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Scotsman
20-07-2025
- General
- Scotsman
The Scots peer trapped in the ice below the Matterhorn for 160 years
he Matterhorn from the Col d'Herens, Switzerland, around 1900. The 160th anniversary of the first ascent of the mountain is marked this month. Scots peer Lord Francis Douglas was among four men who died during the expedition and his body has never been found. |Lord Francis Douglas was one of four climbers who fell to their death on the first ascent of the mountain. Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... For 160 years, the body of a Scots aristocrat who died in the first expedition to the top of the Matterhorn has been trapped in a glacier at the foot of the mountain. Only a boot which came off during his fatal fall has ever been found. Despite attempts to retrieve him and bring his body home, Lord Francis Douglas remains lost to the Swiss Alps. His story, however, continues to be told as the tragedy of the first ascent of the peak on July 14, 1865, marks its 160th anniversary. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The death of Lord Douglas, who was born in Cummertrees near Annan in Dumfries and Galloway and educated at Edinburgh Academy, reverberated around the world and led to recriminations, unproven accusations of murder and an unrelenting spotlight on the ethics of such expeditions where men pitted themselves against the mightiest forces of nature as they hunted for personal glory. Lord Francis Douglas, who was born near Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, was just 18 when he died on the Matterhorn in 1865. | Getty Lord Douglas, the son of the 8th Marquess of Queensberry, died alongside three others on the first ascent of Matterhorn - regarded climber Reverend Charles Hudson, 36, his protege Douglas Hadow, 18, and a local guide Michael Croz, 35. There were claims, never proven, that the rope which held all seven climbers on the expedition together was deliberately cut to spare an even greater loss of life. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Times newspaper went hard on those in pursuit of mountain peaks following the death of 'one of the best young fellows in Europe' and questioned the morality of the growing pastime of mountain-climbing. 'Is it life? Is it duty? Is it common sense? Is it allowable? Is it not wrong?' the newspaper asked. Accounts suggest that Queen Victoria asked then prime minister William Gladstone if mountaineering might be made illegal. Charles Dickens also weighed in on the controversy, arguing that the new fad of climbing was as whimsical as someone trying to ascend 'all the cathedral spires in the United Kingdom'. The sport was a 'greater folly than gambling', with nothing to gain from it but an 'empty boast', he wrote. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mountaineer Edward Whymper, the only British member of the climbing team to survive the tragedy on the Matterhorn. He endured a lifetime of recriminations following the death of four of his fellow climbers. |Edward Whymper, 25, was the only British survivor of the expedition and made it back to Zermatt along with local guide Peter Taugwalder and his son, also Peter. The expedition leader described Hadow slipping, knocking over Croz and then dragging Hudson and Lord Douglas with him. The 1865 disaster on the Matterhorn, as depicted by Gustave Doré that year. PIC: CC | CC He later described the moment the four men disappeared off the mountainside, falling more than 4,000 metres to their deaths below. 'For two or three seconds we saw our unfortunate companions sliding downwards on their backs and spreading out their hands endeavouring to save themselves. They then disappeared one-by-one,' Whypmer said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Whymper, spent the rest of his life dogged by the controversy surrounding the expeditions as hate mail - believed to have been sent by a rival - forced him to confront the human cost of his mountaineering success. The expedition features in a book now republished to mark the 160th year since the ill-fated expedition to the top of the Matterhorn, the landmark peak that rises like a pyramid in the south west of Switzerland. The Ascent of the Matterhorn: The Forgotten Photographs has been published by Gibson Square in association with The Alpine Club . It features words and images from Whymper, who took his camera kit to the summit and details the impact of the fatal climb throughout the decades. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Zermatt in the Swiss Alps, where the group stayed before ascending the mountain. | Getty Images 'It was the death of the 18-year-old Lord Francis Douglas, a Scottish peer and son of the Marquess of Queensberry, that made the fall reverberate around the world in a way that other climbing accidents before 1865 had not. 'Paradoxically, as a result, reaching summits became the sport as we know it today with queues on Mount Everest where people trek past the mummies of unlucky climbers,' a statement from the publisher said. The book also contains the hate mail sent to Whymper after he made an appeal for the families of guides left behind following such tragedies. The newly-discovered letter is published in the book for the first time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dated August 25 1865 and sent anonymously, it spoke of the 'full damage' sustained by The Alpine Club from the loss of life on the Matterhorn. It also mentions Professor Tyndall, a rival of Whymper's. 'The fact is that the members of The Alpine Club are generally a vain lot - Professor Tyndall is an exception. He risks his life, and nobly, for science and truth. But what benefit do the mountain climbers confer on anybody - none.' Professor Tyndall earlier made a failed attempt on the summit and had discouraged Whymper in his mission to reach the top. Whymper spent most of the rest of his life trying to find out who wrote the letter. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Several attempts have been made to try and locate the body of Lord Douglas, whose body was the only one never discovered. An article in the Washington Times in 1905 said: 'In the hope that the slowly moving Zmutt glacier may this year yield up the long entombed body of one of its most famous victims , Lady Florence Dixie has published a letter appealing to all Alpine climbers who may be in the vicinity to keep a sharp look out for the corpse of her brother, Lord Francis Douglas, who perished there 40 years ago in the descent from the summit of the Matterhorn. 'Notwithstanding the great lapse of time, experts declare that if discovered it will be found in an excellent state of preservation - practically embalmed in ice - and will be easily recognizable.' An unsuccessful search was launched in 2021, with an earlier attempt made several years before. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad David Queensberry, the current Marquess of Queensberry, said in 2014 that the possibility of finding his great-great-uncle had 'been in my mind all my life.' A memorial to Lord Francis Douglas stands outside the family mausoleum in Cummertrees.
