George Band (1929 - 2011)

We are very sorry to learn of the death of George Band on 26th August. George was a valued and much respected supporter of MHT and was instrumental in helping to establish the National Mountaineering Exhibition at Rheged. We shall miss his wise counsel, his warm sense of humour and his enormous experience. Our thoughts are with his family and his very many friends in the world of mountaineering.

On 20th December some 400 family, friends, fellow climbers and admirers joined together at the RGS to remember the life and achievements of George Band, who died in August. The tributes were led by Charlie Clark and touched on all aspects of George’s remarkable career both in the mountains and with Shell. There was some lovely footage of George and Mike Westmacott in their suits working for the oil giant but there could be no doubt that his heart belonged in the hills and in particular in the Himalaya where he climbed, trekked and worked with the Moun tEverest Foundation and the Himalayan Trust. In a moving and very personal summary Susan Band summed up her husband as someone special, optimistic and tolerant: a man with ahuge heart and a glorious sense of humour. As John Innerdale said, ‘his laugh will stay with me until my dying day’.

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A full tribute to George from the BMC and links to obituaries can be found here.