Paul Seddon, one of the three Trolls, passed away.

It is with great sadness that I have just learned of the passing of Paul Seddon.

Left to right, Alan Waterhouse, Tony Howard, Paul Seddon (photo taken in May 1996)

As the originator of one of the very first companies to produce climbing nuts, PARBA, and as one of the three Trolls, Paul Seddon is one of my heroes.

I contacted him for the first time in 1993 and, despite his busy schedule, he answered all my questions about him in a long and fascinating letter, and sent me early most interesting documents. 

In May 1996 I had the joy of meeting him during an exciting visit to the TROLL factory. Before pushing the door, I must confess that I was intimidated to meet the three Trolls. Paul welcomed me with a lot of kindness and interest. He, Tony Howard and Alan Waterhouse really enjoyed my passion for the history of climbing gear and forgot that they were busy manufacturers to spare their precious time with me.

From that time on, Paul was always kind enough to respond to all my Christmas cards with a pretty handwritten card.

In 2021, Paul Seddon found an old sling of him containing three steel machine nuts dating back to the early sixties. He guessed that such a treasure could make someone happy in Corsica and, very kindly, put it in the mail...

And quite recently, despite his health problems, at my request, he looked for an old photo of him in his archives and sent it, to please me...

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In 1964 or was it 63, in a cottage in the Peak District, then home of Tony Howard, a hobby was born which was later to become a company of international repute. With his friend Alan Waterhouse, Tony Howard marketed sets of Wedges under the brand name of TROLL. Not far from there, Paul Seddon, master of his castle in his own small enterprise PARBA, was asked in 1965 by Ellis Brigham to manufacture new nuts to be sold in his store in Manchester. Paul Seddon cut his prototypes in a 25mm by 20mm bar of aluminium alloy that he was going to use, by a coincidence, for a future piton...

PARBA Spud

Angled at 14 degrees and drilled transversely with a simple 8 mm hole, these nuts were delivered, also under the name of Spud, to Ellis Brigham in October 1965. Later on, Spuds of different sizes were manufactured. Paul Seddon did not stop there. In 1968 he produced what were probably the first nuts for wide cracks, the Big-H, which were cut from an H-section extrusion. In 1970, Paul Seddon teamed up with Tony Howard and Alan Waterhouse and became the third "troll".

PARBA Big-H's

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Paul's death is a tragedy. We have climbed, worked and sometimes caved and skied with him since the mid 1950s. His new routes in the Peak District and his contribution to climbing, caving and industrial safety equipment are massive. In addition to some of the world's first climbing nuts, Troll also made the world's first climbing sit harness, The Whillans, for the British 1970 Annapurna Expedition, and in 1979, Troll designed the world's first sit harness with a belay loop, the Troll Mk %. The design is now almost universal. Paul was a great lad to climb and work with, very sadly missed.  Tony Howard & Di Taylor.

RIP, Paul Seddon.

Sad to learn the news, but I am sure a life well lived.

My first harness was Troll Whillans Sit Harness. Bought it about 1980 as a teenager. Used it for all my climbs for the next decade before being given a new more modern harness. Along the way I sold my sit harness but then later regretted. When I found another for sale I bought it for fun. I still wear it for the local Super Bowl Party held mid way up the Great White Icicle. The harness and all my other old ice gear freak the youngsters out. 

Thanks for your message Allen Sanderon. No doubt your "new more modern harness" was, if not a Troll harness, based on the Troll Mk 5 sit harness, the first in the world with a belay loop, a principle now copied worldwide.