A Potted History of Glasgow HF Outdoor club, 1917.......
Photo: Glencoe, 1962 (note interesting ice-axe!)
Early Days
As a West of Scotland walking club which originally started under the name of “Holiday Fellowship“, our club’s history is certainly long and is pre-dated only by one other club in the Glasgow area, known as the “Health Culture”, which is 11 years older.
At the time clubs like these were formed, it was a vastly different world which takes a lot of imagination for most of us to place ourselves in. People worked, and they worked very hard. This meant a six day week of at least 48 hours and few public holidays, (not even Christmas day). The annual holiday (unpaid), or “fair fortnight” for Glasgow and the equivalent for Paisley etc., was the main holiday break when heavy industry, (which was then the main employer) shut down for two weeks. The great majority of people had little leisure time and little spare cash to pursue their interests, so clubs were useful because costs could be shared and the experience of others taken advantage of, (which still holds good today).
Back in the early days and up until the 1960’s, generally speaking, individual car ownership was unusual, so for more than 40 years of the club’s 90 year existence, public transport (trams & trains) or hired buses, commonly called “charabancs”, were the usual method of getting to the hills and walks.
These facts are important because they dictated what it was possible to do in terms of any planned walks and climbs, for a “non-gentleman‘s” club such as the HF. All outings had to be within relatively easy reach of Glasgow and mostly accessible by public transport.
First Steps
In 1917 several members under the leadership of a minister called T.A. Leonard met at a house in Shettleston and formed the Glasgow club. Attendance doubled by the end of 1918 with intermittent “rambles” and an annual weekend to Ardenconnel. A weekly programme of events, mostly social, was established by 1925.
Walking in the nineteen twenties was a flourishing pastime, the tramcar was the magic carpet for the masses to “The Borderlands of Glasgow”, as the title of the official guide to the walks which radiated from tram terminals, was called. Up to 60 members would go on a Saturday trip or the mid-week mini-walks on Tuesday afternoons and evenings. Winter walks often ended at a tea-room or they went to the cinema or theatre to round off the day - more time for chatting up a special someone, possibly?
Bursting Out
Drumkinnon Camp was established in 1925 on the site at Stoneymollen which was bought for “a bargain price” and became known as “Auchenshoogle” due to the rickety nature of its one building. It consisted initially of a cook-house and two bell tents. Two more eight person huts followed later, (i.e. ladies & gents!).
To its devotees, Drumkinnon was the source of great physical effort in getting it set up and also of “outstandingly happy memories”, according to one writer. Another starry-eyed devotee had, “memories of moonlight walks and sunrise on Ben Lomond” (so the chatting up had obviously worked for him!). Memories also of garden fetes and of “the annual descent of seventy deserving youngsters, who ran their races and returned to the city, belly’s full and arms laden with rhododendron”. This refers to the club’s concern with the great social issues of deprivation and child poverty at this particular time, and its efforts to alleviate it.
A successor camp to Drumkinnon was opened 30 years later called “Aber” which was located at Gartocharn, Loch Lomond-side.
By 1927 they had a quarterly magazine (“Packchat”?), dramatic productions, a debating circle and a literary group - one of the essay competitions for this last group was on the subject “Why am I single?”, which sounds very much like a chatting up class for beginners!
Mountain Men(and Women)
By 1929 walks of up to 20 miles a day were being done. The mountain view indicator at the top of Ben Lomond, sponsored by the Daily Record newspaper, was unveiled. The installation of this had been actively pursued by the club’s group secretary, Tom Hall, and it was reported that 2,000 ramblers were present at the ceremony. Walkers were advised by the club, “to stay with the leader all day” - the mind boggles!!!!!!
Jock Nimlin who was one of the earlier pioneers of (non-gentleman‘s) climbing and walking in Scotland, makes an entry in his diary for Sunday 9th February 1930. He was on his way to Ben Lomond staying overnight at Comer farm, he writes,“Slept in Silo barn, (with the rats!,). Climbed ridge....thence to big ridge on Ben Lomond. Deep snow all the way. Found Holiday Fellowship on summit” ,(who then gave him a lift back to Glasgow in their charabanc). Two weeks later he is on Ben Venue in the Trossachs in thick mist when he states that the H.F are, “heard but not seen” by him, (a not un-common experience in heavy weather, even for their own leaders today! - editor).
