Robert Lawrie (1903–1982) was a British alpine and polar equipment specialist and racing driver. Robert Lawrie was born in Burnley. He trained as a shoe and boot maker at his father's firm which he later ran. By the late 1920s he had become an accomplished climber and alpinist, and he started to design, manufacture and supply mountaineering boots to his own design. His boots proved popular and he was commissioned to supply boots for the 1933 Everest expedition led by Hugh Ruttledge. In 1935 he moved the business, now known as Robert Lawrie Ltd, to London, eventually working out of premises in his home in Seymour Street. He provided boots, climbing and mountaineering equipment to many expeditions and Military Operations including John Hunt's successful 1953 Everest campaign, for which he tr