Richard William Stanton, (born 1961) is a British civilian

cave diver 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 ...

who specialises in rescues through the

Cave Rescue Organisation The Cave Rescue Organisation (CRO) is a voluntary body based in the caving area of the Yorkshire Dales in northern England. Founded in 1935, it is the first cave rescue agency in the world. Although it is staffed by volunteers and funded by dona ...

and the

British Cave Rescue Council Recreational caving in the United Kingdom dates back to the mid-19th century. The four major caving areas of the United Kingdom are North Yorkshire, South Wales, Derbyshire, and the Mendips. Minor areas include Devon, North Wales, and the Scottish ...

. 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 Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

for many years, and was formerly a firefighter with the

West Midlands Fire Service West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is the fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of West Midlands, England. The service is the second largest in England, after London Fire Brigade. The service has 38 fire stations, with a blended ...

for 25 years prior to his retirement. In 2018 he played a leading role in 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 ...

and was awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in cir ...

in the Civilian Gallantry List.

Early life

Stanton was born in 1961 and grew up in

Epping Forest District Epping Forest is a local government district in Essex, England. Situated in the west of the county, bordering northeastern Greater London, it is named after, and contains a large part of, Epping Forest. The district, though wholly within the c ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. He attributes his interest in cave diving to a television programme he watched as a teenager, '' The Underground Eiger'', saying, "After watching it, I just knew that cave-diving was for me." Stanton studied at

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first ...

, where he joined both the caving and the diving clubs. He began as a self-taught diver in the

River Lune The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. Etymology Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic in genesis and der ...

in Cumbria and Lancashire. Stanton has lived in

for many years, and was formerly a firefighter with the

for 25 years prior to his retirement.

Caving and rescues

Rescues

Stanton usually cave dives and conducts rescues with a partner,

John Volanthen John Paul Volanthen, (born June 1971) is a British cave diver who undertakes cave rescues through the Cave Rescue Organisation, South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue, and the British Caving Association. In 2018, he played a leading role in the Tham ...

. 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 in the Ardèche region of France, in 2010 which was ultimately unsuccessful. In 2011, Stanton assisted in the recovery of the body of Polish cave diver Artur Kozłowski from Pollonora cave at

Kiltartan Kiltartan is a barony and civil parish in County Galway, Ireland. The southern portion of this barony was formerly known as Cenél Áeda na hEchtge or O'Shaughnessy's Country, the northern portion was called Coill Ua bhFiachrach (the territory o ...

, Ireland. Norwegian authorities asked him to assist to recover the bodies of two Finnish divers from Jordbrugrotta 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

. 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 in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. 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 in Spain.

Equipment

Stanton is a technical diver, developing his own diving gear to great effect. He developed two closed-circuit

rebreather A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's breathing, exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantially unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. ...

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 The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

'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 The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were 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 celebrat ...

, "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 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

in the 2019 New Year Honours for their roles at Tham Luang. Three other members of their team were appointed MBEs and two were awarded the

Queen's Gallantry Medal The Queen's Gallantry Medal (QGM) is a United Kingdom decoration awarded for exemplary acts of bravery where the services were not so outstanding as to merit the George Medal, but above the level required for the Queen's Commendation for Braver ...

. 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.

Personal life

Stanton lives in

References

External links

* : ''Into the Darkness'', a documentary of Stanton and John Volanthen's cave dive in northern Italy {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Richard British cavers Cave diving explorers English underwater divers Members of the Order of the British Empire Living people Alumni of Aston University 1961 births British firefighters Recipients of the George Medal Pioneering technical divers People from Epping Forest District Tham Luang cave rescue