Today – 18 June 2015 – marks the 200th anniversary of a great victory, the Battle of Waterloo, which brought to an end 23 years of war against Napoleon. The British commander, the Duke of Wellington, is being commemorated in exhibitions, newspaper articles, TV programmes and lectures all over the UK.
This level of publicity is a reminder of what happened in the 100 years after Waterloo when he was so famous that pubs, hotels, schools, streets and even towns here and abroad were named or renamed after him. In 1850 a new street in Hawick was built and given the name Wellington Street and both our grandparents lived there when they were young.
By the time we were growing up in Hawick in the 1950s this once elegant terrace had turned into a bit of a slum. Our grandparents lived at Woodgate, a lovely detached house on Sunnyhill, a desirable part of town, and did not often talk about Wellington Street. They would never know but it was eventually demolished in 1973, the name living on in Wellington Court, sheltered housing built on the site.
In the 1950s Hawick was still the headquarters of the UK woollen trade, with some 25 woollen mills dotted along the banks of the river Teviot. A self-made man who left school at 14, our grandfather had made his entire career in that trade, working his way from the bottom to the top. Much of his job involved travelling widely, to Australia and New Zealand where much of the wool was now being sourced, and to the US where his company, Braemar, sold 70% of its cashmere sweaters and earned for Hawick the title, “Million Dollar Town”.
And now comes the connection to the 3G Kili climb. In 1953, his company provided long johns and woollen jerseys to the British Mount Everest expedition, led by Colonel John Hunt. They were the first team to conquer the mountain and news of the successful climb arrived in London on the very day of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.
Later that year, the newly knighted Sir John Hunt and Lady Hunt were received by Grandpa when they visited Hawick to say thank you. The 3G climbers are fortunate to be making their ascent in the 21st century when they will wear the most up to date clothing but for old time’s sake, Sheila has every intention of wearing one of our mother’s old cashmere jumpers (see blog post of 28th February). Here’s to another successful climb in 2015, the 3G Kili climb!