Books by Michael D. Lowes

Michael Desmond Lowes (1930 - 2009) was born in County Durham and attended Barnard Castle School where he was taught by Bentley Beetham. Michael was a member of the Goldsborough Club which Beetham would take climbing in the Lake District, and many of Michael's interests mirrored those of Beetham. Apart from his academic career at Durham University, Michael researched and wrote local histories, and was fully involved in the local community in which he lived with Katherine, to whom he was married for 54 years. He was a talented illustrator and a natural teacher. Michael's first encounter with Beetham's photographic collection was as a boarding pupil in his House at Barnard Castle School. Once a year until his retirement, Beetham would present his memorable slide talk on the epic, but fateful, 1924 Everest Expedition. The photographs - almost one thousand ancient 31/4 x 31/4 plate glass slides - remained at Barnard Castle School when Beetham retired in 1950. They subsequently came into the possession of Michael's longstanding friend and fellow York House pupil, Kenneth King, in about 1979. Kenneth, chairman of the Old Barnardians' Club at the time, remained custodian of the slides until Michael took charge of them in the early eighties. Michael became chairman of the Old Barnardians' Club in 1981 - 82 and was a much respected figure. He was an invaluable source of information and spent considerable time over the next 25 years looking after, cataloguing and researching Beetham's slide collection. Realising the importance of the collection, he offered to put the entire collection onto 35mm negative film and from this produce a full set of positive slides. The work was begun in 1982 and was completed in 1987, with the assistance of the Durham University School of Education. As Michael was preparing to complete his book and seek help on how to publish it, he succumbed suddenly to a long term illness. However, he drew great comfort in his final days knowing that his labour of love would be accomplished.