The Death of Dunbar Usher of Keswick, in 1938 on Broad Stand, Scafell.

Dunbar Usher, Taken from 10th May 1938 edition of Penrith Observer

Dunbar Usher was the grandson of James (Jas) and Margaret Usher of Keswick and was born in the first quarter of 1905. He was brought up by his grandparents and accounts refer to him as their son, which he was not. Official records of his birth have no listing of his mothers' maiden name, usually indicating a child born out of wedlock and the child's surname being that of the mother. James and Margaret had two daughters, who, by nature of their age, could have been Dunbar's mother. They were Julia, who was born in 1881, and Jane Lavinia Usher, who was born in 1886. Julia appears to have married a Herman Diprose Phillips in 1909 and they emigrated to Canada. Jane Lavinia also went to Canada, in 1910 and one would assume it was to stay or live with Julia; the latter gave birth to a daughter in 1910. It may be that Jane emigrated to assist her sister, and/or to start a new life and further her opportunities. One piece of information on a research site is that Jane was Dunbar's mother, and as a young woman it is more likely to be the case. Certainly she returned to England in 1912 and it would not be hard to understand that if she had a child back in Keswick, despite the knowledge that her own parents were raising him, that union of a mother with her child may have proved too difficult to sever permanently. This is of course a speculation beyond the fact that Dunbar was raised by his grandparents and Jane's emigration and return.

Little is known of Dunbar's early life but in February 1924 the local conservative MP set up a Junior Imperial League (IMPs) for the Keswick area. Dunbar was part of a group of musicians at the meeting and he would come to be closely associated with the IMPs of Keswick. He is then recorded as being a committee member of the Keswick Conservative Club. By February 1926 he was quoted as the leader of the Keswick IMP's and also recognised as a great orator, now being marked as a future leader of the Keswick conservatives, once he reached greater maturity. There is no dispute that he took every opportunity to forward the cause of the IMP's and conservative values within the Keswick area, for the greater good of the population of the town.

Monday 11th April 1932 saw a snow blizzard quickly develop and gave a great insight into the selflessness of Dunbar, in his drive to help anyone who needed his aid. A young Borrowdale man by the name of Robert Robinson had gone climbing in the afternoon on Black Crag Gully, behind the back of the Borrowdale Hotel. It was shunned by many because of its treacherous nature, especially in bad weather. He had managed to get half way up the gully before he got into difficulties. He shouted for help and was eventually heard by Albert Black, who was working half a mile away. After being informed by Robert that he could neither move up nor down, Mr. Black then went into the valley and telephoned Ralph Mayson the renowned Keswick climber. He and a Robert Holmes attended after half an hour from receiving the call; by now the cloud was down and it was getting dark with a blizzard now having set in. By rope Mayson eventually descended to assist Robinson, but was still 60 feet short. At this point they were joined by Dunbar, who had raised another 100ft rope. Lashing the two together they were able to get a rope end to Robinson who was then tied on and raised out of danger. He had been crag-fast for over four hours, and was suffering severely from the increasingly freezing conditions, but was safe and eventually walked off the mountain. 

On Thursday 8th March 1934 Mr. Dennis Wivell retired from the Crosthwaite Ward of Keswick Urban District Council and Dunbar was elected in his place, putting him then in the forefront of local government decisions.

In 1934 the ground-breaking film 'High Hazard' was released, by its producer, Mr. Stanley Watson, who was Chief of the British Mountain Guides; this was the first complete record of British Rock Climbing. Mr. Watson couldn't get film producers interested, nor actors to perform the shots he wanted, so made the film himself and used local climbers to enact the climbs. In fairness, only they could perform those required feats. In the link, if the reader or viewer, scrolls along to 5mins 47 seconds, they see the below shot of Dunbar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36OeMUwT0Ro&t=170s

Dunbar Usher is in the centre, wearing a beret and glasses.

Climbing on Glaramara during filming.

The film shows the esteem which Dunbar was held in and it was widely reported in the press that the local Keswick councillor had been one of its' stars.

