 The Cairngorms Under Snow |
Thomas (Tom) Weir, MBE, lived from 29 December 1914 to 6 July 2006. He was a climber, and an author and broadcaster. The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in our Historical Timeline.
Tom Weir was born in the Springburn area of Glasgow, and was the younger brother of actress Molly Weir. Their father, a locomotive fitter, was killed in the First World War. After leaving school, Weir worked as a shop assistant, escaping Glasgow whenever possible to walk and climb the Scottish mountains. During the Second World War, Tom Weir was commissioned in the Royal Artillery and served in Italy. After the war he he worked as a surveyor for the Ordnance Survey.
In 1950 Weir gained a place on the first post-war expedition to the Himalayas, and two years later returned to explore the previously closed mountain ranges of Nepal. He later took part in climbing expeditions to destinations as diverse as eastern Greenland; northern Norway; the Atlas Mountains of Morocco; and the Middle East, including Iran, Syria and Kurdistan. He soon became a full time writer and broadcaster, writing a column for The Scots Magazine for over 50 years and becoming a pioneering campaigner on environmental issues, especially those relating to Scotland.
In 1976, Weir accepted the role for which he is best remembered, as host of the Scottish Television series Weir's Way. This allowed him to meet people the length and breadth of Scotland and bring to life the landscape and natural history of the country. The show resulted in his being awarded an MBE, and winning the Scottish Television "Personality of the Year Award" in 1978. The series still attracts viewers when repeated on TV, and is available on DVD. In 2000, Tom Weir was awarded the inaugural John Muir Lifetime Achievement Award by the John Muir Trust, in recognition of his environmental work. He died in 2006 in a retirement home at Balloch, and was buried next to his sister Molly.
