Colin Fletcher Kirkus (18 September 1910 – 14 September 1942 was a British rock climber. He climbed extensively in Wales and elsewhere, such as the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. He wrote the instruction book ''Let's Go Climbing!'' which inspired Joe Brown to take up the sport.

Early life

Kirkus was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England on 18 September 1910

Climbing

Kirkus made pioneering climbs in Wales and elsewhere and wrote the instruction book ''Let's Go Climbing!.''

Jack Longland Sir John Laurence Longland (26 June 1905 – 29 November 1993) was an educator, mountain climber, and broadcaster. After a brilliant student career Longland became a don at Durham University in the 1930s. He formed a lifelong concern for the we ...

described the greatest rock face in Wales,

Clogwyn Du'r Arddu Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (, translates as the "black cliff of the black height"), or "Cloggy", is a north-facing rhyolite set of cliffs located on the northern flank of Snowdon mountain. Cloggy is considered to be one of the best traditional climbing a ...

, as "Colin’s Cliff". Kirkus' series of new routes on "Cloggy" was unparalleled until the emergence of Joe Brown, 20 years later. Kirkus made a pioneering Alpine-style ascent in the

, in 1933. He climbed Satopant'h while a member of

Marco Pallis Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...

's expedition; his account of the climb is included in Pallis's book ''Peaks and Lamas''.

Death

Kirkus was killed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, on a sortie to Bremen on the night of 13/14 September 1942. He was a navigator on

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its g ...

''BJ879'' of 156 Squadron an RAF

Pathfinder Pathfinder may refer to: Businesses * Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International * Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature Computing and information science * Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser * Pathfinder (w ...

squadron. He was one of four brothers, all of whom saw flying service in the RAF, and three of whom were killed in action in the Second World War. His name is listed on the

Runnymede Memorial The Air Forces Memorial, or Runnymede Memorial, in Englefield Green, near Egham, Surrey, England is a memorial dedicated to some 20,456 men and women from air forces of the British Empire who were lost in air and other operations during World War ...

for airmen with no known grave.

References

Bibliography

* * British rock climbers English mountain climbers 1910 births 1942 deaths People from Liverpool Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Royal Air Force officers Military personnel from Liverpool {{UK-climbing-bio-stub