Author: Andy Tomlinson

Harry Doughty joined the Club in 1920 (at the age of 31). As well as a Journal Editor [of some repute], he was President of the Club in 1934-35. He was a good rock-climber and was usually in the company of his great friend, HM Kelly. He was a popular, and much sought after, after-dinner speaker…indeed, The Conventions of Mountaineering was first ‘read’ before the Club in 1924 and then appeared in the 1925 Journal [not one for which he was responsible], which had the photograph of the Grandes Jorasses by Eustace Thomas on its cover [below]. At around the time Doughty wrote this article, someone had made a plea that nailed boots should not be used on certain climbs. The somewhat contrary edict was put forth that the nailed boot should be the standard wear and that rubbers should be used only by experts on climbs of great severity. Doughty was strongly opposed to this. Far from leaving rubbers to the experts, he was known to allow a beginner to climb in them on his first day out, to help him acquire movement in balance at an early stage, provided he had begun the day with a climb or two[…]

The next article to be Posted in this series of ‘Classic RCJ Articles’ was written by Ted Courtenay after a successful crossing of Greenland by the team he led. I am very grateful to John Beatty [a member of that team] for his short afterword, that follows, and also the stunning colour images he took on the expedition, which I have added below. For more of John’s incredible photographs, please visit: johnbeatty.co.uk. Ice cap sunrise Afterword Thirty eight years ago is half a lifetime behind me now, and I still think about sledging those four hundred miles across Greenland nearly every day. Forty-four days of struggle out on the ice, gifted innumerable insights that have served me well  physically and emotionally throughout life. But it granted me one other unexpected gift, that of experiencing deepest respect, camaraderie and a lifetime of friendship with my companions on the ice; Rob Ferguson, Robin Illingworth, Ian Campbell, Stan Woolly and especially Ted Courtenay, whose love of the Arctic and whose wisdom and grace through the hardships, helped us all to stay strong. John Beatty – June 2020 100 miles in from the east coast A typical ice cap camp The team on the[…]

 The Classic Article“Trespassers will be prosecuted” was published in the 1922 RCJ. The author, Charles Pickstone, was a solicitor and one of the original members of the Club. He was President 1914-1916 and was also very influential in writing the first “Rules of the Club”. Club member Jean Walker, who is also a solicitor, has kindly provided the following introduction: Are we any freer to roam today than we were in 1922? Are we still likely to be “prosecuted” if we trespass on private land? Firstly, nothing has changed so far as notices are concerned. The absence of a notice indicating private land does not mean we have a right to go onto that land. Equally the notice that says “trespassers will be prosecuted” remains misleading. Prosecutions relate to the process of bringing criminal offences before the court. What those posting the notices really mean is that if we trespass they will start civil proceedings for compensation for any damage we do. Landowners and their gamekeepers can remove us from private land using only reasonable force, if we refuse to leave when requested. They do however risk a prosecution themselves for assault if that force was not reasonable so, as before,[…]