A WESTBURY woman has been recalling her memories of the great explorer, Tenzing Norgay on the 50th anniversary of his ascent of Mount Everest.

Anne Bradley, 49, had breakfast with the great explorer at Manor House, in Edington, when he visited the woman who is credited with persuading him to conduct the climb in the first place.

Edmund Hillary and his Nepalese Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Everest on May 29, 1953.

Jill Henderson was then secretary of the Himalayan Club and lived in the Himalayas, before moving to Edington in the late 1950s.

As club secretary she was responsible for raising funds for the 1953 expedition by the English party that included Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing.

Tenzing had previously climbed Everest with a Swiss party of explorers in 1952, but did not quite make it to the summit. After this he became ill and refused to take part in another attempt.

It was Mrs Henderson who was credited with nursing Tenzing back to health and persuading him to try again.

As part of a tour of Britain in 1957, Tenzing visited Edington to see the Hendersons at Manor House, where Anne Bradley's mother worked as a domestic and Anne joined him during his visit.

Mrs Bradley said: "I will always have a memory of a brave man who, against all the odds carried out his childhood dream of climbing the mountain he grew up with.

"His signed autobiography, together with my only picture of Jill Henderson, is one of the most treasured items I own, and I will remember a very small leathery skinned man with a huge white toothed grin forever."