How sad to read of the death of Sir Roger Bannister at 88. What a marvellous athlete and undoubtedly the first to break the 4 minute mile time.
Just what the Nation needed in the austere 1950s
However, another 1950s ‘frst’ event is now very controversial, the Conquest of Everest. Hillary and Tensing were the men accredited by the Nation as being the very first…… but wait……..
There is now a huge and increasing amount of evidence to show that the accolade really belongs to George Mallory and Sandy Irvine in 1926. Mallory’s body was discovered some years ago just below the summit but Irvine’s has not yet been found. Many experts now believe that they conquered the mountain but fell to their deaths on the descent and there is much evidence to support this. The locations of the empty oxygen tanks suggest a descent from the summit in progress. Mallory carried with him a photo of his wife for the final assault, this was not found in any of his buttoned up pockets. He promised his wife he would leave it on the summit. Mallory’s camera was not on his corpse either.
The key to finally solving the enduring mystery is when or if they ever find Sandy Irvine’s body. If the camera is on him ,it should still be possible to develop any film.
For me, the jury is still out on this one.
James Pulleine
