Joe Brown

[Groundhog]

Very sad news about the passing of a climbing legend.
I know Joe was no stranger to caving. There is the Smoo Cave video and I seem to remember something about a descent of Eldon on a knotted rope.
He designed the first British climbing helmet which I for one used for caving for many years.
There must be lots of other caving stories concerning Joe out there. Come on lets have them!

 

[Roger W]

Had to check that out.

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/legendary-climber-joe-brown-dies

Farewell to one of the greats.

 

[Badlad]

Someone just mentioned to me that he was never knighted.  Probably should have been well ahead of many who were.

Got a parking ticket outside the shop once - but that's not much of a story.

 

[cavemanmike]

Farewell Joe, climbed many of his classics with modern gear,
And Joe did them in a flat cap boots and a hemp rope.
Legend

 

[mikem]

Although not about caving, Giles Barker recorded some interviews with him:
https://www.thebmc.co.uk/joe-brown-audio-interviews

He was awarded MBE & CBE.

 

[paul]

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Brown_(climber)

So famous was he that the Post Office delivered a letter to him simply addressed "The Human Fly, UK".

I remember finding some carved numbers on a gatepost in the Goyt Valley near Buxtion. Researching this afterwards it turned out to be part of an Orienteering course Joe Brown had set up while working at the nearby Whitehall outdoor centre when he was working there in the 1960s.

 

[mikem]

https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Story_of_White_Hall_Centre.html?id=tCtTDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y

It also covers the caving accidents there.

 

[Groundhog]

I remember finding some carved numbers on a gatepost in the Goyt Valley near Buxtion. Researching this afterwards it turned out to be part of an Orienteering course Joe Brown had set up while working at the nearby Whitehall outdoor centre when he was working there in the 1960s.

A pal and I found these some years back and worked out that they were grid references. They were all carved into man made structures. Obviously so as not to damage natural rock. Sadly when I tried to repeat this recently some of the references had gone

 

[mikem]

Starts with a mention of Alderley Edge mines:

https://youtu.be/dmEz2GLo_wM

 

[scratch]

Joe was only at White Hall for a few years, In the early years at White Hall they did not have a vehicle they walked to Windgather or Castle Naze and White Hall Rocks you can still see some home made pitons there now. When they got a vehicle they had to ferry children back and fro. I used to walk up to White Hall from Buxton and hang about in the bunk house at the time Joe was their. A B Afford used to let us just stay and climb round the building.
Yes they did have 1/2 caving deaths about that time.