It is with great sadness that the Sport and Recreation Alliance has learnt of the death of Alan Blackshaw on Thursday 4th August 2011 at Inverness hospital.
Alan was President of the BMC (1973 - 1976), a BMC Patron (since 1978), and a specialist advisor to the BMC Access, Conservation and Environment Group.
The BMC have paid tribute on their website. We include their obituary below:
“He was perhaps best known for the book Mountaineering – from Hillwalking to Alpine Climbing (1966) published by Penguin books that many people simply called Blackshaw's Mountaineering. It was the seminal text of its day that was regarded by many as the Bible of climbing and mountaineering.
Alan was married to Elspeth and had a son and two daughters (one daughter from a previous marriage).
During a long and fruitful career Alan worked tirelessly for climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers. He was an intellectual giant and made an immense contribution to the international and national mountaineering world. His presence will be sorely missed.”
Nominations for the Alliance’s annual Spirit of Sport and Recreation Award are open ahead of the organisation’s 90th anniversary celebration event, which has been confirmed for St James’s Palace in November.
Read moreSport and activity should be for everyone, everywhere. This National Inclusion Week, we celebrate progress while calling for change to break down the barriers disabled people continue to face.
Read moreThe Sport and Recreation Alliance is delighted to announce that the organisation will be hosting a special event at St James’s Palace on 12 November 2025 to mark its 90th anniversary.
Read moreJoining the Sport and Recreation Alliance is pretty simple, but worthwhile!
Register now