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Keeley was expecting to hear all about it when she flew home the following week.The lovers never saw each other again. At about 11 o’clock that night a bruised body was delivered to the Belford Hospital mortuary in Fort William by a mountain rescue team led by police sergeant James Henderson. Keeley had chosen to bring his party off the mountain by leading them back to the pony track via the steep edge of the north-facing Corrie Leis. It was more demanding than returning the way they had come, but not dangerous for properly equipped climbers At about 3,700 feet one of the boys dropped his ice pick It slid towards the cliff-edge, but did not fall Keeley told the party to rest while he went to retrieve it.

As he made his way down the glacial escarpment he lost his footing and began to slide. He struck frantically at the ice with his axe in an effort to stop himself Then he disappeared over the 200ft cliff. Tom Jack, still heading for the summit with his charges, met one of Keeley’s group hurrying down the mountain The boy told him that Keeley had fallen over the edge Jack told reporters: “I was stunned. We hurriedly made for the summit and there we found the rest of the boys, who described the tragedy.” Jack’s instinct was to get the youngsters off the mountain as soon as possible He marched them back to the youth hostel. There, on the Saturday night and Sunday morning, the boys were interviewed by the police.There was no hint that this was anything but a tragic accident. The boys spoke glowingly of “Tim, the all- round sportsman who sacrificed his life helping them train for the future”.

There was no fatal accident inquiry, no prolonged police investigation. The children were never questioned again.The case was closed, until a fortnight ago. Forty-one years after the death on the mountain, a 51-year-old former pupil of Balgowan School walked into Cumbernauld South police station in North Lanarkshire. Visibly distraught, according to a police source, he said Keeley had not died by accident. He had been pushed over the precipice by two of his pupils, who kicked him in the face as he tried desperately to cling on The man claimed to have witnessed the killing.

For more than four decades he had helped to cover up the deed, but his conscience was gnawing at him He gave the police two names. The claims are being tested by a team led by Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Greenlees, but its efforts have been hampered by changes to police and council boundaries since 1962 ­ and more seriously by the cursory nature of the original investigation. DCI Greenlees is searching for evidence of any post-mortem examination but is approaching the conclusion that none was carried out. The only contemporary evidence comes from the pocket books of officers who were on duty that day, including brief notes of interviews conducted with the boys at the youth hostel No records from Balgowan School been located No official report of the death exists in police files. Walter Alexander spent 30 years at Balgowan, ending his career as assistant head of social work when the school was closed in 1983 He finds the allegation of murder difficult to believe “I cannot understand what this person is seeking to gain.