UKH

I have received the sad news that John Willson, the Wye Valley climber and guidebook author and editor, died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday 17th September at the age of 86.   John made an absolutely enormous contribution to climbing in the Wye Valley and in particular to Wintour’s Leap, which in many ways could be re-named “John’s Cliff”, as it was a largely forgotten backwater (known as “The Heap”) before he dragged it into the limelight. He added many of the classic routes (e.g. the Angel’s Girdle and all those with Germanic names on North Wall), often in partnership with ex-pupils who he introduced to climbing - John was a music and classics teacher.  He was also responsible for a vast amount of cleaning and re-gearing (those cemented-in pegs were all his) and four decades of guidebook writing.  John wrote the Wintour’s Leap sections of the ’77, ’87 and ’97 guides and part-authored and edited the current (2007) Lower Wye Valley guide – which is how I first got to know him.  He was also responsible for negotiating the current access regime for Wintour’s Leap and many of the other Wye Valley crags, and I relied greatly on his knowledge after I took over from him as BMC Access Rep for the area.   After John retired from teaching he lived in a cottage in Woodcroft above “his” crag, and many of you will have seen him over the years walking his dogs George and Scholar around the village and cliff.

Beyond the Wye Valley, John also put in a vast amount of time and effort in editing and page-setting many other Climbers’ Club guides.  Others will know a lot more about his work on these publications, but I’m sure many other authors have benefitted from his red pen (or rather pens – there’s no way one biro would have enough ink for all the corrections to our scripts!).  As befitting his former profession, you could always learn something from his writing and company – whether on the finer points of grammar or the Wagner ring cycle that provided the inspiration for all those Germanic route names. 

Rick

In reply to Rick Sewards:

That’s a really nice little obit., Rick. I must confess to knowing nothing about anything you’ve written above, except I do seem to remember the odd cemented peg at The Heap (another new one on me). There’s one on Zelda, IIRC.
John was clearly a stalwart of Wye Valley climbing and many climbers must, like me, owe him a lot, though we only find out when he dies. RIP indeed.

In reply to Rick Sewards: thanks Rick for that tribute. I knew John through my job as South West Officer for the BMC in the 90s and John was always a steady hand, and wise council for me to turn to, with his immense knowledge of guidebooks and access. One of the most impressive things about John was how he ‘got’ modern climbing at a time when there was a reactionary tendency around traditional climbing to feel threatened about fixed gear. John’s influence was a big part of why today the Wye Valley and Wintours in particular is such a great melting pot of all the different aspects of climbing but with the quintessential adventures still available for anyone discovering the place now.

In reply to Rog Wilko:

Thanks very much Rog. As I understand it the cemented pegs were a 70s solution to a 70s problem - vital pegs kept getting nicked!  But he clearly did a good job as most of them have only been replaced in the past couple of years as part of the Wintour's Leap restoration work (thanks Adam, Tony, Julio, Ben et al).

Rick

In reply to Rick Sewards:

I met John, very briefly, at the top of the Easy Way Down, about 9:30pm one summer's evening.  Christian and I had just finished climbing and had returned to Woodcroft by the aforementioned scramble.  Upon topping out, I said to Christian "what a gorgeous  evening - wouldn't it be good to sit here and have a beer?"

At which point a voice called out from a clearing a few yards away "grab yourselves a beer from by my back door lads - and return the empties when your finished!"

I guessed it must have been John.  What a marvellous gesture - unforgottable.

In reply to Rick Sewards:

Saw John a lot at Wintours in the 80's with his students. Really nice guy still got his superb guide book 

In reply to Rick Sewards:

I never (knowingly*) met John but benefited hugely from his efforts, as I started my climbing "career" in the Wye Valley in the early 90s, probably climbed everything up to E2 or so, particularly on the North Wall, and no doubt gratefully clipped many of his pegs! John - thanks.

* although I definitely met the guy who owned the garden at the top of "that" belay point, can't remember which climbs now, was that him?

