Obituary: Bill Brooker, lecturer, geography teacher and climber who pioneered many Scottish routes

Published on Saturday 3 December 2011 00:00

Born: 13 December, 1931, in Calcutta, India. Died: 27 November, 2011, in Aberdeen, aged 79.

Bill Brooker’s attitude to climbing and life in general could probably be illustrated by one particular incident during a schoolboy adventure.

Aged 14, he and a friend travelled from Aberdeen to Skye, ostensibly on a cycling trip, but during the visit they climbed the highest cuillin, Sgurr Alasdair. The following day, young Brooker overheard a conversation about the island’s notoriously difficult Inaccessible Pinnacle and, after asking whether it really was inaccessible, received the retort that it was “not for the likes of you”.

While lesser men might have heeded that advice, the spirited Brooker had other ideas. The next day he promptly headed for the “In Pinn” and successfully tackled the jagged fin of rock – solo.

This diversion from cycling occurred in the best mountaineering tradition – simply because it was there – and not only highlighted his unconventional take on life but marked the point at which his career in climbing really took off.

From there he became one of the celebrated group of pioneering post-Second World War Scottish mountaineers who fearlessly explored the wilds of their own country, leaving a legacy of hundreds of new routes, particularly across the Cairngorms, for future generations of climbers.

And, in tandem with his love of mountaineering, Brooker also enjoyed a successful career as a geography teacher which took him to from Speyside to Cyprus, and as a tutor of extra-mural studies.

The son of a mechanical engineer, he was born in Calcutta, where his parents, James and Mabel, were living in the early 1930s. When he was six he returned to Aberdeen, where he was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School.

As a schoolboy he also became involved in the Scouts, which led to his interest in climbing when, during a Scout camp at Glen Tanar, on Deeside, when he was 12, he climbed Mount Keen. Various adventures followed with friends until his first independent trip – that memorable visit to Skye which heralded his exploratory climbing exploits during the 1950s.

Always interested in landscape, geology, birds and flora, after leaving school he embarked on a BSc in geography at Aberdeen University and graduated with an ordinary degree in 1953. Two years of national service in the Royal Engineers followed before he got the chance to visit East Greenland in the summer of 1956.

He worked there for three months, prospecting for a Danish mining company. Having access to such a wild environment, which relatively few people had visited at the point, was a wonderful experience which left a lasting impression on the young graduate.

His working life continued with a year-long stint as a site investigation engineer with the central laboratory of civil engineers George Wimpey and Co before he returned to Aberdeen University for his honours year. He followed that with teacher training at Aberdeen College of Education and began his career in schools as a geography teacher at Aberlour High School on Speyside, an ideal location for a climber.

By January, 1960, he had moved to Keith Grammar School as principal teacher of geography, and after two years there he was seconded to the Institute of Army Education. That took him to King Richard School, Cyprus, as principal geography teacher.

Cyprus suited his adventurous spirit: he was able to do some climbing, keep a boat and enjoy snorkelling and spear-fishing. It was also an ideal base for him to pursue his interest in ancient civilisations and there were trips to Egypt, Petra, Crete and the Greek mainland.

Brooker and his wife Margaret, whom he had married in Aberdeen in 1959, returned to Scotland with their two young children in 1965. His job had been kept open for him in Keith but after a few months back there he was appointed to a post as tutor-organiser in extra-mural studies at Aberdeen University. That involved lecturing, in geography and current affairs, as well as organising lectures and courses in an area from Ross and Cromarty to Aberdeenshire and for a couple of years, in the mid- 1960s, he was based in Elgin.

Although the most intense period of his climbing career had passed by this point, he remained heavily involved in mountaineering activities. He was president of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) from 1972-74 – and later honorary president – and edited its journal for a decade between 1978 and 1986. Around that time the SMC had the task of keeping the records of people who had completed the Munros. The job had fallen to the editor, but when he stepped down from that post Brooker continued to keep the log and remained as clerk of the list until 1992. It was a task he particularly enjoyed as large numbers of people wrote to him telling him of their achievements and, as well as the pleasure of conversing and corresponding with them, he also built up a large range of contacts among those who shared his passion for the mountains.

Brooker, who ranked alongside renowned mountaineers including Tom Patey, was one of the most inspiring climbers to emerge from Aberdeenshire in the mid-1950s. His achievements included the second ascent of Lochnagar’s Eagle Ridge, helping to re-write the Scottish mountain guidebooks and contributing to mountain safety through his work in mountain leadership training, following the Cairngorms disaster 40 years ago in which five schoolchildren and an instructor died.

He was an honorary member of the Cairngorm Club as well as a member of the Etchachan Club, was involved in the North East Mountain Trust and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, had tackled the tough Haute route in the French Alps with his own climbing group of friends and branched out into ski touring. In 1996 his contribution to mountaineering was recognised by Aberdeen University, which awarded him an honorary degree five years after he retired from the institution.

Although illness confined him to a wheelchair for the past ten years, he retained an interest in the natural world, ornithology, photography and archaeology and was a hugely sociable character, enjoying Probus and corresponding with many friends abroad. A man who was full of fun, made the most of every opportunity that came his way and who always regarded himself has having been very fortunate in life, he continued to maintain a keen interest other people’s adventures.

He is survived by his wife Margaret, children Fiona and Iain and grandchildren Ruari, Harris and Finlay.

Alison Shaw

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