ANDREW IRVINE - The North-West Hero Lost on Mount Everest By Margaret Brecknell
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rvine was one of six children of businessman, William Fergusson Irvine, who was also a well-regarded local historian, and his wife Lilian. He was born into an affluent family and was educated at a local preparatory school before, in 1916, being sent to board at one of the country’s top public schools, Shrewsbury School. Here he excelled at rowing and was a member of the Shrewsbury crew which was victorious at the Henley Peace Regatta in 1919. From Shrewsbury he went on to study engineering at Merton College, Oxford, as well as continuing his success in rowing. He competed in the Boat Race, receiving a highly coveted “Oxford Blue” in the process, and was a member of the Oxford University crew that won the race in 1923. As well as this sporting success, there were also hints of the epic adventure that was to come. In 1919, when he was still a schoolboy, Irvine is reported to have driven his motorcycle to the top of Foel Grach, a 3000-foot mountain in Snowdonia. At the summit he encountered a mountaineer called Noel Odell, who had just climbed it on foot.
One of North-West England’s most intrepid explorers was born 120 years ago this month. Andrew Comyn Irvine, known to his family and friends as “Sandy”, was born on the Wirral peninsula in Birkenhead on 8th April 1902. He showed much promise as a budding engineer, mountaineer and all-round sportsman, but tragically did not live long enough to fulfil his potential. The story behind his disappearance and presumed death while on an expedition to Mount Everest in 1924 has intrigued generations of climbers ever since. 48
LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
During the summer of 1923 Irvine encountered Odell again quite by chance when the pair both took part in an Arctic expedition organised by Merton College to cross the remote Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, which is situated just a few hundred miles from the North Pole. The more experienced Odell was hugely impressed by the initiative and allround ability which Irvine displayed in the challenging Arctic conditions. www.lancmag.com
