Club History
In 1908 the Club held its first meet in Scotland, at Arrochar which started a tradition of holding the annual Easter Meet north of the Border. Rooke Corbett started another tradition with a "Moonlight Ramble". Walks involving an overnight section have remained a strong event, despite frequent absence of the moon.
After the Armistice in 1918 the Rucksack Club expanded and its members were at the forefront of British mountaineering. The Manchester area had been a fine base from which members had climbed hard on Peak District gritstone. In the 20's and 30's the greater crags of the Lake District and North Wales were increasingly explored by members. H.M.Kelly was particularly active in the Lakes, and in North Wales A.S.Pigott led a team climbing at the highest standard. His eponymous climb on Clogwyn d'ur Arddu in 1926 was a major advance in Welsh climbing, this was followed by more first ascents in Scotland. Maurice Linnell was also climbing at the highest standard, and a leader in a wave of exploration. Tragically, he was killed in 1934 on Ben Nevis whilst climbing with Colin Kirkus. He was 25. Had the accident not occurred they would probably have become the leading climbing partnership of the age.
Complementing the climbers a strong group of walkers set high standards. In 1919 Eustace Thomas and party initiated the "Circuit of the Derwent Watershed" which has now become the High Peak Marathon, and in the same year made the first traverse of the "Welsh Threes" with Rooke Corbett and A.W.Wakefield. Seemingly insatiable, Thomas went on to break the Fell Record and become the first Briton to complete the Alp 4000 metre summits. The Marsden-Edale, Colne-Rowsley and Shap-Wasdale were amongst walks enjoyed or endured by members.
The extreme difficulties when rescuing a casualty from Laddow and another from Crib Goch led to the Club forming a Stretcher Sub-committee. This joined with a similar Fell & Rock Climbing Club committee and included Pigott, Thomas and Wilson Hey. From this beginning the Mountain Rescue Committee was formed in 1936. The "Thomas Stretcher" evolved, used for many years by Mountain Rescue Teams. Wilson Hey supplied morphia to the teams and was prosecuted for this in 1949. However, as a result regulations were changed and the teams were then allowed to carry morphia. Fred Pigott received the OBE for his services to Mountain Rescue, as did Noel Kirkman who succeeded him.