In reply to Rick Sewards:

We pretty much taught ourselves to climb using his word-perfect 1987 guide, so it felt quite an honour when he asked for some input to the '97 edition. He came across as a very educated man; I was a complete yokel, but he made us very welcome in his home and was friendly and supportive. I'm sure he'll be missed by many.

In reply to Rick Sewards:

I only met John a couple of times, he was very supportive when we started work on what eventually became the Culm and Baggy guide. Sadly, his deteriorating health meant he had to step back from the project. From my limited contact with him, he seemed a really lovely gentleman. 

In reply to Rick Sewards:

Had the pleasure of climbing with him a few times at Wintours followed by tea at his. Really nice chap. Although I have spent many many hours cursing his skills with cement he also definitely influenced me in wanting to do something for the climbing community.

In reply to Rick Sewards:

When climbing regularly at Wintour’s in early 90’s, John was a regular presence both on and off the cliff he so dearly loved. He often put me and my partners right by saying you’re off-route there, or there a new route tell me what you think. His stewardship in terms of the fixed pegs, new routing, and cleaning the considerable amount of rubbish the locals threw over the edge, (hence the term ‘The Heap’), was typical John. His skill in careful unpicking of near indecipherable pub route-book descriptions and scraps of paper into what became the definitive set of guidebooks was also clearly a labour of love and stands the test of time. Although he was a hard taskmaster on the guidebook production, he was always appreciative and good company. As Rick says, his influence extended not just to Wintour’s either, his skills as access rep. calmed landowners, official organisations and climbers alike and was instrumental in maintaining access to Ban-y-gor and other cliffs/quarries in the Lower Wye Valley plus dealing with issues of inappropriate bolting. RIP John.

In reply to Rick Sewards:

John was a very close friend of mine and we would meet on a regular basis when visiting Wintour’s Leap with many friends and my brother and wife and Matt Ward whom I have lost touch with and we was extremely supportive to myself and Paul Harrison when writing and editing our Lundy guide and most particularly when writing thePembroke guide and supporting my regearing of Ban Y Gor both with funding and regearing my batteries and psychology and I have the itmust respect for this wonderful man; his loss saddens me so much and I will endeavour to be at his funeral in Bridgwater whenever it is💕

In reply to Rick Sewards:

John Willson

7/6/37 – 17/9/23

John was a music and Latin teacher at Rendcomb College and this is where I first him in ’81 as a fresh faced 11-year-old in my first ever Latin lesson. Rendcomb was a boarding school that was all boys but accepted girls in the 6th form. John was the senior house master in the main building. I did not excel in either music or Latin so soon gave them up. However; I really got to know John at the age of 14 when I decided to give up cricket and take up climbing.

John had a love for Wintour’s Leap and drove down every Saturday with a minibus of 14–18-year-olds for climbing days. That summer John was finishing of the Wintour’s guide and we spent every Wednesday afternoon checking routes on Fly Wall. In the summer holidays we went to Bosigran for a week where he taught me to lead, as a result of his skill at teaching by the end of the week we stopped off and I lead Moonraker at Berry head. With the talk of a new guidebook a resurgence in new routes started, mainly lead by Gary Gibson but John knowing Wintours so well spotted new routes, cleaned them and pointed me in the right direction to claim a number of first ascents with him following.

Before I started climbing John had led an expedition with the aim to climb the Eiger. Unfortunately; they failed and had to head back home. Sat in his apartment at Rendcomb with one more week of summer holidays to go he decided to catch a train and promptly soloed the Eiger on his own. He led expeditions to the Alps most summer holidays and we went twice while I was at school. John was also the coordinator for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. Leading expeditions all over the UK, doing our practice walks ready for our final assessment.

In ’88 John retired from teaching at the age of 50 and bought a house at the top of Wintours so he could climb more.  At the age of 50 he was climbing at his best and lead the first ascent of Yesterdays Dreams E2 5c. He soon got bored and started to foster children. This was a rude awakening from well-mannered public-school boys to kids off the streets of South Wales with their own issues.

