 The Rucksack Club was formed in Manchester in 1902 by a group of men who responded to a letter written to a newspaper by two young men.They were invited to a meeting and resolved there and then to form a club with the object "To facilitate walking tours and mountaineering expeditions, both in the British Isles and elsewhere, and to particularly to initiate members into the science of rock climbing and snowcraft".The Club has long been active in Mountain Rescue, Eustace Thomas designing the Thomas Stretcher which was in use by Mountain Rescue teams for many years.