandering, living and working in many countries including the South Pacific, East, West and Southern Africa and also many countries in South East Asia.
Over the years I have been able to keep in touch with a few of my KMC friends and have enjoyed the hospitality offered by Derek and Pat Seddon during my infrequent visits. Recently I came across an old diary that provided details of every weekend I spent enjoying the hills with the KMC. I trust the following reminiscences will be of interest to newsletter readers.
1951
I first met Plum and his wife Robbie on Nov 29th 1951 at a slide show evening organised by the Stockport Y.H.A. Plum Worral was the guest speaker giving an illustrated talk with his own slides called. 'Climbing in the Alps' after the show I chatted with him explaining that I was keen to join the KMC. He was very encouraging and invited me to his house the following Friday evening. Although Plum couldn't have been more than fifteen years my senior at the time I considered him a veritable wise old man of hills. There is no doubt both Plum and Len Stubbs became mentors for many of the new members like myself who joined the club in the early fifties.
I arrived uncertain and somewhat overawed listening to the various conversations, plans for future club activities, and accounts of recent climbing adventures. Over the next few years Friday evening meetings at Plum's had a huge impact. I became aware of the member's incredible ethic of determination to complete long overnight walks in wretched weather, attempting ever harder rock climbs, skiing on the snow drifts of Bleaklow or just about anything connected with the hills. Above all there was always good company, fun and enjoyment. My first K.M.C meet was to Bull Clough Cabins the following weekend in wild and windy December weather. We took the bus to Woodhead and it was with concern I watched the bus disappear into the cloying mist before climbing over a stone wall at the side of the road. Blindly I followed the rest of the gang over Bleaklow knowing only we were going to Bull Clough Cabins.
On arrival we scouted around for firewood and after collecting heaps of bracken to spread on the cabin floor a fire was lit and we prepared to settle down for the night. Robbie's little dog, Rover, attempted to snuggle down in front of the fire before Bowden Black remarked. "Robbie if your bloody dog thinks it can stay there it's in for a big surprise." Apart from Plum, Robbie, a couple who never went anywhere or did anything without each other, I think Bowden Black, Maurice Buckley, George Bosom, Fred Chorlton and Don Bellamy were present.
On the Sunday, we walked to Judd's Tree by the Derwent reservoir, then back over Bleaklow to the Woodhead Road. Visibility was almost nil when Fred and I were struck violently from behind. Initially I thought someone was playing a trick, before realising we had been hit by a motor bike which clipped us with the handlebars as it passed through the narrow gap between us. The rider was catapulted off and I watched in amazement as the bike cartwheeled ahead of us amid the squeal of protesting metal and arcing yellow stars.
We had been hit by the lead motor cyclist who had been unable to see us as we plodded along the dark mist covered road. We gathered around the fallen motor bike and rider lying groaning on the road as the following truck appeared out of the mist.
[A latter day Rob Allen perhaps. Ed.]
A small group of territorial soldiers returning from a weekend exercise clambered down from the rear of their truck wanting to know what had happened and if anyone was injured. After a few moments of explanation we helped lift the damaged motorbike up onto the army truck. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt and Bowden was able to negotiate a lift to the their barracks in Ardwick.
Early February 1952 I went on my second club meet to Chrome Hill. Plum had lent me a pair a pair of his disused ex-army maple skis he had shortened and fitted with rubber bindings cut from an old tyre inner tube.
In 1952 getting onto a bus with skis was a very chancy business and depended how you could outwit the conductor. Skiing in the Peak District was still very unusual (it would be now too!) and the rarity of a group trying to board a bus with skis always constituted a problem. Sometimes curiosity helped the conductor overcome regulations; however, it was not uncommon to be told "You can't get on here with them things!" We travelled that weekend by North Western bus from Stockport to Buxton before walking on to Chrome Hill, to spend the night in a barn in Earl Stendale.