Although John always said he couldn’t understand people owning dogs. One day one of the foster kids came home with a dog and was soon followed by two more. John became a true dog lover and spent many days camping and walking with them mainly in the Brecons but travelled far and wide with them. His new love of animals led him to become a vegetarian. He also became a very keen gardener and was almost totally self-sufficient with fruit and veg from his garden.

I kept in touch with John and we used to climb as much as possible. John was always available for anyone looking for a climbing partner at Wintour’s on the UKC website. Our final week of climbing was in 2013 with a week at Bosigran with my wife, son and John who was 76 and he still managed to be dragged up Anvil Chorus.

John was a lover of music and played the organ at St Mary’s church Chepstow, he was a quiet gent who kept himself to himself and was never one for large social gatherings.

In 2017 John was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and soon had to give up climbing. He struggled on in his house in Woodcroft and with the support of climbers in Woodcroft got through covid but dementia associated with his Parkinson’s was taking over. At the end of last year John was moved to a nursing home in Bridgwater, a two min walk from my house. I visited John nearly every day and although most conversations were confused he was still happy and contented and he could still remember our previous climbing experiences until his death on 17 September 2023, he will be sadly missed.

In reply to Rick Sewards:

John's funeral will be at Sedgemoor crematorium at 11am 26th October with a wake afterwards at Admirals Landing Bridgwater. All welcome.

John

In reply to John Shaw: I will be there to give my respects to this lovely man

In reply to Rick Sewards:

I was so lucky to have John Willson as a teacher from 1969 to 1975, he introduced me to a lifelong love of mountains, as he did with many others.

My first trips were to Wintours, where we climbed with big boots, hemp cord around our waists (before we made our own harnesses out of the newly developed tape), and we climbed Severe on a good day.

John had found the mountains only recently, trained himself on courses and then transmitted that knowledge to us. John taught us well – navigation, hypothermia, bivvying, first aid, understanding the weather, map reading – and then put it into practice. He entrusted 2 of us, we were 14 at the time, to climb up to the ledge on Bottle Buttress Bottle Buttress (VD 4a)and bivvy. John simply abbed down at dusk to check we were secure for the night. He taught us, when you get in a fix, think, don’t panic and work your way out of the problem. A couple of years later we were benighted on Lliwedd and we took it all in our stride. He would take us onto the Black Mountains, sometimes at night, then give us our maps and tell us “find out where you are and take me to this point on the map”. Another weekend he visited a friend in Lincolnshire, he took 2 of us with him, gave us a map and the friend’s address, dropped us 20 miles short and said “see me at the house at noon tomorrow”. We found our own route and dossed in a field corner in our orange plastic bags, soaked through.

John went on a Hamish MacInnes course in Glencoe and then introduced us to winter climbing, teaching us everything he had learnt. We achieved a lot in winter, which is not easy when you are based in Gloucestershire. John bought one of the first Terrordactyls and paired it with a Chouinard axe; he lent us his tools and some of us made copies in the school workshop and were  all proud when he led us up a North face in the Otztal Alps and our homemade tools, my terror had a wooden shaft, enabled us to do it.

I still hear John’s instructions to this day when setting up an abseil “Make every link in the chain carefully, as your life depends on it, then, before you go over the edge check everything a second time”. In all the time I climbed with John, I don’t remember any accidents amongst the many boys he took out.

I lived in Scotland when I left the school and would climb with John on some of his winter trips to Glencoe. I became aware of his increase in rock climbing grade and his new routes at Wintours at this time.

Thank you, John, for being an inspiration.

David Bell

In reply to crowberry gully:

It is very interesting to read these varied recollections and appreciations of John. He clearly inspired many.

I lived near John in the parish of Rendcomb in Gloucestershire, and he kindly let me use his school climbing wall. He had recently largely recovered from an accident and rescue at Wintour’s Leap caused by a block breaking off and hitting his foot. We then climbed together during the mid-1970s checking routes at Wintour’s Leap for his first guide to the Wye Valley. I will always treasure the inscribed copy he gave me. My main contribution was in leading John up the aid routes, of which there were quite a few at that time. We had some great adventures, finishing at midnight on one route. John’s patience with me was truly outstanding, one belaying stint taking seven hours. Sorry again, John!

