麻豆社

Every year 500-600 people make the pilgrimage to the Fell and Rock Climbing Club War Memorial on top of Great Gable - one of the highest mountains in the Lake District - for their Remembrance Sunday Service.

Great Gable and 12 surrounding fells were bought by the club in1923 as a permanent memorial for the club members who had sacrificed their lives in WWI, for others to enjoy the freedom of the hills they so tragically lost.

Since the original war memorial plaque was unveiled in 1924, it has struck a chord with climbers and walkers who want to observe the two minute silence in the mountains that are non-denominational and non-institutional.

The fell tops were then given to the National Trust so they could be preserved as a permanent memorial for the fallen of the Lake District. The act of walking to the top of the 899m (2994ft) mountain regardless of the weather is a way of showing respect to the fellow climbers who were killed in the war.

This gift to the nation later went on to become the central core of the new Lake District National Park.

In 2014, the original plaque was replaced and the Royal Engineers helped the FRCC with the tricky task of installing the new one. The involvement of serving soldiers acts as a reminder that around the world lives are threatened by conflict and the memorial has continued to grow in significance since it was dedicated by the climber Geoffrey Wynthrop Young.

Location: Great Gable, Lake District, Cumbria
Image: A dedication to WW1 soldiers at the memorial in 1924, courtesy of Chris Sherwin

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