Fearless on Everest: The Quest for Sandy Irvine Read Online Free PDF Page B

never learned to be tidy, although he was later credited with being a good organizer.  There is a running theme of chaos surrounding his immediate affairs and his letters home from school when he was well into his teens were full of instructions to send something here or there, collect this trunk or that suitcase.  Even at 26,500 feet on Everest in 1924 Odell could not resist a wry smile at the untidy state of his tent.
    There were various schools in Birkenhead that were patronized by the middle-class families and one of these was Birkenhead Preparatory which Sandy attended from the age of seven, following Hugh in autumn 1911 to Birkenhead School.  He was not particularly academic and did not shine, but he was aware that his parents wished him to gain good marks.  This led to him being insecure and sometimes worried that he was not good enough and he made a point of writing to his mother, when his place in the form order was announced, hoping that she was pleased with his performance.  The headmistress of the Preparatory, Miss Cox, was a formidable woman who took the view that children needed licking into shape and she was extremely tough on them.  Sandy disliked being criticized and could be rebellious and difficult, which did not endear him to Miss Cox in the slightest.  An event of real significance during these school years was relayed by Sandy in a letter to Lilian during the winter of 1909.  The headmaster of the Senior School, Mr Griffin, had been delivering a stern lecture to the children about the dangers of the ice on the school pond and promptly demonstrated the danger by falling through himself.  ‘Most of the ice has thawed and all the place is horrid slush, it was such a funny thing Mr Griffin was telling us to be so careful on the ice on Tuesday and he fell in himself.’  The delight of the prep school boys on that occasion was quashed instantly by the eagle eye of Miss Cox.  Sandy wrote to Lilian the following day: ‘Miss Cox is quite well, Mr Griffin is none the worse for falling through the ice.’ I note that Miss Cox is mentioned first.  She clearly made an impact on him, however much he disliked her.  What Sandy learned from his early years at school was that if he wanted to be liked by the other children, he should concentrate his energies on being kind rather than difficult.
    Willie had always had a very strong affinity with the countryside in North Wales and the majority of the family holidays before the First World War were spent either on the North Wales Coast or in the Lake District, another of his favourite destinations. He and Lilian would rent a cottage or house, Lilian spending three or four weeks there with the children and maids while Willie visited them for perhaps a fortnight during their stay.   It was a major undertaking to organise these holidays for the family still had no motor car.  They would all travel by train from Birkenhead and be met by a coach and horse at the other end.  The amount of luggage was astonishing and in one photograph from the summer of 1902 Sandy’s huge black pram is strapped to the top of the coach, which is already piled high with trunks, suitcases and hat boxes.  All the children wore hats with huge brims to keep the sun off their fair skin and Lilian clothed them all in dresses until they were four or five, when the boys graduated to shorts and sailor tops.
    Willie teaching Sandy to fish at Capel Curig, 1907
     
    Willie enjoyed spending time with the children on their family holidays and it was always he who introduced them to new activities.  In 1907 he taught Hugh, Evelyn and Sandy to fish in the river at Capel Curig and photographs show him explaining patiently to Sandy the ins and outs of using a home-made fishing rod.  At that age, Sandy was stocky, very blonde and had a solemn, thoughtful air about him.  In the photographs of him from the pre-War period he is always looking preoccupied and even slightly whimsical. I rather suspect