Daily Record
30-06-2025
- Daily Record
Nicky Campbell calls for extradition of paedophile teacher as beast marks 86th birthday
'With every passing year, and every birthday he marks as a free man, it looks more and more like he'll be allowed to die in South Africa and that would deny justice to thousands of survivors.' Broadcaster Nicky Campbell and fellow ex-pupils of paedophile teacher Iain Wares are demanding he is finally extradited from South Africa to face justice as he celebrates his 86th birthday today – still a free man. Nicky said yesterday: 'He abused boys typically who were around nine years old and, with the help of the South African authorities, he is still doing it. 'He is still breaking the hearts of his victims. It breaks my heart every day. 'I was sexually and physically abused by other teachers at Edinburgh Academy but Iain Wares – who never taught me – is the reason I came forward. 'Seeing him sexually abuse my friend from only a yard or so away in a changing room – the image is with me every day and it breaks my heart every day. 'That's what drove me into the public domain, and the frustration we all feel knowing that it would just take a signature from the South African justice minister to get him on a plane is hard to bear. 'We know South Africa has a chaotic system of justice, but we can't understand why it is standing in the way of an old, white paedophile being sent to face justice. Is it negligence, inefficiency or worse?' Nicky, 64, said fellow survivor Neil Douglas, who flew to Cape Town in April 2023 to look Wares in the eyes as he faced a charge of sexual abuse in his homeland, had calculated that Wares had abused thousands of boys. He added: 'Those who were in his classroom were familiar with how he abused and how many boys he targeted in each group, and Neil multiplied that by the number of classes he had taught over all the years of his career. Timeline 1968 Wares travels to UK from his nativeSouth Africa to get psychological support for paedophilia. He is treated at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. 1968-73 He is employed by Edinburgh Academy to teach primary-age boys mathematics. He also coaches sports, including rugby. 1973-79 Moves on to nearby Fettes College, where he continues to teach. 1979-2006 Returns to South Africa and teaches at Rondebosch Boys' School in Cape Town. 2019 The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry hears numerous accounts of alleged physical and sexual abuse carried out by Wares, known as 'Edgar', at both Fettes College and Edinburgh Academy. 2020 Extradition order is signed after the Crown Office decides to charge him with six offences of lewd and libidinous behaviour and an indecent assault. 2022 Delays caused by the Covid pandemic and the complexity of dealing with extradition are exacerbated when Wares is charged with allegedly abusing a boy at Rondebosch. June 2022 Fettes pays a reported £400,000 compensation to one of Wares's alleged victims at the school. Dec 2022 Fettes pays a reported £450,000 to a second alleged victim of Wares. Jan 2023 Former SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford uses parliamentary privilege to name 'Edgar' as Iain Wares. March 2023 With Wares facing more than 80 charges relating to more than 40 alleged victims, Lady Smith, chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, agrees he can be named. April 2023 Wares appears in court in Cape Town facing abuse charge. June 2023 Alleged victims plead for justice to move more quickly fearing time will run out for them. Dec 2024 Delays mean South African case will run into next year. June 2025 Nicky Campbell demands the extradition of Wares, who turns 86 today. 'He came up with a figure, way into the thousands, and then divided it by ten so that he wouldn't be accused of overestimating it – and it was still in the thousands. 'If Iain Wares is put on trial, we believe he will emerge as the most prolific paedophile in British criminal history. 'All we ask is that he comes here and has a fair trial. If he is found not guilty and goes home, we will find a way to accept that. But he has to face justice and he should have the courage to want that himself. This has been going on for eight years, adding insult to more than 50 years of injury. 'With every passing year, and every birthday he marks as a free man, it looks more and more like he'll be allowed to die in South Africa and that would deny justice to thousands of survivors.' More than 100 victims have made allegations about Wares's sadistic physical and sexual abuse to Police Scotland and the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI). Crown Office prosecutors have presented their South African counterparts with a solid case for Wares's extradition and they feel this remains the case even though some charges are incompatible with their law and have been ruled out. It's understood the accounts of more than 60 victims in the UK are accepted as actionable by the South Africans, yet he remains a free man in a luxury retirement complex just outside Cape Town. Neil said the delays were further traumatising Wares' victims, and every passing year made justice seem less likely. He added: 'At least 72 men have complained to police. