Alfred Gregory obituary | The Guardian

There are some people who, by their presence and solidity, immediately impress, and Alfred Gregory, who has died aged 96, was one of them: the grave, lined face, the faded blue eyes puckering into ready laughter under a mane of silver hair, the slim sturdiness of physique and self-contained dignity. A former major in the Black Watch, the photographer with the team that made the first ascent of Everest in May 1953, and one of the stalwarts of that expedition, friendly with and respected by most of the climbing heroes of my youth, he was, in his diffident and self-effacing way, one of the crucial elders of the mountaineering tribe.