Enter the British
Walter Ingham

by Allan Hartley

Walter John Ingham was born in Vienna on 29 May 1914, the second son of Frank Ingham and Lilian Grace who had eloped to Vienna from Burnley, Lancashire in 1909. During the course of the First World War the family was interned in Austria and under house arrest.

Growing up in Austria with the mountains close by, Walter soon developed a passion for skiing and mountaineering, being a member of the DuÖAV Sektion Wiener Lehrer. In 1932 Walter moved to England to work as a Junior Salesman for Remington typewriters, but he was not happy being away from the mountains. In 1934 with just £25 he advertised a private ski-party to the Austrian Tyrol, figuring out that if he took 25 people, provided transport, food, accommodation ski hire and a guide he could start a tour company. He banked £80. His business grew and by 1938 he was providing skiing in the winter and walking in the summer to the Austrian and French Alps.

During the period prior to the war n 1936-37 Walter became friends with Heinrich Krausz who worked at the Austrian State Travel Bureau in London and who was also a member of the DuÖOAV. It was a relationship that was to last many years.

When the Second World War came, Walter served in North Africa emerging at the end with the rank of Major. As a fluent German speaker he was then sent to Austria with the Austrian Control Commission processing Austrian soldiers returning home from the war.

At some time around 1947-48, he approached the newly formed DuÖAV HQ in Innsbruck meeting with Dr Schmidt-Wellenburg the DuÖAV General Secretary and floated the idea of establishing an ÖAV Sektion England that formally came to fruition on the 27 July 1948.

After being de-mobilised from the army, Major Ingham, as he liked to be known re-established his travel business in 1947 at 143 New Bond Street London, eventually employing 80 full time staff including his co-director Henry Crowther (formerly Heinrich Krausz). During this time he established the Ski-Party-Snow-Train, the Overland Summer Sleep Coach, and the flight packages that featured de-commissioned DC-3 Dakota US airplanes.

Walter eventually sold the business to Hotelplan in 1963 and he retired to the island of Elba to enjoy lots of sailing. Major Ingham died 18 July 2000 at the age of 86.

Walter’s Letter

Extracts from a letter from Walter Ingham to Club Secretary, Doreen Dorward in October 1996.

In pre-war days I was a member of the youth group of the DuÖAV section Wiener Lehrer. the only one catering for my age (15/16 in 1929/ 30).

By March 1938 I had already started my travel business in a small way, when Germany marched into Austria. At that date I had a ski-party at the Dortmunder Hütte in Kuhtai and I immediately went out to see all was well. There were no problems, but, as expected, I did not like what I heard and saw. The DuÖAV was immediately integrated into the German system and renamed Deutscher Alpenverein. I quietly ceased paying subscriptions or being a member. Despite my youth I had seen and thoroughly understood which way Germany was going and what her real interests and objectives were.

I immediately transferred my activities to France and joined the Club Alpin Francais and the Ski Club de Paris.

At the end of September 1939, due to my linguistic qualifications, I managed to jump the queue waiting to join up. By early October I had received my fist traditional military "dressing-down" and early in November was back in France, this time as a Lance Corporal.

At the end of the war I applied to join the Austrian Control Commission and volunteered to serve a few additional years as I was keen to participate in the revival of the Austrian economy. At the same time I renewed my AAC membership by joining the Viennese Sektion Austria.

In the course of my duties I frequently had to visit the Tyrol (French Zone) where, for personal reasons, I also established contact with the General Headquarters of the AAC, now renamed ÖAV. They had slight "misunderstandings" with the resident French authorities: none of my business, but I was able to resolve some of these. During those early years I had frequent discussions with AAC/lnnsbruck including the desirability of establishing a UK/ AAC unit once I had returned from the army, operating this on similar lines to the then existing Dutch section.

I was demobbed in early October 1948, returned to London and immediately restarted my dormant travel business and initiated AAC/UK. By Christmas 1948 I had organized my first post-war ski-party to the Dortmunder Hütte in Kühtai.

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