What a dear, great man. I think he must be nearly 90 now, but still in fantastically good shape. And I'm sure he won't mind my telling you that he got married again just a couple of years ago (his first wife had died I think at least ten years previously), and he was very happy. He was one of the very ablest rock climbers in the period 1938-50, and when I later asked Joe Brown about him his face lit up. I got the feeling that he respected him possibly the most highly of all his peers.

What a wonderful photograph - his spirit shines through.

A lovely shot of what appears to be a lovely man. My namesake.Always wondered as our name is often mispelt with an H. Is Arthur a true Birtwistle? I remember doing Diagonal when it had a reputation and I was around that grade. Bloody scary and totally amazing for the time.Thanks for the photo Gordon i always wondered what he looked like.