I was so delighted with my first skiing experience I immediately sent away for my first pair of skis. At that time most of the K.M.C. members who were keen on skiing obtained their skis from a mail order company in Aberdeen called Campbell's Rubber Co. The cost was twenty-five shillings a pair. Bindings of two types were extra, B.J's consisting of a toe mount and leather straps that fitted round the heel of a boot, or the more expensive Khandahar bindings considered much superior with a forward lever which tensioned a flexible metal cable around the heel of a boot.
All the ski equipment on sale by Cambells was ex-army intended for the invasion of Norway that never materialised. According to Don Bellamy, sheep farmers in Scotland had purchased thousands of the ex army skis at a great discount and were using them to make temporary sheep pens. Had the KMC found this fabled source I am sure there would have been a lot of stray sheep.
Aware that the Club Easter meet was to the Cairngorms I determined to go and set about edging my skis having been warned the exposed wooden edges of the skis would wear away very quickly and it was necessary to fit metal edges. I couldn't afford the metal edge sets offered by Campbell's Rubber Co and hit on the ingenious idea of making edges using a small toy press which could punch holes in strips of metal. Punching the holes, countersinking and then rebating the ski edge was a time consuming job. When out on the snow slopes I had to take spare screws and a screwdriver to do hasty repairs as the metal strips had a habit of peeling off when turning on icy snow.
Making your own equipment was quite common at the time, partially because there was little available, but more importantly any mountain equipment available was expensive. Don Bellamy, the master of adaptation, always had clues how best adapt ex-army equipment in common use by many members.
EASTER 1952: April 10th
I arrived in Aytown St. Manchester to find a huge pile of equipment on the pavement. While waiting for the bus the club had charted to arrive more and more members showed up. It soon became obvious there was not enough room on the bus for everyone and their with camping gear, skis, ropes and ice axes. Negotiations flowed back and forth between the driver and the meet leader. Fortunately Len Stubbs came to the rescue by offering to take all the gear on his lorry and resolved a difficult situation.
On arrival in Aviemore I discovered I was faced with a long walk to the edge of Glenmore Forest where we planned to camp. A few hardy souls continued on to set up camp at the snow line. Cairngorm skiing (no ski lifts at that time) was in Corrie Cas, and Corrie Na Ciste. Most club members were up at first light to carry their skis to the top of Cairngorm before skiing. Then it was up again to the top of the corrie for another run before it grew dark. Most members were beginners; few could manage anything other than steady stem turns but we all enjoyed every run, often spiralling out of control when patches of snow gave way to the heather covered hillside
Motor bikes were a common form of transport at that time with many members having a wonderful collection of British bikes. BSA's Triumphs, Enfield's AJS among other makes. Bernard Wright had a most up to date machine a Shaft drive Sunbeam. On one Easter meet to the Cairngorms the club bus came across Bowden Black and Millie standing at the side of the road near the Devils Elbow looking forlorn at the burnt out remains of their Motor bike and sidecar. Johnny Palmer had a three wheeler Morgan and used a trimmed jam label as a facsimile of a road licence.
Plum, who had just acquired a small Ford van in 1952 for his plumbing business was one of the first members to have four wheels. It was became a club legend, a transport revolution in the sense that it opened up many places previously difficult to get to when relying on public transport or hitch hiking. In his early driving days Plum was teaching himself to drive. Genuine on job training! I was a passenger on one of the first meets he used the van to Mosedale. He was quite enchanted with his new toy and we spent all day Sunday touring the Lake District. Many later claimed Plum never did learn to drive. He had a favourite expression as we slowly negotiated the twists and turns of the narrow road. "By sheer bad driving we're holding our own."
Whit week 1952 and a journey on the back of Len's lorry to Wastdale. With Fred Chorlton and Gillian Kinsey we went over Scafell Pike and down to Langdale to spend the evening in the bar room of the Old Dungeon Ghyll. Later we kipped in the Wall End Barn, a very popular hang out for rock climbers. The next day we walked over to the Coniston Club Hut before meeting up with Len for the ride home.
