Sunday, December 12th 1937 does not hold any special memories for most hill walkers, but to a group of 4 young ramblers from the Sheffield area, high drama and courage was to be their role. A party of 2 young men (early 20’s) and 2 girls (teenagers) left Middlewood tramcar terminus for a destination of Derwent (drowned village, now under Ladybower reservoir) for tea. Maybe the long hike was doomed from the start. The daylight hours were too short and the weather had been very cold with snow showers building up from late November. In those early days the fashion was for rambling clubs to start their Sunday hikes into the Peak from suburban tram terminuses since money was often short. This party were members of the Sheffield Association Rambling Club and the older male member was reasonably experienced for the hills. But their equipment was hardly adequate for wintry conditions. He even intended to return to Derwent to repay a kindly gesture of a Mackintosh loaned by a farmer on a previous hike.

They lunched around the Bolsterstone area and entered the wild terrain of Ewden Beck and Broomhead Moors much too late in the afternoon. The weather deteriorated and they struggled and floundered into a vicious snow storm above Upper Commons and Stainery Clough. It is easy to sit in judgement on errors of others. If they had taken a more southerly line from, say, Bradfield across the Dukes Drive and down into Abbey Brook for Derwent the terrain would have been easier, but they chose the harder and ill-fated northern line above the Ewden Valley. Darkness was approaching as they became exhausted with the struggle through the deep snow. The youngest girl was on the verge of collapse. They managed to stagger to the rocks behind Margery Hill, a bleak and forbidding spot at 1793 feet to try to give poor Nora Leary (she was only 17 years old) some comfort and help. They dug into the snow with their bare hands and huddled together to suffer a grim night of terror and further blizzards. Nora died in the night. The others could only pray for daylight and relief. The morning brought an ease in the weather and the group were able to see the distant homestead of Broomhead Hall where they headed for help. The other young girl, Margaret, had taken her ordeal very bravely and with assistance from Albert and Fred, she limped down the valley to safety.
Captain Rimmington Wilson, the owner of Broomhead Hall, heard the grim story from the survivors and quickly a rescue team, made up of local farmers and gamekeepers took a horse-drawn sledge back along the track to the large shooting cabin on Broomhead Moor. Although tired and weary, the two youths plunged back to the desolate moor to show the rescuers where their young friend was still buried. The drifts of snow around Margery Hill and Feather Bed Moss had blown to heights of 6 feet and the recovery work was exhausting to all concerned.
These are lessons to be learned the hard way on the high moorlands. Always carry plenty of spare clothing, map and compass. Allow yourselves plenty of time for the walk. Remember that the weather can quickly change on the Pennines. Nowadays the rescue teams have all the technical know-how when called out on a mountain search, but observe the rules so that their help may not be necessary. Then you can really enjoy the freedom of the hills.

PS. (also from Campy) This is the same area where the Hawker Hunter Jet crashed during a heavy rainstorm in July 1993. The pilot, a millionaire timber merchant was flying from Norfolk to Speke, Liverpool when he lost control.
The plane is still in a bog on Flint Hill, Broomhead Moors.
One mile away is the site of a WWII Short Stirling bomber crash site – Stainery Clough, Upper Commons. Ten crew survived. This Stirling leaves the most wreckage in the Peak District hills.

John (Campy) Barrows