A move to commemorate one of Gatehouse of Fleet’s most famous sons, Hamish MacInnes, has been welcomed by a childhood pal of the legendary mountaineer.
Mr MacInnes passed away aged 90 at his Glencoe home in November, 2020, and following his death Gatehouse Community Council discussed a permanent memorial in his home town.
A draft design was produced for a plaque in his honour which the community council proposes could be installed at his former home in Catherine Street.
Leo McClymont, who stays just a few doors down from what was the MacInnes household, turns 94 on December 11 and is two years the great climber’s senior.
He said: “I remember Hamish climbing trees in Garries Park.
“I suppose that’s maybe where he got his first taste of mountaineering.
“Hamish was a year or two younger than me and even then he was inventive.
“We made barrows out of prams and pushed them up and down Catherine Street.
“But he designed them so the front wheels were steerable.
“His father Duncan had a grocer’s shop in the town called the Market Cross Store.
“He left when he was about 14 when his father went to run a grocer’s in Greenock.”
Dr MacInnes accumulated a string of accolades throughout his life including the British Empire Medal in 1962 and the OBE in 1979 for services
to mountaineering.
He was awarded honorary doctorates from Dundee, Stirling and Heriot-Watt universities, a fellowship in the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame, received the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture and, four years before his death, was presented with the Chancellor’s Medal from the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Gatehouse Community Council is considering commissioning a blue inscribed plaque, circular in shape and the size of a dinner plate.
Leo added: “If there was to be a plaque I think that would be very appropriate, I do indeed. It was his birthplace after all – I’m sure Hamish would have been born in that house.
“It would add a wee bit of attraction to the town.
“I’m very glad that he’s going to be recognised for his achievements.
“But after he left I don’t believe Hamish ever came back to Gatehouse.”
Hamish MacInnes scaled the Matterhorn in the Alps at the age of 16 and made four expeditions to Mount Everest, almost losing his life in an avalanche on the south-west face.
He invented the world’s first all-metal ice axe and the collapsible lightweight stretcher – which in various forms remains in use for mountain rescues today.
His film credits as an adviser include The Eiger Sanction and The Mission.
