Gwen Moffat | |
---|---|
Born | Gwen Mary Goddard 3 July 1924 Brighton, East Sussex, England |
Occupation | Mountaineer, writer |
Nationality | British |
Genre | Fiction, biography |
Spouse |
|
Children | 1 |
Gwen Mary Moffat ( née Goddard; born 3 July 1924) is a British mountaineer and writer. [1]
Moffat was an Army driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, stationed in North Wales after the end of the Second World War, when she met a climber who introduced her to climbing and a bohemian lifestyle. [2] [3] During the 1940s and 1950s she lived rough, climbing in Snowdonia, the Lakes, Scotland and the Alps, supporting herself by working in several roles including as a domestic service, a farmer, a forester, an artist's model and the driver of a travelling shop. [3] [2] In 1953 she became the first female British certificated mountain guide, and for ten years she was closely associated with the RAF Mountain Rescue Service, making a living from climbing. [4]
Moffatt was known for often climbing barefoot, claiming that it was better because there was more contact with the rock and no constriction of the toes. [5] She is an honorary member of the women-only Pinnacle Club and the British Mountaineering Council. [6]
Moffat featured in the BBC film Eye to Eye, broadcast in 1958. [7] Joe Brown did the hard amateur climbing and Moffat, the professional, took her husband up a route on Idwal Slabs. [7] In 2015 Jen Randall and Claire Carter made a film, Operation Moffat, based on Moffat's autobiographical book Space below my Feet [8]. The film was premiered during Banff Mountain Film Festival's UK tour, [9] and has won over 20 international film awards. [10] Moffat is included in Herrington's photographic work The Climbers [11] [12] featuring 60 climbers considered legends of the 20th century. In 2017 she contributed to a documentary Give Me Space Below My Feet, for BBC Radio 3. [13]
Moffat began her writing career in the 1950s, working for BBC radio, and published her autobiography in 1961. [3] In the 1970s, she started writing crime fiction, in particular the Miss Pink series featuring Melinda Pink, a middle aged climber and magistrate. [14] [15] Following a commission by Victor Gollancz Ltd to follow the California Trail [16] and produce a book, she subsequently wrote 11 mysteries set in the American West. [17] She wrote her last novel, Gone Feral, when she was in her 80s. She currently reviews for the crime magazine Shots. [17]
Moffat married Gordon Moffat with whom she had a daughter, Sheena, born in 1949. In 1955, she married Flight Sergeant John Lees, GM, BEM. They divorced in 1970. [18] [7]
Moffat turned 100 on 3 July 2024. [19]
Gwen Moffat | |
---|---|
Born | Gwen Mary Goddard 3 July 1924 Brighton, East Sussex, England |
Occupation | Mountaineer, writer |
Nationality | British |
Genre | Fiction, biography |
Spouse |
|
Children | 1 |
Gwen Mary Moffat ( née Goddard; born 3 July 1924) is a British mountaineer and writer. [1]
Moffat was an Army driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, stationed in North Wales after the end of the Second World War, when she met a climber who introduced her to climbing and a bohemian lifestyle. [2] [3] During the 1940s and 1950s she lived rough, climbing in Snowdonia, the Lakes, Scotland and the Alps, supporting herself by working in several roles including as a domestic service, a farmer, a forester, an artist's model and the driver of a travelling shop. [3] [2] In 1953 she became the first female British certificated mountain guide, and for ten years she was closely associated with the RAF Mountain Rescue Service, making a living from climbing. [4]
Moffatt was known for often climbing barefoot, claiming that it was better because there was more contact with the rock and no constriction of the toes. [5] She is an honorary member of the women-only Pinnacle Club and the British Mountaineering Council. [6]
Moffat featured in the BBC film Eye to Eye, broadcast in 1958. [7] Joe Brown did the hard amateur climbing and Moffat, the professional, took her husband up a route on Idwal Slabs. [7] In 2015 Jen Randall and Claire Carter made a film, Operation Moffat, based on Moffat's autobiographical book Space below my Feet [8]. The film was premiered during Banff Mountain Film Festival's UK tour, [9] and has won over 20 international film awards. [10] Moffat is included in Herrington's photographic work The Climbers [11] [12] featuring 60 climbers considered legends of the 20th century. In 2017 she contributed to a documentary Give Me Space Below My Feet, for BBC Radio 3. [13]
Moffat began her writing career in the 1950s, working for BBC radio, and published her autobiography in 1961. [3] In the 1970s, she started writing crime fiction, in particular the Miss Pink series featuring Melinda Pink, a middle aged climber and magistrate. [14] [15] Following a commission by Victor Gollancz Ltd to follow the California Trail [16] and produce a book, she subsequently wrote 11 mysteries set in the American West. [17] She wrote her last novel, Gone Feral, when she was in her 80s. She currently reviews for the crime magazine Shots. [17]
Moffat married Gordon Moffat with whom she had a daughter, Sheena, born in 1949. In 1955, she married Flight Sergeant John Lees, GM, BEM. They divorced in 1970. [18] [7]
Moffat turned 100 on 3 July 2024. [19]