The Cave Diving Group (CDG) is a United Kingdom-based
diver training organisation specialising in
cave diving
Cave-diving is underwater diving in water-filled caves. It may be done as an extreme sport, a way of exploring flooded caves for scientific investigation, or for the search for and recovery of divers or, as in the 2018 Thai cave rescue, other ...
.
The CDG was founded in 1946 by
Graham Balcombe
Francis Graham Balcombe (8 March 1907 – 19 March 2000) was a pioneer of cave diving in the United Kingdom and a founder of the Cave Diving Group together with Jack Sheppard.
Life and career
Balcombe began rock climbing in the English Lake Di ...
, making it the world's oldest continuing diving club. Graham Balcombe and
Jack Sheppard
Jack Sheppard (4 March 1702 – 16 November 1724), or "Honest Jack", was a notorious English thief and prison escapee of early 18th-century London.
Born into a poor family, he was apprenticed as a carpenter but took to theft and burglary in ...
pioneered cave diving in the late 1930s, notably at
Wookey Hole
Wookey Hole is a village in Somerset, England. It is the location of the Wookey Hole show caves.
Location
Wookey Hole is located in the civil parish of St Cuthbert Out, in Mendip District. It is one mile north-west of the city of Wells, and l ...
in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, region = South West England
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, preceded_by =
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.
Passages through caves are often blocked by a submerged section, or
sump
A sump is a low space that collects often undesirable liquids such as water or chemicals. A sump can also be an infiltration basin used to manage surface runoff water and recharge underground aquifers. Sump can also refer to an area in a cave ...
. Cavers in many countries have tried to pass these barriers in a variety of ways; using the simple "free dive" with a lungful of air or by utilising the available diving technology of the day.
Early history of cave diving in the UK
Two Post Office engineers, (Francis) Graham Balcombe and (John Arthur)
"Jack" Sheppard, who were among the leading climbers and cavers of their era, combined their energies into solving the problem of passing the
Swildon's sump. Their pioneering dive on 17 February 1934 used a home-made respirator, designed by Balcombe, that incorporated part of a ladies' bicycle frame. The attempt was unsuccessful but the foundation of cave diving in the U.K. had been laid.
In 1935, Balcombe made enquiries with
Siebe Gorman
Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd was a British company that developed diving equipment and breathing equipment and worked on commercial diving and marine salvage projects. The company advertised itself as 'Submarine Engineers'. It was founded by A ...
, the leading diving engineers of the time. Although they could not help with light weight
diving equipment, they did offer training and the loan of
standard helmet diving gear.
A successful expedition was mounted at
Wookey Hole
Wookey Hole is a village in Somerset, England. It is the location of the Wookey Hole show caves.
Location
Wookey Hole is located in the civil parish of St Cuthbert Out, in Mendip District. It is one mile north-west of the city of Wells, and l ...
, where the waters from Swildon's Hole resurge. Exploration of the subterranean
River Axe proceeded to the seventh chamber, a distance of , which was as far as Balcombe and Diver No. 2,
Penelope Powell
Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's '' Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea ...
could physically handle their pipes and ropes.
The team returned to Swildon's Hole on 4 October 1936 with Jack Sheppard's newly designed apparatus nicknamed "Jimmy". It was fed by a football inflation pump that was coupled to a home-made
drysuit
A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by divers, boaters, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold or contaminated ...
that incorporated lighting and a telephone. This was used by Sheppard to pass Sump l.
Later that year the bicycle respirator became self-contained with the addition of an
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements ...
cylinder. In turn Balcombe dived solo through Sump 1 and found the air chambers of Sump 2. These pioneers established the pattern of UK cave diving; the systematic exploration of a cave system in its
phreatic
''Phreatic'' is a term used in hydrology to refer to aquifers, in speleology to refer to cave passages, and in volcanology to refer to a type of volcanic eruption.
Hydrology
The term phreatic (the word originates from the Greek , meaning "we ...
zone by diving both the resurgence and its tributaries. During the war years Balcombe developed a self-contained closed-circuit oxygen set using mainly medical components. In the
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954.