May 17th
A Club meet at Birchens where I met Brian, Fearnley (Trog) who later became my Brother in Law. He also ended up in New Zealand and became an active member of the New Zealand Alpine Club. He was the expedition doctor on the Janu Expedition along with Pete Farrell, another KMC member who had emigrated to NZ. Birchens was his first K.M.C. meet and he was eager to be climbing by first light Sunday morning. The usual camp site was in a field below the crag close by the farm. The farming couple at Birchens were survivours from another age. No electricity connected their farm and water came from a well by the side of the farm house.
Rarely did you meet the Farmer's wife but the Farmer, quite an odd character, used to stomp around his fields muttering to himself in an almost unintelligible, accented English ignoring the nearby campers and climbers.
The Robin Hood pub was more ancient than the farmer or the publican. Beer was kept in huge wooden barrels in a low half cellar. The publican's wife (Who seemed to do all the work) would bring the beer up into the Taproom in a large pewter jug and fill glasses to order. Sitting outside at the long tables on a summer's evening was always a special pleasure. In late summer the air was filled with the scent of billberries which grew in abundance on the moor behind Birchens Edge.
June 21st
Another club meet, Ilkley Rocky Valley. We camped by a small abandoned shooting lodge with a fresh water spring nearby. Plum had named the palace 'Whisky Springs.' On the Saturday evening we all enjoyed a riotous time at a local dance.
There were no seats in the back of Plum's Ford van; passengers squatted among all the camping gear. One late evening returning form a meet two of us were in sleeping bags with legs hanging out of the rear doors. Apparently there had been a series of livestock thefts of sheep and pigs in the area and someone had reported that a small red van had pigs in the back. When a police car pulled us over to investigate Plum was at his persuasive best and we continued on after being instructed to keep the rear doors closed.
August 22nd
Set off for the Isle of Skye in the Yak's car with Trog Fearnley and Fred Chorlton. We arrived Glenbrittle 8 am after travelling all night via Glasgow and Fort William. It was a marathon drive by Dick Mann who did all the driving in his little 750 Renault, with four passengers and all our gear on a roof rack.
Dick was a very pleasant character, always eager to please but incredible clumsy, always tripping up over things. Alan Ebbral had given him the name 'The Yak' because over the previous wet whit weekend Dick was wearing a large ex-army poncho over his rucksack and from a distance looked like a beast of burden. Giving odd nicknames was quite common for awhile.
The highpoint of the week, besides climbing Cioch West, was the boat trip to Loch Corruisk in fine weather followed by a long scramble over the Dubh Ridge to Alastair. We had been advised to do this combined boat and climbing trip by Gillian Kinsey on the Wastdale meet earlier in the year. It certainly lived up to expectations. At the time a one week-annual holiday was still quite common for many KMC members many who also worked on Saturday mornings. On reflection it was all the more remarkable that we were able to cover so much territory in the short time available.
Sept 6th - 7th
Went to Pontsbury Rocks with Ewart Swann on his unusual and rare motor cycle; a 500cc two-stroke water-cooled Scott. When I visited Ewart years later at his house in Conway he related an amazing story.
Ewart decided to go to New Zealand in 1961. He fixed a sidecar on his Scott and set off with his pet dog for the long overland journey. He reached Afghanistan before discovering the dog would not be allowed to enter New Zealand without a six month quarantine period. After working in Afghanistan for a while he returned to the U.K and then immigrated to Canada (with his Dog) and worked for many long years as a Forest Fire Warden in Northern British Columbia.
This meet was a period when Plum had a 'Yen' to discover new and hopefully unclimbed crags. He was always looking for something different, either crags or mythical snowfields. The climbing at Pontsbury turned out to be a combination of rock and tree climbing as the crag was completely overgrown.
Christmas Meet 1952
Met Brian Fearnley at the Manchester Bus Station and caught the 4-30pm bus to Ambleside. Walked over the Struggle (Kirkstone Pass) to Patterdale with our camping gear, skis and ice axes.
Spent Christmas Day skiing on Sticks Pass in lousy weather. Boxing Day we went to Cross Fell. Returned to Patterdale in time for the Christmas Hop in the evening. The next day we all did a ski tour of the Dodds. Followed by the long walk back over the Kirkstone Pass to Ambleside for the bus to Manchester.
