UKC

I am shocked and saddened to read on the Mile End website that Andy Reid, the long-time manager of ME, died suddenly recently.

I was a director of ME when we recruited Andy in 1998 or so, and it's safe to say that it was the best decision we made. He had worked at ME before and indeed I think played a big part in building the original Mile End Commando wall. For the last 20 years he ran ME with great efficiency and good cheer, and was enormously popular there - someone you very rarely heard a bad word about. He will be sadly missed for a long time. He contributed more to the London climbing wall scene than maybe anybody; when the Castle was starting up he was the manager there as well and from my outside view played a big role in establishing that wall too.

Others can say more about his climbing than me: I know he did a great deal of new-routing in the Algarve in recent years, and back in the eighties onsighted Piece of Mind before such feats were widely popular, but that's all I know.

jcm

This is very sad news. I worked part-time at ME in the late '80's when it was still known commonly as the North London Rescue Commando.

Holding the MIC award, Andy ran some early SPA / SPSA courses which I took part in and he then gave me a job instructing at ME. He was always very patient and good fun to work with.

Andy was instrumental in developing the climbing at ME at then at The Castle and London climbing certainly benefited enormously from him being involved.

My condolences to his family and friends.

What a great shame and way, way, way too soon.

I also knew Andy from the very first days of the NLRC moving to its current location (thence to become the Mile End Wall) and his energy and enthusiasm was something all of us could admire.

RIP Andy.

.One  of the great personalities in the London climbing scene whose insatiable curiosity when it came to exploring  new climbing areas was always inspiring .A very sad day.

That is awful news...shocked and saddened also, I was a director with John at the time and concur that our hiring Andy set the course for the future. His relentless enthusiasm never failed to inspire...and I can even forgive him for removing the slab just on the left through the main door that was the focus of us mid to late 80's climbers' ever more absurd problem setting. MECW and the thousands (tens of thousands?) of climbers it has inspired will be a powerful legacy.

Shocking news.

I knew Andy through my work with the ABC, such a lovely guy to work with, but also so full of fun stories and anecdotes.

RIP and my greatest sympathy to his wife and family.

That's grim news - I remember him being a fine bloke

Deepest condolences to his family and friends

RIP Andy

Ah, such sad news. I went to Mile End a lot in c.1990 and was introduced to Andy on my first visit, from then on he greeted me like he'd known me forever. Such a nice, good natured guy, and strong too. How old was he, I'm guessing early 60s?

A great loss - both to Mile End (late 80's) resident and to climbing in the Algarve, where I'm sure I clipped many of his bolts and got scared on a few routes that didn't have as many, or any.

61 I believe