The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York w ...
he began the great canon of exploration, now known as the
Three Counties System
The Three Counties System is a set of inter-connected limestone solutional cave systems spanning the borders of Cumbria, Lancashire and North Yorkshire in the north of England. The possibility of connecting a number of discrete cave syste ...
with dives at
Keld Head
Keld may refer to:
* Keld, Cumbria, England
*Keld, North Yorkshire, England
*Variation of Kjell (name), a Danish given name
* KELD (AM), a radio station (1400 AM) licensed to El Dorado, Arkansas, United States
* KELD-FM
KELD-FM (106.5 MHz) is ...
,
Goyden Pot and
Alum Pot
Alum Pot is a pothole with a large open shaft at a surface elevation of on the eastern flanks of Simon Fell, North Yorkshire, England. It connects with nearby Long Churn Cave and Diccan Pot. The pot is accessed via a 1-km private track on pa ...
.
Formation of the Cave Diving Group
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
surplus oxygen
rebreather
A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantially unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. Oxygen i ...
equipment became available, and the number of divers increased. In 1946 these enthusiasts had a meet in
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
during which they formed the Cave Diving Group.
Wookey Hole
Wookey Hole is a village in Somerset, England. It is the location of the Wookey Hole show caves.
Location
Wookey Hole is located in the civil parish of St Cuthbert Out, in Mendip District. It is one mile north-west of the city of Wells, and l ...
once more became the focus of diving activities. In addition to exploration, the early divers found a lot of
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
material.
As the divers penetrated deeper into the cave, the need for penetration below (the safe limit of oxygen diving) became more urgent, and the first attempt with an early
aqualung nearly ended in tragedy. Following this incident, the group concentrated on the use of semi-closed circuit rebreathers with oxygen/nitrogen mixtures (
nitrox
Nitrox refers to any breathing gas, gas mixture composed (excepting trace gases) of nitrogen and oxygen. This includes atmospheric air, which is approximately 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases, primarily argon. In the usual applicatio ...
) suitable for the depth. In 1960 the way forward at Wookey Hole was found at a depth of , using 60/40 O
2/N
2. Rebreathers were also used successfully in South Wales,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
and
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
.
Accomplishments
During the 60s, with the abandonment of
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The ...
, there was an increase in caving activity by the post-war population bulge. Readily available commercial
scuba equipment
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Christ ...
was adapted to cave diving. The process was accelerated by the Cave Diving Group's publication of "Cave Diving on Air" by Mike Boon and the formation of the Independent Cave Diving Group.
Divers began to dive deeper and further, and inevitably there were tragedies. Two innovations were introduced in the interest of safety. Separate
cylinders
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an in ...
, each one with an independent
demand valve
A diving regulator is a pressure regulator that controls the pressure of breathing gas for diving. The most commonly recognised application is to reduce pressurized breathing gas to ambient pressure and deliver it to the diver, but there are als ...
; and the adoption of the "
Rule of Thirds": one third in, one third out, with one third kept as a safety reserve.
In the early days of cave diving in the UK there was always the hope of finding a way into the cave for the benefit of dry cavers. Amongst these must be mentioned
Swildon's Hole
Swildon's Hole is an extensive cave in Priddy, Somerset. At in length, it is the longest cave on the Mendip Hills. It has been found to be connected to Priddy Green Sink and forms part of the Priddy Caves Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSS ...
,
Stoke Lane Slocker
Stoke Lane Slocker () is a cave near Stoke St Michael, in the Carboniferous Limestone of the Mendip Hills, in the English county of Somerset.
It is 2.18 km in length and reaches a depth of 30m. – which also contains a detailed descr ...
,
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu II and Little Neath River Cave.
Progress and development of equipment and techniques have always come in phases, and with this progress, although still hoping to discover dry caves, came diving of a purely exploratory nature. This has led to advances at Wookey Hole and
Cheddar Gorge
Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar, Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar show caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years ...
caves in Somerset.
In Derbyshire a great deal of effort has produced significant discoveries in the
Peak Cavern
The Peak Cavern, also known as the Devil's Arse, is one of the four show caves in Castleton, Derbyshire, England. Peakshole Water flows through and out of the cave, which has the largest cave entrance in Britain.
Overview
Unlike the other ...
/
Speedwell Cavern
Speedwell Cavern is one of the four show caves in Castleton, Derbyshire, England.