Dec 31st: New Years Eve
Details hazy but this may well have been the New Year's party where Plum prepared a very strong Rum Punch which resulted in a certain amount of ribald behaviour followed by true confessions and acute embarrassment for some members.
1953: Feb 7th - 8th
The New Inn Langley, a KMC Supper Meet. After supper we chased off to North Wales in search of snow and camped at the foot of Tryfan. This was a typical Plum adventure, he was prepared to go anywhere at the oddest times in search of Ski-able snow. On awakening Sunday morning everything was snowbound. I was amazed how alpine the mountains looked and remarked to Plum that Y Garn looked like the Jungfrau.
"Wait till you see the bloody Jungfrau" was Plum's reply. Later that year I did see the Jungfrau when along with Plum, Robbie and Derek Seddon we went on an Ingam's Austrian Alpine Club special to the Austrian and Swiss Alps.
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| Bregalia Group 1953. |
March 7th - 8th
Visited the Rhinogs in Wales with Fred, Plum. Robbie, Trog, the Yak and the Blob (Alan Ebbral.) Plum, ever keen to explore relatively unknown crags, had heard about the Rhinogs. Another case of Plum discovering places little visited and well off the beaten track. We stayed overnight in 'Rancho Rhinog', the name given by Plum to a quite splendid shooting cabin we had discovered.
The cabin was well appointed with wooden furniture, cooking implements cutlery, plates, cups and saucers. We climbed what we considered a few new routes then walked the Rhinog ridge in perfect weather.
April 2nd - 6th Easter 1953
With Fred Chorlton, Robbie and Rover we departed Manchester at 8 p.m. in Plum's van, bound for Scotland. In clear and sunny weather with the hills looking their best, we arrived at Glen Derry Lodge after an all night drive and carted our gear to a camp at 2000 ft.
April 4th
Moved our camp to the Lui Beag 2,500 ft and climbed Derry Cairngorm 3,788 ft. It started to snow heavily at 6pm and continued throughout the night. We awoke the next morning to find the tents completely covered with snow and had to dig our way to the surface.
Easter Sunday
Climbed Ben Macdui on skis in very cold misty conditions. We had a very narrow escape skiing back down to the tents in a white out nearly skiing over a huge cornice.
Easter Monday
Skied down to Derry Lodge and drove to the Devil's Elbow. Climbed Cairnwell 3000ft with our skis for one last run before returning to Manchester
April 24th
K.M.C. Indoor meet. Alf Bridge, Some thoughts on Climbing. Alf Bridge was a veteran climber with quite a reputation; He had climbed in the Himalayas and was closely connected with the preparations for the coming 1953 successful British Everest Expedition. We were very impressed with his concept of controlled falling.
May 16th
Wharncliffe Rocks with Brian Wilson in his Morris Cowley we named the Chariot. Boozed at the King and Miller in the evening. By now more K.M.C. members were becoming proud owners of cars, mostly pre-war oldies. There is a photograph of the Morris Cowley on this meet in the 50th anniversary edition of the K.M.C. Newsletter.
June 1st
Back to Scotland to explore Lochnagar. In the evening we went to a local dance arriving before the pubs closed to find we had the pick of the local village girls. All went well until the pubs closed and the young stalwarts arrived. Trog bruised local feelings by winning a bottle of whisky in the raffle. When it came time to return to our tents we couldn't find our climbing boots we had discarded as unsuitable for dancing. After unsucessfully hunting around we were given a sly tip off. The local lads had thrown all our boots (including Plum's monsters) into the urinal where many of the drunken locals had pissed on them. So much for Scottish-Anglo accord.
June 11th
A trip to the Palace Theatre. Why we went as a K.M.C. group to the Palace I don't recall but it may well have been to hear a well known Scottish Tenor singing Scottish ballads. Plum considered everything Scottish sacrosanct at that time. Good singing during the evening of most club meets was always enjoyed on a Saturday night festering in a tent or in whichever local pub we visited. There were many fine voices and most knew a grand range of folk songs. In 1953 a club song book was produced.
