On Saturday 8 June, six Year 12 pupils set off for Winchester College to join the Mallory Centenary Team on a very special walk to celebrate the passion for adventure, determination, and drive for which mountaineer George Mallory was famously known. Mr Dave Martucci shares his account of this remarkable achievement.
Very rarely does something come along that you just have to be part of. Something special. Something that will never be repeated. Something that you know will make history. Something that you know you would regret if you missed out.
Well, from out of the blue, that something arrived in the form of an email from a remarkable young lady called Clare Talks from Winchester College. It was late January and Clare had sent me an email asking if I would like to do something to commemorate the life of George Mallory. My immediate thought was, er, yeah, next silly question! Of course, I was in, hook, line and sinker.
Mallory was a pupil at Winchester College, then went to Magdalene College, Cambridge to study History. After living in France, he returned in 1910 to become a History teacher at Charterhouse. While here he met his wife, Ruth who lived in Godalming. George and Ruth had two daughters and a son: Francis Clare, Beridge Ruth and John.
Winchester and Charterhouse were now forever linked by this remarkable young man. Clare’s idea had stemmed largely because on the 8 June 2024, it would be exactly 100 years to the day that George Mallory and Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine both disappeared on the third attempt to reach the summit of Everest. As you know, their disappearance has given rise to the long-standing speculation of whether or not the pair might – under a narrow set of assumptions – have reached the summit. Personally, I like to think they made it.
The plan was for a number of Year 12 pupils to walk from Winchester College to Charterhouse over two days. A distance of just under 50 miles and over a 1000m of ascent. Over the weeks and months that followed the pieces all started to fit together. First the weekend that we planned for this to happen was the 8-9 June, exactly 100 years to the day. Next the route was planned and finalised. Then we found out that the field we were going camp on used to be owned by Old Carthusians. Then, quite amazingly Clare informed me that we were going to be joined by Mallory's grandson, Stephen Mallory, who was flying in from South Africa to join us. How awesome was that. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that this was fate, this was meant to happen.
So, after an early start on Saturday 8 June, six Year 12 pupils set off to Winchester College. There we met eleven Sixth formers from Winchester, accompanied by five Dons and of course Stephen Mallory. We were now officially the Mallory Centenary Team.
We went for breakfast in Hall, which was then followed by an Everest lecture by Mr Rattray outlining the life and times of Mallory leading up to the ill-fated expedition, and finally an Act of Commemoration in Old Cloister, led by Reverend Storey, before setting out on the Mallory Centenary Walk. Mr Bramhall, Mr Brinkley and I were humbled at how welcome we were all made to feel. Even the pupils commented on how nice everyone was.
The Mallory Centenary Team set off trekking through the breath-taking countryside of Hampshire and Surrey which George Mallory had so loved. It was such a great feeling to not only be part of this historic occasion, but to be finally trekking after weeks of planning.
Over the next two days, Carthusians and Wykehamists gelled and we could see new friendships starting to take place. It was clear to see that we were amongst some very impressive young men and women. Over the weekend, Miss Martin, Mr Freeman and Mrs Nelson all joined us to help support the Mallory Team as they neared their destination, Mallory’s plaque in South African Cloister.
After some much-needed showers and a change of clothes, the Team all met in Oak for our Centenary meal. As usual Zhivko and the wonderful catering team did us proud and the occasion was a very fitting end to what was a most wonderful weekend.
Very, very well done to Theo, Araoluwa, Massimo, Toby but also a massive shout out to Jasper and Maria, who not only, along with all the others above, took part in the 50 mile Endurance Challenge some two and a half weeks later, but have also gone on to do their Gold DofE Assessment expeditions the following week. Simply incredible and it is obvious to me that each share some of the same passion for adventure, determination and drive that Mallory was so notoriously known for.
I would also like to thank all the Dons at Winchester College for making this such an enjoyable experience and for making us feel so welcome. But none of this would have been possible without the most wonderful Clare Talks. Thank you Clare for reaching out and making this a reality. Finally, I would also like to thank Stephen Mallory for taking the time to fly over and walk (and run) with us over the weekend. It was an honour to meet you both and be part of something so special.
Dave Martucci
Without a doubt, I would say that the Mallory challenge was an experience I would not forget. I would mainly attribute this to the fact that we all had to show great resilience, because walking 50 miles across the space of two days is no easy feat but also we got to commemorate George Mallory, a man of great courage who did not fear the great feat of attempting to climb Mount Everest. Even though no one knows for sure whether he completed this summit, we do know that his will to explore his love for climbing will always be admirable. Furthermore, Mallory taught at Charterhouse and was a pupil at Winchester so this walk was also unique in the fact that two different schools came together. It was an honour to be part of the challenge and it has inspired me to always aspire for more and follow my passions just like Mallory did.
Araoluwa (Year 12)
