Obituaries

Geoffrey Booth Bates

Geoffrey, who has died ages 93, was born into a West Riding family engaged in quality worsted yam spinning at East Ardsley. He was educated at Mill Hill school and eventually joined the family business. Partly as a result of his travels to Scandinavia on mill business he became proficient in eight languages.

He was interested in the countryside and its pursuits and when he joined the Club in 1960 he was able to share his interests with men of similar outlook and sympathies. Geoffrey was a good shot and a keen fly fisherman. He was an extremely good goer on the hill and seemingly indestructible in any kind of weather. Intimately acquainted with North West Scotland as a result of many family visits and Whit meets he had climbed all the mountains and hills of any note in Coigach, Assynt-Coigach and North West Sutherland and fished innumerable hill lochs and lochans. He also knew the Yorkshire Dales and North West Yorkshire in some detail and had made use of the Dales Rail service for many linear walks in those areas.

After leaving the mill in the early 60 ‘s Geoffrey had more time for his interests and was very active in keeping his land in good order in the Lake District and the Goole area where he planted many trees. He was a JP in the Dewsbury area and a member of the Bradford Straddlebugs and the Burnsall Angling Club.

Geoffrey, a most kind, very private man; a delightful companion on a hill and a staunch friend, was devoted to his family. He married Mary Holroyd, who predeceased him. They had three daughters.

S. M.

Alton Hartley
Member 1972 – 1996

We must sadly record the death on 16th March of Alton Hartley, aged 84.

With his retirement in sight, Alton came late to the Yorkshire Ramblers yet with his quiet self-effacing manner he quickly established a permanent place in the affections of those many who were lucky enough to know him. His lifetime love of the hills found its expression not in hard routes or gruelling Munro bagging but in a deep, almost spiritual awareness of all that could be seen, felt and sensed. Some will remember an especially vivid meet report but it was in his poetry and articles, which were published from time to time, that he grasped and recorded the real significance of his experiences.

He preached in Methodist Chapels in the thirties and served in the Royal Corps of Signals during the last war, surviving the notorious Burma Campaign from start to finish. After the war he worked, until retirement, in the Public Health Service.

In 1988 he suffered a stroke which left him with impaired speech and mobility but he continued to show a keen interest in all YRC activities, and contributed handsomely to valuable fixtures and fittings at Lowstern.

It is typical of this gentle and kindest of men that he should leave his body for research with no formal memorial services to mark his passing. His wife, Kitty, who nursed him so diligently throughout eight difficult years is naturally honouring all his wishes.

A. C. B.