The service will take place at Kendal Parish Church. Photo: Alexander P Kapp CC-BY-SA-2.0

A memorial service will be held later this year for one of the members of the expedition that first successfully climbed Everest.

Mike Westmacott, who died in June aged 87, was one of the 1953 team that put Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary on the world’s highest peak.

He was also a former president of the Alpine Club and the Climbers’ Club.

He pioneered the route through the Khumbu Icefall which was used by the climbers on their way to the summit and helped relay news of the successful ascent, saving the life of mountaineer and correspondent James, later Jan Morris on the descent.

Mr Westmacott was a committee member of the Himalayan Trust and compiled a list of 2,850 peaks in the area.

Born in Babbacombe, Devon, he moved to Cumbria after his retirement from the oil industry in 1985 after a life climbing in areas such as Peru, Alaska and the Hindu Kush, often with his wife Sally.

The memorial service will take place at St George’s Parish Church, Kendal, on 5 October at 3.30pm.

All are welcome at the service, but those intending to attend are asked to contact his widow Sally on 01539 822684 beforehand.