Neville McMillan - Chairman of the BMC Technical Committee for 17 years - has been presented with an Award for Contributions to International Mountaineering.

At this year’s UIAA Safety Commission meeting in Longarone, Italy, Neville formally ended his role as UK National Delegate, after 23 years. He had half expected some acknowledgement of this during the four-day meeting, but he was very surprised by what actually happened - at an evening public meeting for Safety Commission  members, local guides, and mountain rescue teams, he was formally presented with a framed award from the UIAA for his “Contributions to International Mountaineering”, by the President, Mike Mortimer, and the Executive Board Member, Silvio Calvi.

Commenting afterwards Neville  said:I really was gob-smacked when it was presented to me at a public meeting in Italy. When I started rock climbing at the age of 42, with an introductory climbing course at PyB, I never thought I'd end up with an international award!"

Neville was Chairman of the BMC Technical Committee for 17 years, from 1987 onwards, when gear was not as reliable as it is now. As UK Delegate to the UIAA Safety Commission, he was instrumental in ensuring that BMC research into gear failures was fed into the UIAA Safety Standards, and also into the first European standards (EN) for mountaineering safety equipment, which all safety gear sold throughout the EC has had to comply with since 1998.

Over 23 years, and especially since his retirement from the UKAEA, Neville has devoted an amazing amount of time to the Technical Committee and the UIAA, including many late nights at the keyboard writing and later revising many of the Standards personally. His continued active participation in trad climbing has ensured that the Standards are not esoteric engineering specifications, but reflect the at-the-crag needs of ordinary climbers. Neville’s skill at matching the requirements of the climbing community with the technical capabilities of production materials and processes is reflected in the high regard for his work, and for him personally, among manufacturers worldwide.

Neville is a member of the Karabiner Mountaineering Club.

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