The Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection
1056.2013.1
LMRT t-shirt
20/02/2013
Hermione Cooper
20/02/2013
Grey t-shirt used for fund raising
cotton polyester
80(l) cms
1
On front"LOCHABER MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM BEN NEVIS TO DONATE £3 TEXT RESCUE TO 70003 WWW.LOCHABERMRT.CO.UK
On label "GILDAN ULTRA COTTON"
grey with blue writing
Gildan
Dominican Republic
We are working on an archive (2013) of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team and hope to have it on our web site soon. Meanwhile this is a wee fund raising t-shirt that was produced by the team around 2008. This might be a good place for a brief history of the team until we get something more comprehensive organised.
LOCHABER MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM
Like most areas of Scotland, Lochaber had mountain rescues long before an official team was formulated and in those early days fellow mountaineers, shepherds and local men would combine to resolve the situation. Though not actually requiring a rescue the Rev. A. E. Robertson, the first Munroist, had a narrow escape on Ben Nevis in 1904.
"... being rendered unconscious, by what agency he could not say, and hurled ruthlessly down a couple of thousand feet. He later opined that he had been rendered insensible by a flash of lightening and was lacerated and seared with gaping wounds. Minus cap and ice-axe, and with rent garments, he managed in a semi-conscious slate, to reach his hotel room in Fort William."
Twenty Years on Ben Nevis, W. T Kilgour
In 1934 a bunch of Glasgow men were up for the Fair Holidays when one slipped down No. 3 Gully, breaking a leg in the process. It took two days for his friends to evacuate him - first to the CIC Hut and later Fort William - Dr. Isaac Mclver and a Mr. Murphy from the Fort were called upon for assistance.
The Rev. Bob Clark was rector of St. Andrews Church in Fort William during the Second World War and in 1944, along with local policeman Sgt. McLean they formed the nucleus of what was eventually to become Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team. At the end of the war retired army officer Donald Duff was appointed surgeon at the Belford Hospital in Fort William bringing with him an
added impetus to the mountain rescue scene with innovative training exercises on both the technical and medical side. He patented one of the first ever mountain rescue stretchers in 1946 and, interestingly, was involved in legal battles with the Home Office concerning the administration of morphia to casualties. The Home Office maintaining (1949) that "morphia is bad for the man on the mountain". Donald Duff - an officer and a gentleman - was leader of Lochaber Team during the late '40's and early '50's.
The Lochaber section of the Junior Mountaineering Club of Scotland (JMCS) was the backbone of Lochaber MRT in the *50'sand '60's and much of iheir mountaineering club agenda seems to have been taken up with mountain rescue business. A meeting of the club in August'57 expressed "dissatisfaction" with the MR situation and a club member was asked to write and -"endeavour to arrange a meeting between County Council, Police and JMCS to thrash out this sore point," Money for equipment was the main source for concern of course, though there was a little light relief the following year when - "the WVS offered clothing and refreshment facilities for
mountain rescue parties"! More money was found in 1962 when, amongst other things, 16pairsofR. Lawrie Mk IV boots were bought at £5/2/6d per pail, the - "nailing to be clinker heels, ring clinkers at toes, muggers in the centre and No. I tricounis (about ten per boot) set in slightly from the edge."
It was not until 1969 that Lochaber Mountain Rescue Association was set up to promote a more professional approach to rescue, raise funds for much needed equipment and training and also to manage the team in a democratic manner. That Association is still there today. The team strength has risen from 12 to 40 with the first full time female member arriving in 1998! There were approximately a dozen incidents to deal with in 1969 - 70 hi 1999. Running costs in 1969 were £500, but this has now risen to nearer £40,000.
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Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007
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