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. 'We know of at least a dozen who have taken their own lives, and I have spoken to many more who cannot face the trauma of reporting his crimes. The barrier to his extradition is a request, on behalf of 65 victims, that has languished on the desk of the minister of justice in South Africa, Mmamoloko Kubayi, for over eight months. 'Were she to sign it, then Interpol could request an arrest warrant from a magistrate. 'The minister has been non-responsive to requests from journalists, campaigners and survivors. We cannot imagine why she would not approve the request to extradite a prolific child abuser and paedophile.' The South African Ministry of Justice decided last summer, after years of legal arguments, that Wares should be 'extradited soonest' to face the many charges in Scotland. But Wares, who admitted his crimes when they were first put to him, and his legal advisers, who effectively tore up his confession, have managed to delay justice for victims. Wares was described by Nicky as Scotland's Jimmy Savile when the SCAI heard evidence about his abuse of an unprecedented number of pupils at Edinburgh Academy and Tony Blair's old school, Fettes College. It is understood that if Wares is sent back, he could face the longest indictment ever seen in Scotland. He now denies all the charges despite admissions of paedophilia in his distant past. The SCIA heard he came to Scotland in 1967 to seek treatment for his paedophilia at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. The psychiatrist who treated him had been a family friend in Cape Town and encouraged him to go into teaching, describing Wares in medical notes as a 'pleasant pederast'. He taught at Edinburgh Academy from 1968 to 1973 before being forced to leave, with a glowing reference, after complaints of sexual assaults on pupils. As the inquiry heard in 2023, Fettes employed him for six years, even keeping him on after governors learned of his treatment for paedophilia and incidents at the academy, as well as allegations at their school. A South African group that lobbies for justice, Women and Men Against Child Abuse, has supported the survivors of the Edinburgh schools and recently published an article on its website calling for Wares' extradition. It said: 'From the 1960s to the early 2000s, Wares operated unchecked in elite boys' schools in the UK and South Africa. 'At Edinburgh Academy and Fettes College, he didn't only molest children, he struck them, humiliated them, manipulated them.' It added: 'He has not been arrested, he has not been extradited, and the Department of Justice has offered no answers. The men he brutalised are still living with the aftermath. 'While Wares spends his days quietly by the sea, his victims relive moments they've spent a lifetime trying to forget.' The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: 'This has been a complex investigation and COPFS appreciates it has been difficult for all those involved. 'In order to protect any future proceedings and to preserve the rights of the complainers, the Crown will not comment further at this stage.'
Times
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Times
Blair Kinghorn's Lions tour delayed amid Toulouse final and Pacific rowers
Blair Kinghorn's arrival down under for the British & Irish Lions tour has been delayed by the small matter of a Top 14 final commitment with Toulouse, who play Jonny Gray's Bordeaux in Paris on Saturday night. When it comes to taking the long way round to Australia, however, Kinghorn has nothing on a trio of fellow Edinburgh Academy alumni who are due to make landfall in time for the third Test in Sydney after 120 days spent rowing some 9,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean. The Maclean brothers — Lachlan, Ewan and Jamie — set off in April in a 28-foot carbon fibre boat, Rose Emily, named after their late sister, in a bid to raise £1m for clean water projects in Madagascar.
Edinburgh Reporter
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
First Inspectors Cup final for Edinburgh Academy
The conclusion of the venerable P7 Inspectors Cup between Edinburgh Academy and Cramond Primary will be the centrepiece of the Edinburgh Primary Schools Sports Association finals night at Meggetland on Wednesday (kick offs, 6.30pm). It will be the first occasion Edinburgh Academy have reached the final of a tournament dating back to 1893 and the school says they are delighted by the achievement. A spokesperson for the school said: 'Congratulations to our Geits football team who have reached the final of the Inspectors Cup – a first for EA. This is an incredible achievement, with over 50 teams having been involved in the first round. They won all three of their semi-final matches against very strong opposition. The boys will now meet Cramond Primary in the final on June 18.' Buckstone Primary will play St John's RC Primary in The School Board Cup Final. The girls Summer Cup Final features South Morningside versus Liberton while Gaelic school Taobh Na Pairce will tackle Buckstone Primary in the Summer Shield Final. Meggetland is the venue for an evening of primary schools football on Wednesday Like this: Like Related
