We would like to wish our fantastic Patron Sir Chris Bonington many happy returns as he turns 80 on the 6th of August 2014.

Sir Chris was the Founder Chair of MHT from 2000-5 and has been hugely supportive of MHT, gaining sponsorship, funding, materials and support from many people and organisations internationally. His unflagging support for MHT’s objectives and activities extends to giving MHT custody of his personal archive. The full catalogue is available on the MHT website.

Very recently Sir Chris tragically lost his wife Wendy to motor neurone disease (MND) and would like to use his birthday as an opportunity to improve awareness of the condition. Sir Chris invites you to donate to the following three organisations in Wendy’s memory; Motor Neurone Disease Association, which funds research into MND and provides support, Hospice at Home and Cumbria Crossroads, which both gave care and support to the family during Wendy’s illness.

In 2009 the now renowned adventure photographer Lukasz Warzecha contacted MHT hoping to develop his portfolio with a heritage project. Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Funding grant for the ‘Quest for Adventure‘ project that worked specifically on Sir Chris’ archive, MHT were able to pay for Lukasz to photograph the collection. Lukasz has kindly shared some of his pictures from that shoot with us today. You can see the full project on his website.

To read more about the incredible contribution Sir Chris Bonington has made to mountaineering, both its heritage and development, please read this fantastic birthday article on the BMC website.