He was a generous man in other ways too, with free lifts and dinner when I had little money. We travelled to other climbing areas together, his calm nature and wide-ranging conversations always a delight. A loyal friend, we exchanged Christmas cards and messages every year until now.

In reply to Rick Sewards:

Thank you for posting this Rick, and to everyone for contributing insights into this quiet and generous man. So he had soloed the Eiger !

I first met John when he gave my friend and I a lift in his Renault 4 on the Cheltenham-Woodcroft leg of our regular hitch to Wintours from Oxford Polytechnic in the late '70s. I last met him just a few years ago when he was being shown the work on the Wye Valley Greenway. He remembered the Renault 4, but not our meeting - fair enough as 40 or so years had passed.

The detail in his first '77 brown guide was a huge improvement on the photo copied sheets we had previously (Perrin ?). There seemed to be caution, consideration and thoughtfulness in the route descriptions, perhaps because they were initially written with his students in mind, and we awaited and devoured all subsequent editions.

That first guide lit climbing my fire, allowed us to explore Wintour's complicated cliffs in relative safety and nervously edge around the blind nose on Zelda that felt like a long way past the cemented peg at the time. 

It set me up for a move to the South West and a lifetime of climbing adventure extending far beyond the Wye Valley, so thank you John.

In reply to Rick Sewards:

Thanks for posting this Rick.

I never met John but it sounds like he was remarkable man who's contribution to Wye Valley climbing in particular was critical in achieving the access we have today.

I'm sure he will be sadly missed.

In reply to Rick Sewards:

So sad to read about this.

John was responsible for my minor foray into the world of guidebook-writing, having responded to a glib comment in a climbing magazine asking if anyone wanted to publish a guide to Deep Water Soloing.

He "guided" us through the whole process with patience and enthusiasm, resulting in the publishing of Into the Blue in 1996.

Thanks John.

In reply to Rick Sewards: 

Thank you, Rick, for passing on this sad news about John.

John was a good friend to me in sometimes difficult circumstances. He was editor of the Climbers Club’s West Penwith guidebooks of the early 1990s. Throughout various challenges we faced, John was always a fair and wise judge. John’s judgements were based on a lifetime of understanding of the human condition generally. A wise and thoughtful man of the finest calibre.  

At times John and I were more interested in the complexities of language and style sheets. I learned much from John about the craft of writing. I was a working hack, John was a scholar, which led to a happy collaboration as it turned out. I had no command whatsoever of commas. In my early drafts of the guidebooks, commas lay scattered across the pages like hailstones.  John easily won that punctuation battle. From my side exclamation marks were anathema other than in private emails, letters or comic writing. I won that battle and I’m fairly certain that no exclamation marks appear in the West Penwith 1990s guidebooks other than in a couple of route names. (I would sometimes include a few lines of exclamation marks at the end of emails and letters to John to feed to his dogs.)

Long after the Penwith guidebook marathon, John and I kept in touch and corresponded occasionally. I regret never having managed a climb or two with him but the guidebooks consumed us and soon after the guides were done and dusted I began working for quite long periods abroad, especially in the crucial climbing months of spring to mid-summer. For various other reasons, I stepped away from serious involvement in climbing apart from sporadic outings and although John and I never did find that time to climb together he always felt like a climbing mate, a cherishable friend, and a climbing connection of fondest memory as he did for so many others.  

In reply to Rick Sewards:I had the opportunity to give my deepest respect to this wonderful man and very close friend, of mine at his funeral today; I am honoured to say I shed a long heart felt tear for his loss and my honour to know him personally will last very long in my heart for his loss; so well attended by a very large congregation 🥲🥲🥲🥲

In reply to Gary Gibson:

Glad you made it Gary.

In reply to Offwidth:I had to go to give my respects to someone who has supported me with so many things over the years; guidebooks friendship and climbing support and John was a lovely man and I have to say I shed more than a tear or two since getting hom 😢