By Caroline Oswald
Henry Whitfield is a fine example of what can be achieved if you remain physically active all your life. The North Shields roofer, now in his late seventies, has just returned from a solo trip to the Himalayas in India. Having repaired the roofs of North Shields residents for the past 44 years, Henry is not averse to heights. When not up a ladder, he can be found hiking up hills and mountains in this country and abroad.
Henry made his first connection with India as a student when he befriended a man from Assam who was a cook for the P&O shipping company. It was perhaps working through the holidays in Fort William in Scotland for the British Aluminium Company that sparked Henry’s appreciation for the beauty of mountainous regions. After graduating, he ventured further afield to India, volunteering to work in Kerala through the VSO charity as a teacher in a very special type of school.
When India gained independence in 1947, V. K. Krishna Menon became Ambassador for India in London. When he later became Minister for Defence in the Indian Parliament, he created a public education system called ‘Sainik’ schools, to rectify the regional and class imbalance amongst the officer cadre of the Indian military. The school in Kerala had humble beginnings with just over 100 students in a disused military base, but then moved to Kazhakkoottam near Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram). It had become one of the best Sainik schools in the country by the time Henry arrived in September 1967. He recalls: “We were given a brief introduction by the British Council in Madras (now Chennai), and a crash course in how to behave nicely in India. We were then put on a train to our schools. It was a bit of a culture shock but the people were very friendly.”
Henry taught chemistry in the school for two years, during which time he formed a special bond with one particular colleague, Mr Panda. Although 20 years his senior, he was a fellow outsider all the way from Uttarakhand, Almora. Henry made other friends too, immersing himself in the school community and even winning the staff doubles table tennis tournament!
Henry led his pupils on several trips around the local area, but he had set his sights higher than that. The Agastya Mudi (now Agastya Mala) mountain was visible from the school. Henry held a competition to be among the twelve boys to accompany him on a trip to climb the mountain. The group endured a challenging trek before having to stay overnight in a cave, with leeches sucking their blood! The following day, within striking distance of the cave, Henry observed that rather than the ‘elite’ rank holders among the group, such as the house captains, it was the ordinary, more unassuming boys that were keen to continue, whilst the others waited by the cave. This provided a lasting lesson for Henry and ignited his lifelong passion for mountaineering and the country of India.
After leaving India, Henry worked in Cumbria as a technical supervisor. He lived in a blue caravan behind a petrol station, but that didn’t matter as once again he was surrounded by beautiful mountains! He returned to North Shields and worked at Welwyn Electric in Bedlington. After eight years he got a job in Kielder helping to build the new dam. The local vicar in Bellingham offered him bed and breakfast and he commuted to Kielder on his Honda 50 motorcycle.
Upon his return to Shields, Henry helped friends with house repairs and his breakthrough into roofing came when he met a couple who worked in the town’s Oxfam shop. They needed his help to renovate a dilapidated farmhouse near Rothbury. It was here that he learned the basics of roofing and the rest is history: “It’s not rocket science. You just need ladders, equipment, a good head for heights, a car and a desire to solve customers’ problems”, he states modestly.
Henry’s regular roofing work has funded several trips back to India over the years. He has trekked through the Himalayas, in Nepal, explored caves in Meghalaya, and enjoyed the sights of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The first mountain that he climbed in the Himalayas was Kanamo Peak, in Spiti, close to the border with Tibet. He befriended a fellow climber from Austria and together they also tackled a more difficult, unnamed mountain of over 6000 metres.
In September he achieved his dream of returning to Spiti and Kanamo once again during a five-week long solo trip. He stayed with Pradeep, the son of Balakrishnan Nair, who was his colleague in the chemistry department in Kerala, and his wife Sreerekha. The Nairs were the fighting folk of that area, much like the Border Reivers here. In the summer the Nairs had enjoyed a lovely visit to North Shields and the surrounding area. They were delighted when Henry arrived in India with a copy of ‘I Love North Shields’ for them!
Back home, Henry is part of a North Tyneside’s Phoenix Walking Club, and he cannot emphasise enough the effect that hiking outdoors can have on your physical and mental health: “If you have stamina, good companions, good visibility and a gentle wind, it’s an absolute pleasure.” Phoenix Walking Club meets on Wednesday mornings at North Shields Library: https://phoenixwalkingclub.org
