The artefacts on show include items found on Mallory’s body: a boot, his penknife, altimeter and scraps of clothing.

“Also on display is a reconstruction of clothing to show how mountaineers were equipped in the early 1920s,” says Colin.

“The idea that these people still went up in tweeds is misguided. They were very well-prepared.”

The replica 1924 expedition clothing is loaned by the Mountaineering Heritage Trust, with modern climbing equipment provided by Berghaus.

“Irvine, aged just 22 years, was much younger than the others and was being tried out,” says Colin.

An avid engineer, in 1919, Irvine rode his motorcycle to the top of a 3,000-ft Welsh mountain, Foel Grach, where he surprised climber Noel Odell and his wife, who had ascended on foot.

In 1923, Irvine was chosen for an expedition to Spitzbergen, where he excelled on every front.

His performance was such that the expedition leader, Noel Odell, realised it was Irvine whom he had met on Foel Grach.

Odell recommended Irvine for the fateful third British Mount Everest expedition.

Irvine was selected on the grounds that he might be the “superman” that the expedition needed.

“So it further adds to the tragedy that this was somebody with so much potential, never to be fulfilled,” says Colin.

“However, they made their mark like Owen, and Birkenhead named streets in their honour and Everest.

“We’re very grateful to the Royal Geographical Society, The Alpine Club, Magdalen College, Merton College and private collectors.

“Their generosity with these loans makes this a very special exhibition.

“It was visited by the Everest climber Doug Scott on Monday and he was very impressed.”

In 1995, Mallory's grandson, also called George Mallory, reached the summit of Everest via the North Ridge, as part of the American Everest Expedition 1995.

He left a picture of his grandparents at the summit, citing “unfinished business”. After Irvine’s death, his family always kept a light shining on their Birkenhead porch plaintively awaiting his return.

ABOVE the Clouds – Mallory & Irvine and the Quest for Everest, runs at Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Slatey Road, Birkenhead, until January 24, 2010 (closed from Christmas Day, reopening January 2); opening times Tue - Sun, 10am–5pm. Tel: 0151 652 4177; email: williamsonartgallery@wirral.gov.uk

Visit Richard Down’s Mountain blog, which this week covers fellow Everest climber Doug Scott: www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/views/

peter.elson