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Everest 1924 Centenary Commemoration

Shrewsbury School crest

We are delighted to welcome you to Shrewsbury for the 1924 Everest Centenary Commemoration organised by Lower Sixth Former Archie PS.

Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine was born on 8 April 1902 in Cheshire. He was educated at Shrewsbury School from 1916-21, where he was in Severn Hill.

After Irvine arrived at Shrewsbury he soon demonstrated his ability in a boat. He was a member of the crew that won the Elsenham Cup at the Henley Peace Regatta in 1919; two years later he rowed in the Shrewsbury eight that became only the second school crew ever to break the course’s iconic 7-minute barrier. He left Shrewsbury in 1921 as Captain of Boats and Head of House of Severn Hill.    

He went on to study at Merton College, Oxford, where he joined the Oxford University Mountaineering Club and was a member of the winning crew for the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race in 1923, rowing 3 in a boat which won by ¾ length.   

1924 British Mount Everest Expedition

Irvine famously took part in the 1924 British Mount Everest Expedition with George Mallory. 

The disappearance of Irvine and Mallory close to the summit of Mount Everest in June 1924 is without doubt the most compelling and the greatest unsolved mountaineering mystery of all time.   

On June 8th in that year, they set out for the summit of the highest mountain on earth, wearing gabardine jackets and hobnail boots, tied together by a thin rope and equipped with unreliable oxygen cylinders. 

What happened to these two men has never been resolved. Were they, 100 years ago, the first to stand on the summit of Mount Everest? Or were they forced to turn back before they reached it? The discovery of Mallory’s body in 1999 stirred further speculation but answered few questions.    

A Message from the Organiser

“I first heard the story of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine when I was very young and decided that because the 100th anniversary of their disappearance on Everest was occurring in 2024, that it would be a good topic to choose for my Extended Project Qualification – an A Level standard qualification.  

“Sandy Irvine was a pupil at Shrewsbury School and Mallory chose Irvine to be his companion for the summit attempt because he was physically fit and also a very talented engineer who was an expert with the oxygen tanks being trialled on Everest. Irvine’s body is still missing and many expeditions have searched for it to try to retrieve the camera which could prove if he and Mallory really summited Everest first. 

“As well as celebrating a heroic former Shrewsbury School pupil, I wanted the event and exhibition to explore how modern-day Nepalese Sherpas and Guides relate to Mallory and Irvine.  

“Interviews conducted on many of the most famous and accomplished Nepalese mountaineers overwhelmingly demonstrate that the story of Mallory and Irvine inspires them, just as much as it inspires Western mountaineers. 100 years ago, Himalayan people were employed as porters, but nowadays, Nepalese mountaineers are breaking records for themselves.  These are positives that I hope people will take away from the event and exhibition.” 

- Archie PS

Select an image

 

The Evening's Speakers

Watch the full event here

Video Highlights from the Evening

Sandy Irvine 100th Anniversary Exhibition

To coincide with the Commeration event, there was an exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the expedition in the Moser Library which comprised of archives from Merton College Oxford and Magdalene College Cambridge, where Irvine and Mallory were students, replica clothing from the Mountain Heritage Trust, and film footage from the Alpine Club.

 

View a copy of the booklet from the fascinating exhibition

Charities

The event is run free of charge, but any donations to The Shewsy and Community Action Nepal are greatly appreciated. Find out more about these charities below:

Community Action Nepal

Community Action Nepal

Community Action Nepal was founded by the mountaineering legend, Doug Scott. He spent many happy years climbing in Nepal, scaling some of the greatest peaks of the Himalaya. 

His renown was cemented in 1975, when Doug stood atop Mount Everest with Dougal Haston, becoming the first ever Britons to do so, and the first by the notoriously difficult south-west face. 

Doug, along with many other climbers of the time, identified a need to improve the economic working practices of expedition porters in Nepal. This eventually led Doug to the realisation that the communities the porters came from also faced major challenges, including a lack of health facilities, educational opportunities, and clean water. 

Doug set up the charity Community Action Nepal in 1994 to improve the standard of living in these remote Himalayan communities to give something back to the mountain people who had helped him to achieve his mountaineering goals.

Over the years CAN has supported tens of thousands of people in Nepal through the construction over 40 schools, health posts and porter rescue shelters, and by implementing many other community development projects. 

Donate to Community Action Nepal

‘The Shewsy’- Shrewsbury House

‘The Shewsy’- Shrewsbury House

'The Shewsy' was founded in 1903 in Everton by Digby Kittermaster from the School - in an old pub building as a Christian institution - a Club - to promote 'godliness and good learning'. As the Club itself recounts 'its history is inextricably linked with that of the surrounding area and Everton has undergone huge changes over the years.' Over the last 120 years, it has seen the area develop into one of the most densely populated working-class areas in Britain up until the 1960s, then it saw large-scale slum clearances and the erection of high-rise blocks, then the demolition of these blocks and the construction of Evertion park. Challenges related to social inequality, changing demographics and economic precariousness have been a common feature and remain to this day.

Donate to The Shewsy

How Shrewsbury supports The Shewsy...

The relationship between the School and The Shewsy goes from strength to strength in the present day. Governance links are strong and significant for the running of the Club and to ensure that the School and the Club can promote the partnership work intended to bring together young people from Shrewsbury and Liverpool.

The Headmaster is Chair of Trustees and other staff members are on the Board of Trustees. Its current Senior Executive Officer was formerly Second Master at the School. Staff and students learn about the partnership when they arrive at the School - and all Third Year entrants will visit in their first year as part of the 'BASE programme' to ensure that they immediately understand the significance of this precious relationship.

We promote residential visits, with Shrewsbury students having the opportunity to stay at The Shewsy during their Lower Sixth in order to join in with both junior and senior clubs as well as to learn about the Club, its history and its work today in the community. Often this experience is transformative with some students going on to do work experience in the holidays or becoming gap students ahead of university entrance.

Elsewhere we enjoy an annual shared residential at Talargerwyn, the School's cottage in Snowdonia where younger students and club members can meet and get to know one another whilst enjoying the great outdoors and the challenge of various mountain-based activities. We also host a residential on-site, giving younger club members the chance to visit and enjoy the campus and town. Often there are sporting fixtures and we have fun days at the School organised by our Postors.

The connections made during students' five years at the School often lead to a life-long affiliation with The Shewsy.

The School and wider Salopian Community also endeavour to provide financial support for The Shewsy. This is vital given the ever more challenging economic realities of reduced central and local funding and the ever-increasing numbers of young people who attend the Club. Each year the School raises money internally via its charitable operation and is at the forefront of promoting the annual 'Christmas Big Give' campaign that unlocks valuable match-funding. Every five years (for over 50 years) the whole school community, supported by The Shewsy, takes on a challenging sponsored walk - such that every pupil will have the opportunity to take part during their time here. This is a wonderful opportunity to place The Shewsy in the spotlight and to raise significant funds to support staffing and delivery of programmes for the young people in the Club.