UKC

Hi all,

I'm trying to put together some information about the late Jimmy Jewel (he of The Axe fame). I realised he doesn't have a wiki page and I really thought he should have. I have some snippets from various sources, but it would be good to have more. For a start, does anyone know his real name - it wasn't Jimmy and his initial was D!

If anyone can tell me anything, please feel free to get in touch or post on here.

Ian

In reply to boatgypsy:

Try contacting Dave 'Smiler' Cuthbertson - he has a web site. He knew him and I think he would talk to you.

In reply to boatgypsy:

His name was Phil Jewel. Have a look through my photo gallery for photos of him.

In reply to jon:

There is some brilliant climbing video coverage of him soloing on Gogarth.

In reply to boatgypsy:

Yeah, 80's birth of extreme, does silly arete and left wall as well, so impressive. Apparently he did left wall about 5 times in succession.
You can rent it for 2 quid off steepedge and see if its useful?

While we're on the subject, I keep hearing about this photo of him on the Axe but haven't found a decent quality version online yet. Any links?

In reply to spidermonkey09:

Don't know about online, it was the cover shot of Paul Williams' Cloggy guide and there was a poster of it as well - may have been associated with DMM.

ALC

In reply to boatgypsy:

I have an account of Jim's early climbing with the Cave & Crag Club. I'll email it to boatgypsy, and to anyone else who is interested.

In reply to Andy Hemsted:

Yeah, email it to me please Andy, thanks.

In reply to a lakeland climber:

I think there is a photo of him on the wall in Petes climing T Rex. Maybe a local can confirm this?

In reply to boatgypsy:
Yes, there was a poster of Jim doing that ascent of The Axe, we have a copy of it at our climbing hut - unfortunately I don't have the equipment to scan it and has been said, there doesn't appear to be an online version. In any event, copyright is an issue.

Jon, thanks for the use of your photos.

Andy, got your email and will reply.

The preliminary article for wiki is underway, but there is an approval process before it becomes publicly available. However, you may be able to check it out at this link - or maybe not, you might have to be me to see it!

Ah, no, it won't let me post the link.
Ian

In reply to boatgypsy:

This story might need confirming: -

Pete's Eats has a breakfast known as the 'Big Jim'.
The story goes, that Jewel had ordered a 'Full Breakfast', but because of his accent, he was given four breakfasts instead (bit like the famous 'Four Candles' sketch...).
He managed to eat the lot and subsequently the biggest breakfast on the menu was named a 'Big Jim'.

In reply to FactorXXX:

Ha thats a great story true or not. Fat bastard, its a wonder he ever got off the ground eh

In reply to jon:

Great to see the photo of Jimmy on Vector because that was the first time we met. I was instructing someone up One Step and he appeared at the top of the crag beside my belay. What have you done? I asked. Vector he replied and off he went. Then he appeared again as my client was just finishing. What have you done this time I enquired? Vector again! Well it's so good! He must have soloed the route twice in about 10/15 minutes. Great climber & person!

In reply to Sean Kelly:

Ha! I did Vector a few times with Jim. On one occasion I seconded the main pitch expecting obviously to see him belayed in the cave. I pulled across the traverse only to see the ropes carrying on up the top pitch. I finally found him sitting in the grass at the top!

In reply to boatgypsy:

I have some copies of Jimmy on The Axe. If anyone wants a copy then PM me for details.

In reply to jon:


I only met him a few times but I did see him transform from a pretty normal looking guy in the kitchen at Tyn Lon to the Incredible Birmingham Hulk when we next met about six months later.

In reply to boatgypsy:

Met Jim on a number of occasions over the years, and he was always such a nice unassuming guy.

Remember in particular one Sunday around the mid 70's at Froggatt, when I spent an enjoyable couple of hours soloing around with him - him effortlessly, me anxiously

In reply to boatgypsy:

Some awesome pics of him training in the book - Climbing Fit!

