WSG NL July 2012, Final, Public
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2012/03 JULY Westminster Spelæological Group Cave Exploration and Investigation President: Toby Clark esq. Newsletter No. 2012/3 Photo: Laura ! PAGE 1 2012/03 JULY July 2012 Edition Welcome to the July 2012 Newsletter. Here is the news. Ben & Robyn’s Wedding Congratulations to Robyn and Ben! In Robyn’s own words: I married Ben Lovett on the 11th May on the Isle of Mull in Scot- land. It was a small wedding and in true caving fashion, the wedding cake had two caving helmets on the top for the bride and groom. AGM The 62nd Annual General Meeting took place on 23rd June and was a quiet success. De- spite ample opportunity for animated misunderstanding, serious matters were addressed. More than one member commented on the level-headed atmosphere. Who knew? New Faces in the Cabinet Reshufe Chris, Robyn & Rupert stepped down from their positions on the committee. Chris left after a five(?) years as a committee member; Robyn after becoming a mum and Australian to-be; and Rupert to be elevated to Chair. Eagerly filling the power vacuum, Steve L. was elected Hon. Secretary and Amy P. was the next day voted in Caving Secretary. Many thanks once again to Chris and Robyn for their good work. New faces Down Under Farewell Robyn and Ben who are emigrating to Tasmania. We wish you the best of luck in your new life. Au revoir Fay who will be working and travelling in New Zealand for the next six months. Have a great time and please remember to come back! Enjoy the Newsletter. Headquarters The Club meets on first and Caerllwyn Cottage third Tuesday of the month at: Halt Road Ship & Shovell bar Rhigos Craven Passage WC2 ABERDARE (O% Villiers Street under CF44 9UW Charing Cross station) 01685 811080 www.wsg.org.uk Normally from 7 pm onwards. ! PAGE 2 2012/03 JULY ...While leaving Stalagmite to comment on taken straight in places. One was not im- the reply from one of the members of the pressed by the stability in parts. W.S.G. who was on the S. Wales rescue trip, When we reached the man, he had appar- we feel that his remark about the di%erence ently fallen awkwardly some 6 to 12 feet and between the miners work in the cave and had broken his right thigh in two places near comments on the air is worth further com- the knee. It was also discovered that he ment here. One of the sad but true fea- had cracked ribs, chipped bones in his neck tures of cave rescue is the amount of distor- and was su%ering from concussion. Even tion introduced on many occasion by both under Morphia, he was moaning the press and radio/TV. With this in mind, occasionally. A temporary splint was ef- members would like to read a factual ac- fected, he was moved to a better spot and count of the episode, sent to the B.B. by the the splint remade. W.S.G. to whom we are indebted for permis- sion to print. At this time the rescue possibilities seemed to be three fold. A shaft could be consid- !Toby ‘El Presidente’ Clerk ered as close to the antechamber where the accident happened, is Root Chamber where tree roots can be seen in the roof and the Rescue at walls. The depth of the roof below the sur- Llethryd Swallet face at this point was then thought to be about thirty feet. Improvements to the 9/10th February, 1964 original route was a second possibility. Al- though this was eventually done, there was Brian Bowell more than a slight risk that the route might be blocked entirely if bang was used and at least half the 300 to 500 feet of passage in- When the call out came through to the volved needed drastic improvement. The S.W.C.C. Headquarters at Penwyllt, the po- third possibility was to make a New En- sition was, fortunately, that the S.W.C.C. trance by digging a subsidiary dry swallet a member with the local knowledge, the gen little further upstream. It was expected on S.W.C.R.O. procedure and luckily, a that this would short cut the tightest parts. member with medical knowledge, had just returned from a dig. The W.S.G. party had The decision reached on the spot was to eaten, packed ready to return to London, concentrate on the shaft, with spare labour and was fresh. Important too was the fact employed on improvement work, however that the entire C.R.O. gear was packed and the progress of events rather changed ready for instant use. Due to all this, medi- ideas. Meanwhile further supplies were cal aid was on the spot with Butler with 70 brought in, the telephone set up, and non- minutes of the call out despite the fact that essential bods cleared from the cave. This Llethryd is about 30 miles away form was about 11 or 12 o’clock. The depth of Penwyllt. the cave at Root Chamber was measured us- ing an electronic method and was found to The conditions in the cave may perhaps be be a hundred feet. This was letter checked understated as being tortuous and wet. and verified. Something like Sidcot, only tighter and longer with more ups and downs and with a Around 2am, the miners arrived with a com- healthy stream to complicate matters. A pressor and started work on very sporting cave, but impossible to bring improvements. By all reports, the N.C.B. out an injured man on a rigid stretcher and the mine rescue men were surprisingly though. The stretcher in fact could not be at home even in the severe conditions ! PAGE 3 2012/03 JULY encountered. There were some delays, up to the time that it was decided to give a naturally, of the sort that are bound to arise blood plasma transfusion. It is very likely in any such operation. The only valid criti- that this tricky task has never been at- cism of the miners was perhaps of over cau- tempted under such di'cult and dirty condi- tion, but this was a fault on the right side. tions, and is a great credit to the medics. It The comments that were heard on the air was most unexpected to come across a caver and read in the press were mostly kept for with his sleeves rolled up to the elbows and the surface. It was noticeable that those his arms scrubbed. When Butler finally who did the most work underground were reached the hospital, his condition was said not the most anxious to be on T.V. to be generally good. At about 3pm Monday, the work was practi- The credit to this operation must go to the cally finished and the first stretcher party S.W.C.R.O., to the miners, the men of Thy- (consisting of cavers) went down while the sons Ltd., the Police, the W.V.S., the farmer finishing touches were put to the passage. and many others. Working in relays, with fresh bearers, Butler was brought, still under Morphine, in the remarkably short time of about two hours. Note: Members may be interested to know that Llethryd Cave was discovered by During the time that Butler was having Don Coase, a B.E.C. member. medical attention, his condition deteriorated Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medals Various cave rescue organisations are being honoured by the award of medals for long service and I have been given one for being a SECRO warden for no better reason than that I have the call out list to hand and a procedure to follow if there is one. Alas I missed SECRO’s only real call out when it occurred because I was away on holiday! I don’t regard the medal as ‘mine’, rather that it is for all cave rescuers and as such I will get it mounted on the cottage wall to honour everybody who is involved in search & rescue. Toby ‘El Presidente’ the Elder P.S. Toby the Younger (Major Tobe) got one as well! Photo: El Presidente ! PAGE 4 2012/03 JULY footfall and laughter of cataphiles. It’s a Sat- Parisian Catacombes urday so the network is busy, but at first we’re on our guard as we’ve heard rumours of Laura the cataflics, the police force keen to stamp out any unregulated activity down here. But The plan was for 12 of us to go in. The usual after a while we relax and forget the world of way: frequented by cataphiles at all hours. rules and regulations we have now left far Previously we’ve bumped into them en route, behind. stumbling, drunk and happy on their way out. This time we walk past a few gra'ti art- Having recently heard that many of the ists, smoking spi%s. “Salut!” We acknowledge rooms in the catacombs made famous by our mutual presence in this di%erent land- sculptures have been vandalised, we decide to scape and our trespass into it. change tack and try to find those less known. Before we do, we decide to visit Le Passe- There were just six of us in the end, which Muraille, the cast of a man fixed to the wall, made progress easier. The trip and our created to look as if he’s walking through, as (slightly mad) intentions demand a lot of kit. per the story. He’s located in Aqueduct la I spend time fa'ng with carbide before we Vanne, a series of very pretty arched tunnels.