So at this early stage and only 13 years after it’s formation, the club and it’s members were well enough known, even to a hard-man of the hills and a relative loner like Jock, to refer to them familiarly and casually as, “the Fellowship”, i.e., the club had well and truly arrived by this time.
The previously mentioned Tom Hall (Ben Lomond summit indicator) seems to have been a very busy and energetic personality over his 10 year period as Secretary, having created The Rucksack Club, (the fore-runner of the SYHA) and later the Ramblers’ Federation.
Branching Out
By 1930, Sunday walks had been introduced, a rock-climbing section was started and by 1932 the club’s first photographic exhibition was given. At this time, bad social conditions and mass unemployment was rife. This was the subject of a mass debate at Wemyss Bay, the club having tramped there from Greenock via Loch Thom to show their concern and a collection was also made to support the striking miners of the time. In 1931 funds were raised for Spaniards facing starvation in the Spanish Civil War and only nine years later of course, the whole world was at war once again.
The Post War Years
In 1950, at a cold Christmas weekend in Inverarnan, someone suggested hiring a bus and “going off to sunny Spain”, and so they did.
Travel to Europe is a very easy, almost casual experience for us these days, but this was no small matter at that time and required a lot of organisation. After passing through a Dunkirk, “still bearing the scars of war” as one member commented, the bus made the journey to San Sebastian. They encountered a pristine, non-tourist countryside, the “golden sandy beaches of Spain’s northern coast” , and “the backcloth of mountains, superb and unspoilt” - changed days!
For months, the party had assiduously learned Spanish in the lead up to their departure so they could be understood in a country which was still Fascist-led under General Franco, a country which was still as yet, quite insular with little experience of spoken English. Unfortunately, after all their efforts, the over-excited HF party had swotted up the Spanish of South America rather than the pronunciation of Spain, (which is of course Castilian) and could not be properly understood by the locals anyway!
1959 was marked by a tragic but fortunately very rare, event. The club has an excellent safety record with very few serious accidents far less fatalities. Unfortunately a double tragedy occurred in winter conditions in Glencoe when the leader of the party, Tom Carter, fell to his death vainly trying to save the life of a male member of his party who had stumbled and then slipped away, on the descent.
From Roots to Branches…
The 1960’s saw more HF innovation, for from a little acorn, a great oak was quietly growing...... Four club members had long thought that you could walk from Glasgow to Fort William as a continuous and un-interrupted countryside walk, and so the idea of what became “The West Highland Way” was born. Some 20 years and a lot of hard work later, the WHW was officially opened by the Lord Provost of Glasgow with our four members in honoured attendance for their seminal part and contribution to its eventual creation.
The 27th January 1967 was the 50th anniversary of the club and the cause of a great formal celebration. This was marked by a civic reception in the City Chambers, given by the council in recognition of the HF’s contribution to the health and well-being of Glasgow citizens and hosted by the Lord Provost John Johnston, who had close links with the club.
Notable Firsts
By the mid 1970’s the great outdoors was re-discovered by many, with strong growth in sales of outdoor magazines and equipment. A whole new industry was being born and the focus for many was, “doing your Munros”. The first club member to achieve this was Frank Telfer in 1979, (Munroist no.200) and the first female member was Cathie McMillan in 1982, (no.287). Since then many more club members have done so, not just once, but two or three times over!
It should be remembered that the early Munroists like Frank and Cathie had no handy Munro guides or well-hammered paths to walk up, they and the others who followed them made the routes we all know and use today.
Latter Days
The mid 1980’s saw a big expansion in the scope of the club’s walks and climbs. Many more Munros and higher hills now appeared regularly on the programme, and holiday weekends had expeditions to the most inaccessible and furthest flung hills in Scotland as well as trips to Wales and the English Lake District.
This trend continues till today with the club’s aim of officially doing all of the Munros in the club programme in the next ten years.
1992 was the 75th anniversary of the club, and was celebrated at the Central Hotel in Glasgow, with 120 members and their partners attending a dinner/dance, and in 2001 the clubs first website was launched with over 6,5000 “hits” to date.
Words by Tom Addie