In reply to boatgypsy:

Thanks for all the contributions. I have now put together the bare bones of a Wikipedia entry. A google search should find it, but if not this link may work:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Jewell_%28climber%29#Jimmy_Jewell

This is just a start and I may possibly have made errors, so please feel free to contact me and/or edit the page on Wiki directly.

Regards,

Ian

In reply to boatgypsy:

Nice one.

Couple of minor bits I spotted:

It's Poor Man's Peuterey, not Poor Man's Peutery. (Needs an 'e' before the 'y')

Also, you have The Axe as both E4 5c & E4 6a.

In reply to Chris Harris:

The Big Jim breakfast came about due to his thick Birmingham accent: he asked for a "full breakfast" but the staff thought he'd asked for "four breakfasts" which were duly served and eaten.

In reply to boatgypsy:

Are there two 'L's' at the end of his surname or just the one?

In reply to boatgypsy:

I met Phil on and off throughout the seventies and eighties.

I remember him as an all round nice guy.

He introduced me to several 'Birmingham' climbing terms:

Corker: good route

Bostin: sound nut placement

RIP Phil

Pete.

In reply to boatgypsy:
With regard to the spelling of his surname - House of Names website says:

"The name Jewell is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of the Britain and comes from the baptismal name Joel. The surname Jewell referred to the son of Joel which belongs to the category of patronymic surnames."
http://www.houseofnames.com/jewell-family-crest

Most other spellings of the surname have the double l. Also several reputable sources refer to Jim by this spelling, so I have gone with it.

Good to see there have already been some corrections to the page, hopefully there will also be some additions.

In reply to boatgypsy:

I was 14 years old and had just hit the deck off La Diagonal, sella, Costa Blanca.

I was in my CDT class in school when a mate came up and asked what was in my head. It was a massive clot of blood from my head wound from rock climbing.

The kid, Dave, said oh yeah, my uncle was a climber but he's dead now cos he fell off; I've got a video of him at home. Next day he brings in a VHS copy of Total Control.

This was like 1998.

In reply to steveej:
I knew and trained with Jim in the 80's when he was based in Chester for while. I have fond memories of training sessions involving hundreds of pull-ups and traversing the roodee wall ! He was a great guy always welcoming .

In reply to boatgypsy:

I have Total Control if you want to borrow it? He cruises T-Rex, Silly Arete, Vector and Left Wall.

He's still fondly remembered in Llanberis.. huge picture of him soloing T-Rex in The Vaynol & Petes. I'd love a copy of that.

In reply to boatgypsy:

wiki page looks great. I was one of the first on the scene when he fell and died. Feel free to call me as I'd rather not discuss this via a forum.

In reply to Bob:


I've always wondered about that story - you'd think that when they charged him £20 (or whatever) for a 'full breakfast' he might have said something!

Certainly on Total Control he doesn't speak with what I'd call a classic thick Birmingham accent at all, though it's not quite the BBC either.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

I think the story is in Welsh Rock but can't find my copy so maybe someone will correct it if it's wrong.

In reply to Bob:

Oh, sure, it's a widely known and repeated story. It just seems to me that it can't actually be true, that's all.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Surely some of the (older) Llanberis contingent who may be on here could shed some light on it. Though to quote Orwell - "if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth"

In reply to Bob:

There's no entry for JJ in the index in Welsh Rock.

In reply to John2:

I must have imagined it. I'll check my back copies of Mountain. It may of course be a myth.

In reply to boatgypsy:
In the Total control vid im sure I read somewhere that he solo,d the route about 20 times on the trot as they only had one camata so to get all the diffrent angles they had to move about and jj had to solo the route loads of times. Is this true??? Who knows.

In reply to Russell Lovett:

The CC obituary said three times.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:


He was probably acting a bit posh for the film or had lost it from living in other parts of the country for a while but believe me, John, it was a thick Brummie accent in the 70s and early 80s alroight.