Richard William Stanton, (born 1961) is a British civilian cave diver who specialises in rescues through the Cave Rescue Organisation and the British Cave Rescue Council. He has been called "one of the world's most accomplished cave-divers", "the face of British cave diving," and "the best cave diver in Europe". Stanton has lived in Coventry for many years, and was formerly a
firefighter
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
Stanton was born in 1961 and grew up in Epping Forest District in Essex. He attributes his interest in cave diving to a television programme he watched as a teenager, ''
The Underground Eiger
''The Underground Eiger'' is a made-for-television documentary that was released in 1979. It details a world record-breaking cave dive of made by Geoff Yeadon and Oliver Statham from West Kingsdale Master Cave, in North Yorkshire, England to Ke ...
'', saying, "After watching it, I just knew that cave-diving was for me." Stanton studied at Aston University, where he joined both the caving and the diving clubs. He began as a self-taught diver in the River Lune in Cumbria and Lancashire.
Stanton has lived in Coventry for many years, and was formerly a
firefighter
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
Stanton usually cave dives and conducts rescues with a partner, John Volanthen.
In 2004 he was involved in the rescue of six British cavers who were trapped in a cave at the Alpazat caverns in Mexico for eight days. Stanton was also part of a team that attempted a cave rescue of Eric Establie, in the Dragonnière Gaud Cave near
Labastide-de-Virac
Labastide-de-Virac (; oc, La Bastida de Virac) is a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (adm ...
in the
Ardèche
Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.
In 2011, Stanton assisted in the recovery of the body of Polish cave diver Artur Kozłowski from Pollonora cave at Kiltartan, Ireland.
Norwegian authorities asked him to assist to recover the bodies of two Finnish divers from
Jordbrugrotta
Jordbrugrotta is a cave in the upper parts of by the river in Rana municipality in Nordland county in Norway. The cave is named after the farm Jordbrua further down the valley. The cave is situated about two kilometers south of the dam at Kal ...
in 2014, but after diving down to the site he and his colleagues deemed the operation too risky. He had completed another recovery there in 2006.
In 2018, he helped locate a youth football team in the Tham Luang cave rescue.
After locating and participating in the rescue of the missing team and its coach, Stanton said that he and the other cave divers involved were not heroes, saying, "We’re just using a very unique skill set, which we normally use for our own interest and sometimes we’re able to use that to give something back to the community."
Stanton later said: "I think I hold great pride in what we did. You could say it’s justification for the dedication I put forward into a ridiculous minority sport that no one ever took seriously."
Records
In 2004 Stanton and Volanthen set a world record for greatest depth achieved in a British cave, cave diving 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. In 2010 Stanton, Volanthen, Jason Mallinson, and René Houben set a world record for longest cave penetration dive, obtaining in the Pozo Azul cave system in the
Rudrón Valley
The Rudrón Valley () is a valley of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León, Spain, that borders the autonomous community of Cantabria
Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northe ...
in Spain.
Equipment
Stanton is a technical diver, developing his own diving gear to great effect. He developed two closed-circuit rebreather units; this novel technology has been "instrumental in his achieving cave diving depth records around the world." One modification was to allow the rebreather to be worn on the side of the body rather than the chest or back. This is advantageous in fitting through smaller spaces. He builds prototypes of his designs and tests them in swimming pools before using them in caves.
He also uses underwater scooters to dive more efficiently, travelling greater distances while conserving energy and oxygen supplies.
Books
* ''Aquanaut: A Life Beneath the Surface - The Inside Story of the Thai Cave Rescue.'' 2021. Michael Joseph
Awards and honours
Stanton has been called "one of the world's most accomplished cave-divers", "the face of British cave diving," and "the best cave diver in Europe".
In 2008 Stanton received the EUROTEK "Diver of the Conference Award" for his "significant contribution to advanced and technical diving."
Stanton's rescue attempt of a diver in a French cave, and assistance in identifying the location of that diver's body, earned him the Royal Humane Society's bronze medal in 2012. In 2021 Stanton also received the 'Hero of the Year' award at the West Midland Fire Service's Aspire Awards.
Stanton was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the
2013 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hon ...
, "For services to Local Government".
In November 2018, Stanton and five other members of the British cave rescue team were given the 2018
Pride of Britain Award
The Pride of Britain Awards is an annual award ceremony which has taken place in the United Kingdom since May 1999 and first televised on ITV in April 2000.
The awards honour British people who have acted bravely or extraordinarily in challeng ...
for "Outstanding Bravery" for the Tham Luang incident. The rescued children attended the award ceremony, in London. On 28 December 2018 it was announced that Stanton and Volanthen would receive the George Medal in the
2019 New Year Honours
The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...
for their roles at Tham Luang. Three other members of their team were appointed MBEs and two were awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal.
On 21 November 2021 explorer Mark Wood, Chairman of the Great Britain and Ireland Explorers Club Chapter, awarded Stanton a chapter coin in recognition of the role he played in the 2018 Thai cave rescue.