On Sunday 1st May 1938, two women were climbing on Scafell Pinnacle. They were Eva Bailey, a 27 year old biological chemist of Edinburgh Infirmary and Miss Nan Hamilton, of Carlisle. Hamilton was leading when Bailey fell a distance of 100 feet while roped together. Hamilton managed to break her fall with the rope, but it snapped and she fell a further 100 feet and was killed. It was the start of a tragic week on the mountain. Six days later, on Saturday 7th, Dunbar Usher and J. G. Hayton of Keswick, a Penrith schoolteacher, were climbing the 100ft high Stand Crag, on the south face of the mountain. This was regarded as a difficult climb, but well within the capabilities of both these experienced climbers. Both men had ascended about half way and had come to a ledge. Dunbar was a short stocky figure and could not grasp a fresh hand-hold to gain further height, so he asked his companion to move further along so he could then stand on his shoulders. Hayton did this, grasping the rock face and arching his back to allow Dunbar to climb up onto him. In this position Dunbar still had difficulty in finding a hand hold, and Hayton advised him to come down off his shoulders. He felt his colleague make one last attempt to find a hold, then heard a click, as if a piece of rock had come away after it had been grasped by Dunbar. Suddenly he was aware of his climbing partner hurtling past him down the mountain, only to stop after about 50 feet as the rope he was tied to arrested is fall. Mr. Hayton quickly descended to his colleague and found him unconscious, but appeared to have no broken bones. He dressed a head would  and saw someone lower in the valley, so went for assistance. It was a shepherd called Tom Bainbridge, who then went up to the accident scene; Hayton himself further descended to Burn Twigg in the valley floor, for a stretcher party. When he and a rescue party managed to return back to Stand Crag they found that the injured Usher was now dead.

The inquest was held at The Wastwater Hotel on the afternoon of Monday 9th. Evidence was largely given by Mr. Hayton, who recounted the events that lead to the tragedy, and Mr. Frederick H. Usher, Dunbar's uncle who he grew up with; he provided the antecedents of his life. He was able to inform the court of Dunbar's huge influence on the political scene around Keswick and the surrounding area. He had been involved with the IMP's for 13 years and made it the influential organisation it was up to that day, making the Divisional Council and County Federation the success they were, never missing a meeting. Although the youngest, he had been a member of the Keswick Urban District Council for five years and close to being its next chairman. 

 Dr. Norman gave evidence that Dunbar had died from a broken neck. The inquest concluded that night and unsurprisingly, the verdict was one of 'Accidental Death', but the coroner did not conclude the proceedings before he critically commented on this being the second such inquest he had conducted that week and it appeared to him that too many unnecessary risks were being taken by climbers.

The funeral took place on Tuesday 10th and was one of the largest Keswick had witnessed. There were around 100 wreaths that accompanied the coffin to Crosthwaite church and on this was placed his climbing axe and rope. Representatives of all the political organisations he was associated with, along with social clubs, were present, both in an organisational capacity and one of friendship. Apart from family and Mabel Armstrong, Dunbar's fiancée (who was from Penrith and a maid for General and Mrs. Spedding, at Windebrowe), prominent attenders were Dr. Wakefield, of Everest expedition fame, and various members of the mountaineering fraternity from the Lake District. 

His grandfather James had died in 1918 and his grandmother Margaret had passed in 1933 at 20 Stanger Street. Dunbar, along with his mother Jane Lavinia and his other aunt, Margaret Helena, were also at this address. It is believed Jane Lavinia had emigrated to Canada in 1910, but appears to have returned in 1912. It may be that she went to live with her older sister Julia Ann, but that is unclear. In Dunbar's probate he left just over £1,100 to Jane Lavinia (his likely mother) and aunt; the address was 20 Stanger Street. In the 29th September1939 electoral roll, both Jane Lavinia and Margaret Helena are shown as unpaid domestic servants at 72 Thornton Road, Morecambe, the residence of David Jackson, a building house keeper, and his wife Ethel. 20 Stanger Street is shown with no occupant at that time, as is number 18. Dunbar's mother died in 1974 and her probate shows her at 20 Stanger Street, so it was still a family residence.

The forthcoming months after Dunbar's death saw the election for a new council member, meetings of the Further Education Committee, the annual meeting of the IMP's, attended by the Mayor, and the annual meeting of the Conservative Club, the latter occurring on Thursday 15th December where a photograph of their esteemed deceased former member was presented to them. All these events saw eulogies being given, placing Dunbar in the highest of esteem by his fellow colleagues of all organisations or clubs.