The cave system consists of a horizontal lead miners' adit (a level passageway driven horizontally into the hillside) 200 metres below ground leading to the cav ...
system. In South Wales many kilometres of
Daren Cilau were first trodden by cave divers; and the link with Elm Hole and Pwll y Cwm was another major feat.
In the north of England, divers have made discoveries such as Boreham Cave, Notts Pot II and the connection between
Gaping Gill
Gaping Gill (also known as Gaping Ghyll) is a natural cave in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the unmistakable landmarks on the southern slopes of Ingleborough – a deep pothole with the stream Fell Beck flowing into it. After fa ...
and
Ingleborough Cave
Ingleborough Cave (formerly known as Clapham Caves) is a show cave close to the village of Clapham in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the ...
and that between Gavel Pot and Pippikin Pot. Keld Head in Kingsdale has been the scene of operations over many years and the dive through from Kingsdale Master Cave represented a world standard. Later the dive was started from King Pot in the same cave system, a different route with a distance of .
In Ireland CDG members dived the connection between Noon's Hole and Arch Cave, and between Prod's Pot and Cascades Rising and between Polloughabo and Polbehan.
Several expeditions have connected two or more caves together. This tendency to explore water filled caves has been extended abroad to such places as the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...
, where there are flooded ocean
blue hole
A blue hole is a large marine cavern or sinkhole, which is open to the surface and has developed in a bank or island composed of a carbonate bedrock ( limestone or coral reef). Their existence was discovered in the late 20th century by fishe ...
s. These have been explored by British divers since the early 1980s; several have been connected. CDG members have been active in exploring many sites in Europe and further afield, often using or pioneering the cutting edge of technology.
Organisation and purpose
The Cave Diving Group operates under a federal structure comprising four regionally based sections located in the major caving districts of Britain: Somerset, Welsh, Derbyshire and Northern, each with its own Secretary, Treasurer and Training Officer. These are governed loosely by a Central Committee which comprises national officers which oversees the running of the Group and liaises with other bodies.
The Cave Diving Group has traditionally not actively recruited members – a position adopted early on in its history when the availability of training and equipment was scarce. Likewise, owing to early fatalities in the sport, cave divers in the United Kingdom (unlike other areas of the world) have usually been represented by cavers who wished to dive. It is a condition of qualification as a cave diver within the CDG that the candidate is an experienced caver as well as a skilled cave diver.
A candidate for membership applies to one of the regional sections, making themselves and their experience known to members. They must be over 18 years old and in good health, never having suffered from epilepsy. Training is provided on a regional basis with national training camps under a loose mentoring system. Final election to qualification is carried out by the candidate's peers - other diving members of the section.
The Group also welcomes non-diving members who wish to be associated with its activities; they receive all publications, may attend all meetings but pay a reduced subscription. Of great importance is the Group's role in publishing information about exploration by members (and others) and developments in cave diving techniques. The Group produces a quarterly newsletter and a training manual.
Sump Indices are available for each cave diving region (Somerset, Wales, Derbyshire & Northern) of Great Britain which summarise diving activities from Group members and non-members over many years. The newsletter is free to members and on sale to the public as are all the other publications.
Members of the CDG are sometimes called upon to assist in cave rescue, particularly of cavers trapped by flood waters, such as the
Alpazat cave rescue in Mexico in 2004 and the
Tham Luang cave rescue
In June and July 2018, a junior association football team and their assistant coach were rescued from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand. Twelve members of the team, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old ass ...
in Thailand in 2019.
Awards
Mike ‘Fish’ Jeanmaire was Chairman of the CDG for thirty years. Following his death in November 2010 the ‘Fish Award’ was created. This is awarded annually to a member who has made a significant contribution to the CDG. Whilst the nature of the contribution is not precisely defined, the guiding principle is that the individual should have served the CDG rather than any other organisation or themselves.
*2012 Fish Award: John Buxton
*2013 Fish Award: John Cordingley
*2014 Fish Award: Clive Westlake
*2015 Fish Award: Andrew Ward
*2016 Fish Award: Duncan Price
*2017 Fish Award: David Ryall
*2018 Fish Award: David Brock
*2019 Fish Award: Rob Murgatroyd
*2020 Fish Award: Helen Farr
See also
*
References
External links
CDG website
{{authority control
Underwater diving training organizations
Caving organisations in the United Kingdom
Cave diving
Diver organizations
Underwater diving in the United Kingdom