George Fisher was working as an instructor at Ullswater Outward Bound School back in 1957 and seeing the need for folk to be better equipped when heading for the fells, he opened a little shop in Keswick to sell outdoor gear, his little business was a success and in 1967 he moved to larger premises recently vacated by the Abraham brothers of photographic fame. His shop, Fishers of Keswick, became a bit of a legend and though under new management the shop still bears his name (2025).

George led the Keswick Mountain Rescue Team for 35 years, receiving the MBE for his services, he was also a Mountain Guide. He managed to juggle all this while running his shop and coming up with many innovative ideas along the way, the tartan shirt we have here in the collection was one of them.

OK tartan shirts were not that innovative, though selling them in climbing shops was a fairly new idea. George would have bought the shirts from a shirt supplier (there’s a faded unreadable label inside) and added his own label. The shirt is in excellent condition and a fine little piece of Lake District history.

P.S. Doesn’t look like there is a specific Fisher tartan, the Fisher’s seem to be affiliated to several other Scottish clans, though the origins seem to be Irish.