John S. Buxton, born Derby, England May 29th 1931 lived near and in Derby until 20+ years of age. During WW2 coastal holidays were not available (barbed wire, etc.) so holidays were spent in Derbyshire Dales (limestone). We saw many enticing mine entrances and cave openings, but a safety conscious mother would not allow us near. When I went college [BSc horticulture (Nottingham)] I joined the mountaineering club when I realized they had a caving section and visited the Derbyshire Dales!
Many cave trips were halted by water pools (sumps) and not a lot of free diving took place as the standard caving gear was old clothes topped off by choice with a boiler suit (coveralls). When I discovered divers had been through these sumps I could not join fast enough. When I joined the Cave Diving Group my mother, agains her better judgement, signed my "blood chit" (liability waiver) as I was younger than 21. I started training with ex-government oxygen rebreather equipment. My first cave dive was at Keld Head in Kingsdale, North Yorkshire on August 31, 1952.
My later diving included Wookey Hole, Somerset. Most of my diving training was done by Bob (Dr. R. E. Davies) the leading diver of his generation. I did two dives with Graham Balcombe before he retired, he was one of the founders of the Cave Diving Group and dived with Jack Sheppard with the novel do-it-yourself breathing equipment in Swildons Hole, Somerset in 1934/5. He was the leader of the standard (helmet) diving in Wookey Hole in 1935. His chief assistant was a lady, Mossy (Penelope) Powell.
Later Oliver Wells joined the CDG, and Bob, Oliver, and I were part of the operation in Wookey Hole when Bob got lost in muddy water while using an early twin hose aqualung. Having found an air surface he waited for three hours for clean water before making his escape "the night of the 13th."
This short duration aqualung turned opinion against the use of air and the active members began to use semi-closed circuit equipment using oxygen/nitrogen mixtures now called "nitrox." The first use of these kits was in Hurtle Pot in Yorkshire when a depth of some 45 feet was achieved. Soon Oliver Wells and I were practicing in Wookey Hole, and training up other "mixture" divers. Progress into the deep water beyond Chamber 9 was steady. Oliver Wells departed to work in U.S.A. I was the lucky person to penetrate the small hole called "The Slot" into the 15th chamber at a depth of 70 feet. This was in 1960. Later, practice took place to a depth of 140 feet (using 40/60 mixture). At this point in time I became financially embarrassed and resigned my membership and chairmanship of the CDG. Many years went by and I started to dive on air with a local subaqua club.
Oliver Wells came to the U.K. on holiday and often stayed with us. He sometimes dived at Wookey and eventually persuaded me to join him on a dive--also for old times sake!--and I was hooked! Money was not such a problem any more and I soon got fully equipped (my wife says over-equipped). I dived open water with a local subaqua club, and also caves as often as possible.
I went on several trips with the now called "Rob Palmer Blue Holes Foundation" in the Bahamas and dived in the Acklins and off Andros in the fracture caves. I found I was doing deeper and deeper dives and witnessed several trimix dives. In my later years I qualified as a scuba technician (ASSET), advanced nitrox (IANTD), and nitrox technician and gas blender (ASSET). This gave me an interest (I am now retired) and I thought that before I was too old I should volunteer some time to a project. As physical dry caving is not quite so appealing these days, I applied to help on the Wakulla 2 project--and luckily was accepted and here I am, writing this in the "Mission Control."--John S. Buxton, December 7, 1998.
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