Oscar Hackett Neil Moss (28 July 1938'' 1939 England and Wales Register'' – 23 March 1959) was a British student who died in a

caving Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...

accident. A twenty-year-old undergraduate studying

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, Moss became jammed underground, from the entrance, after descending a narrow unexplored shaft in

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 ...

, a famous cave system in Castleton in

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 ...

, on 22 March 1959. Initial attempts to haul him free failed because the rope broke several times. When he lost consciousness as

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

from his own

respiration Respiration may refer to: Biology * Cellular respiration, the process in which nutrients are converted into useful energy in a cell ** Anaerobic respiration, cellular respiration without oxygen ** Maintenance respiration, the amount of cellul ...

built up in the base of the shaft, he was unable to assist further rescue attempts made with a stronger rope. More rescue efforts were made: on the second day eighteen-year-old June Bailey answered the call for an experienced caver small enough to fit into the tunnel, and spent six hours assisting, until she was "driven back by foul air." Caving veteran Bob Leakey also tried, but could not get to Moss. Moss never regained consciousness and was declared dead on the morning of Tuesday, 24 March, after the final rescue attempt had failed. It was assumed that Moss became stuck after moving a boulder in part of the tunnel, which then trapped the ladder preventing him being pulled up by rescuers. The distance between the rungs of the ladder was too great for someone of his height to reach through the remaining gap. His father, who had kept vigil at the entrance, requested that his son's body be left in place to avoid risk of further injury or loss of life to those attempting a retrieval. The

fissure A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes. Ground fissure ...

was sealed with loose rocks from the floor of the chamber and an

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the w ...

was later placed nearby. This section of

is now known as Moss Chamber. There were media reports of the fissure being filled with cement but this is untrue, as verified by those who participated in the rescue and clear-up. The story of Moss's death was widely publicised, including worldwide in European, Australian, and American newspapers. It also featured in the novel ''One Last Breath'' (2004) by Stephen Booth. and in a 2006 documentary by fellow Derbyshire caver Dave Webb, available on DVD as ''Fight For Life – The Neil Moss Story''.

References

External links

The Neil Moss Tragedy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Neil (caver) 1938 births 1959 deaths Accidental deaths in England Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford British cavers Caving incidents and rescues Deaths by person in England Deaths from hypercapnia

See also

References

External links