Number in series 70; Year of publication 1986 - Fell and Rock ...

IN MEMORIAMR.Cook 1935-1986F.M.Coventry 1922-1986Mrs. E.Hervey 1959-1986Miss Gladys Kitchener 1928-1985G.H.Mackereth 1929-1986W.G.Pape 1921-1986E.C.Pollitt 1933-1984Miss E. Wells 1923-1985M.H.Wilson 1921-1986A.E.Wormell 1942-1985GLADYS KITCHENER, 1928-1985Older members of the Club will remember Gladys as one of the regular devotees of theWhitsuntide meets at Thornythwaite. Her tent was to be found alongside the lanecrossing the meadow behind the barn. During the warm Spring evenings it was the focusfor tea and gossip. While following her career as a teacher of English she lived for manyyears in Bishop's Stortford, and divided her leisure time between the Lake District,Scotland and the Alps, walking and climbing extensively. When the Club's slides were inmy care she was a frequent borrower, and took particular pleasure in introducing seniorscholars at Felixstowe College to the mountain landscape.She was a devout church-goer, and her strong religious convictions found expressionin her constant concern for the poor and the oppressed, and the victims of war andinjustice. These qualities, and her intense love of the hill country, are reflected in herpoetry. She published two books of poems under the name of Greta Rowell, one in 1938,and a second larger edition, containing later work, in 1977. We corresponded regularly,and from her letters emerged her strongly-held views on a variety of issues, her oftenabrasive sense of humour, and her compassion for the aged and under-privileged. Shewas in many ways a perfectionist, and the neat disposal of her camping gear in andaround her tent was an object lesson. Having learned the basic skills in the sport fromthose who set the early standards, she was severely critical of the modern rock gymnastsand their aprons of metal aids and bags of chalk. The appearance amid the soft greensand greys of the fellsides of the vivid colours of today's fashionable outfits, she saw as anoutrageous disfigurement.She retired in 1959 to live quietly in Keswick until the Autumn of 1984 whenadvancing years forced her to give up her home. What hurt her most in making thisdecision was having to part with her piano. Her maps and journals she gave to the Club.Her subsequent letters described a series of disagreeable experiences in variousestablishments purporting to provide shelter for the aged and infirm. These experiences,though upsetting, only served to sharpen her critical faculty and sense of humour, andshe expressed deep concern when writing of the commercialisation and turmoil passingfor creative activity which has invaded the District, Grasmere (where she stayed briefly)and Keswick in particular.Happily, she found an oasis of quiet and seclusion near Skelwith Fold from which shewas able to enjoy short walks, and recapture the tranquility she so greatly valued. In herlast letter to me, written only five days before her death, she noted the cutting of the hayand the shearing of the sheep, adding that her room was bright with honeysuckle andspiraea.