Human foot believed to belong to Birkenhead man, 22, who went missing

George Mallory and Andrew 'Sandy' Irvine who vanished while ascending Everest in 1924
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


The foot of a man found on Mount Everest is believed to belong to a Birkenhead adventurer who went missing 100 years ago. Andrew "Sandy" Irvine lived in a three-story Victorian house on Park Road South in Birkenhead, Wirral, before he went of to study at Oxford University and joined George Mallory’s ill-fated bid to climb Everest in 1924.

The pair disappeared on the mountain and a light could always be seen from the Birkenhead street as Andrew's mother hoped he would one day walk through the door. Over the years there have been several searches for Mr Irvine's remains after Mr Mallory's were discovered by a climber in 1999.

However in the latest development, a foot encased inside a sock and a boot was discovered on the Central Rongbuk Glacier below the North Face of Everest by a team funded by National Geographic Documentary Films for an upcoming documentary.

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Crucially the sock is embroidered with the name "AC Irvine". The finding is the first possible proof of Mr Irvine's death since the ill-fated 1924 expedition on the 8,849-metre mountain.

The Irvine family has volunteered to compare DNA test results with the remains to confirm his identity - Sky News reports. The mystery of Mallory and Irvine – and whether they made it to the summit of Mount Everest – has fascinated mountaineers for generations.

Undated handout photo issued by Disney for National Geographic of a sock embroidered with "A.C. Irvine" which has been discovered on the Central Rongbuk Glacier below the North Face of Mount Everest.
Undated handout photo issued by Disney for National Geographic of a sock embroidered with "A.C. Irvine" which has been discovered on the Central Rongbuk Glacier below the North Face of Mount Everest. -Credit:PA

The climbers left their camp on June 8, 1924 but neither returned. Cheshire-born Mallory, who lived in Slatey Road, Birkenhead, was on his third attempt to climb Everest. Irvine, 22, and Mallory, 37, were last seen alive at 12.50pm on the North East Ridge by fellow climber Noel Odell and were said to be “going strong for the top”.

Mallory’s frozen body was discovered in 1999 but Irvine’s – and the camera he carried – has never been found. It was said Irvine, a keen photographer, talented engineer and sportsman, would have recorded any triumph and photographic experts believe his film would have survived.

In 2004 a plaque was dedicated at Everest base camp in memory of Irvine. In Birkenhead, Wirral the names of the roads on the Tranmere Hall Estate, built about 1926, were named after mountains/hills and moutaineers: including Irvine Road, Mallory Road and Everest Road.