Joe Brown was born in Ardwick, Manchester, on 26 September 1930. He became a leading British rock climber and mountaineer in the post-war period.

Brown was the youngest of seven children. His father died when he was still an infant, and his mother supported the family through cleaning work and taking in laundry. Brown left school at 14 and began exploring the countryside around Manchester before taking up climbing as a teenager.

During the early 1950s, Brown and fellow Manchester climber Don Whillans became leading members of a new generation of British climbers. Both came from working-class backgrounds at a time when climbing and mountaineering had traditionally been associated with wealthier participants. Brown established difficult new routes in the Peak District and North Wales, helping raise British climbing standards.

His reputation took him to the Himalayas. In 1955, Brown and George Band led a British expedition that made the first ascent of Kangchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain. They stopped just short of the summit in accordance with a promise that the sacred summit itself would not be trodden on.

Brown later settled in Llanberis in North Wales, where he opened a climbing shop. He continued climbing for decades and also helped develop climbing equipment.