Mill Donald Norman

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Biografie:
Donald Norman Mill (1931-1981)
In May a strange assortment of people gathered at Sourlies bothy at the head of Loch Nevis. Few of the group knew each other before they arrived but they had all been drawn to this remote place in remembrance of Donaid Mill. Wandering up the glen from the bothy, the track is crossed by Allt Coire na Ciche; such a quiet stream on that pleasant day in May, there was difficulty in believing this was the very spot where Donald had been swept away 5 months previously.
Donald, whose father had been a procurator fiscal of Edinburgh, was educated at the city's Merchant Company School and the George Watson College. Later he studied architecture at the Edinburgh Arts School and after qualifying at the early age of 22, did 3 years national service. Most of this time was spent in Malaya as an architect in the Army. Even here, the enthusiasm he now had for climbing saw him searching out unwitting partners and places to climb.
Before discovering the pleasures of the mountains he was a keen canoeist. Indeed his first encounter with the mountains, with an Edinburgh Sea Scout Group, was a not altogether pleasurable affair after which he resolved that it would be the last. Uncharacteristically, however, his mind was changed and by the age of 20 he had made the first of what were to become almost annual visits to the Alps. These visits were only interrupted by national service and trips to other mountain areas such as the Polish Tatras, Atlas mountains and Indian Himalaya.
In the 50s he was very active in Scotland and with Dan Stewart made several first ascents. This level of activity was somewhat diminished when he moved to London to work as an architect. He joined Sir Denys Lasdun in 1962, becoming a junior partner in 1975. He worked on such projects as the National Theatre, IBM building, European Investment Bank in Luxembourg, and University of East Anglia and he also designed one of the early climbing walls for the new sports hall at Liverpool University. Donald also had a reputation as an outstanding architectural photographer.
His other interests were wide ranging but two are pre-eminent. One was pottery which was of a very high standard, the other being mountaineering history in which pursuit he accumulated a fine collection of books. From the latter, and from his travels, he acquired an extensive knowledge of many mountain areas and was always producing original ideas for ventures to the hills; whether it be a weekend in Britain or a peak to attempt in the Himalaya. It was a pleasure to share the hills with Donald, climbing or skiing, and there was the bonus of his good route finding and judgement.
Donald was a very determined man and had an immense appetite for the mountains which, since his move to London, involved frequent weekend visits to North Wales and the Lake District. Even with the arrival of a son to his young wife, Christine, the only noticeable change was the line of nappies outside the tent. Donald completed the Munro's in 1980 when he climbed Ben More on Mull carrying 2-year-old Jamie up his first Munro.
The front to strangers was often cold but underneath this shell was a sensitive and somewhat shy person. Friendship with Donald was not a shallow, quick affair but firm and lasting, despite the occasional heated discussions, often giving a misleading impression to observers. At nearly 50 he displayed the energy and spirit of a man half this age but beneath was a complex person. Indeed it was several years before I heard of a grown up family from an earlier marriage. This was Donald, always rewarding, never dull.
Peter Stokes
Quelle: Alpine Journal Volume 87, 1982, Seite 267-268


Geboren am:
1931
Gestorben am:
1981