I just saw this post. . Very sad to hear about Ronnies passing. I first met him in Zermatt in1960 . . me a 17 year old potential accident just waiting to happen, hell bent on climbing the Matterhorn or dying in the attempt. Ron was staying in the Bahnhoff Hotel and was mourning being dumped by his girlfriend by sitting under a mountain and writing poetry. He had met John Amery a battered Himalayan casualty and his friend and they were going to climb the Matterhorn together. . They probably saved my life by inviting me to join them. Ronnie wrote an article about our climb and on the strength of that said that he was mistaken for a"hairy chested ,adventurer" which led to a job with the Times. I met him again purely by chance in 1965 when I was working for Thomsons Publishers in Fleet Street and we became good friends. I was a guest at his wedding to Francis and Ron was the last person to wave goodbye when I moved to the Bahamas when unfortunately we lost touch . Forty years and a whole lot of great adventures on both our parts later I came across a book about Everest that he wrote, the same week I was putting together a slide show about my mountaineering memories and found an old picture of us in front of the old Hornli Hut after our Matterhorn climb. Then, flicking through the Alpine Club Journal . . there was his name again . . with an address !. Anyway, contact was made and I was able to visit him and Francis a few times at their lovely old cottage in the Lake District when I made trips to the UK. We stayed in touch on a yearly , news letter basis and the last time he wrote was to say that they were moving from Mungrisedale to be nearer their family.. Quite a shock to hear that he died. . One of the nicest blokes I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. RIP Ronnie. I don't have any new address but please pass on my condolences to Francis and Family.
A fantastic tribute thanks. I used to read his Flyer magazine column but hadn't realised that was only a small part of an amazingly diverse array of interests and achievements.
Fascinating character and life well lived.
I just saw this post. . Very sad to hear about Ronnies passing. I first met him in Zermatt in1960 . . me a 17 year old potential accident just waiting to happen, hell bent on climbing the Matterhorn or dying in the attempt. Ron was staying in the Bahnhoff Hotel and was mourning being dumped by his girlfriend by sitting under a mountain and writing poetry. He had met John Amery a battered Himalayan casualty and his friend and they were going to climb the Matterhorn together. . They probably saved my life by inviting me to join them. Ronnie wrote an article about our climb and on the strength of that said that he was mistaken for a"hairy chested ,adventurer" which led to a job with the Times. I met him again purely by chance in 1965 when I was working for Thomsons Publishers in Fleet Street and we became good friends. I was a guest at his wedding to Francis and Ron was the last person to wave goodbye when I moved to the Bahamas when unfortunately we lost touch . Forty years and a whole lot of great adventures on both our parts later I came across a book about Everest that he wrote, the same week I was putting together a slide show about my mountaineering memories and found an old picture of us in front of the old Hornli Hut after our Matterhorn climb. Then, flicking through the Alpine Club Journal . . there was his name again . . with an address !. Anyway, contact was made and I was able to visit him and Francis a few times at their lovely old cottage in the Lake District when I made trips to the UK. We stayed in touch on a yearly , news letter basis and the last time he wrote was to say that they were moving from Mungrisedale to be nearer their family.. Quite a shock to hear that he died. . One of the nicest blokes I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. RIP Ronnie. I don't have any new address but please pass on my condolences to Francis and Family.
Dave Mellor bahamagm@yahoo.com
A fantastic tribute thanks. I used to read his Flyer magazine column but hadn't realised that was only a small part of an amazingly diverse array of interests and achievements.