John Menlove Edwards

Who was John Menlove Edwards?

John Menlove Edwards was one of the leading British rock climbers of the interwar period and wrote poetry based on his experiences climbing.

He was born near Southport, his father was a vicar. He attended Fettes College and studied medicine at Liverpool University, where he became a child psychiatrist. During World War II he was a conscientious objector.

Menlove Edwards was homosexual and the only person he ever claimed as the love of his life was Wilfrid Noyce. After an unhappy personal life, which made him vulnerable to bouts of depression, he committed suicide with a cyanide capsule in 1958.