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Jack Sheppard (cave Diver)
John Arthur Sheppard (31 March 1909 – 14 July 2001) was a pioneer of cave diving in the United Kingdom and a founder, together with Graham Balcombe, of the Cave Diving Group. Life and career He was born at Lewisham, Kent (south east London) on 31 March 1909. Sheppard worked for the Post Office as a telecommunications engineers. They became rock climbing partners and while based in Bristol became interested in the caves of the Mendip Hills, particularly Swildon's Hole which they believed connected to Wookey Hole Caves. They proved this by putting dye into the water at Swildon's and seeing it emerge at Wookey. Various attempts were made to enter these underwater cave systems using shore-based pumped-air diving suits, without much success. An initial dive in 1934 was unsuccessful and the first successful dive was the following year at Wookey Hole. They returned with improved equipment and succeeded in further exploration. Sheppard constructed his own dry suit A dry su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lewisham
Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London, with a large shopping centre and street market. Lewisham had a population of 60,573 in 2011. History The earliest written reference to Lewisham – – is from a charter from 862 which established the boundaries with neighbouring Bromley. Lewisham is sometimes said to have been founded, according to Bede, by a pagan Jutes, Jute, Leof, who settled (by burning his boat) near St Mary's Church (Ladywell) where the ground was drier, in the 6th century, but there seems to be no solid source for this speculation, and there is no such passage in Bede's history. As to the etymology of the name, Daniel Lysons (antiquarian), Daniel Lysons (1796) wrote: :"In the most ancient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swildon's Hole
Swildon's Hole is an extensive cave in Priddy, Somerset. At in length, it is the longest cave on the Mendip Hills. It has been found to be connected to Priddy Green Sink and forms part of the Priddy Caves Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The upper series of the cave compresses many features into a relatively short space. The cave goes far beyond this, however, and the lower reaches of the cave continue to provide challenges for even the most experienced of cave divers. The name may be a corruption of Swithun, an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester, as the land in the area was owned by St Swithin's Priory in Winchester. History The cave was first entered on 16 August 1901 by members of the Wells Natural History and Archaeological Society. Very rapid progression was made to what is now known as the 40 foot pot. Between 1903 and 1910, in spite of access being banned by the landowner, various trips took place to photograph and explore the passages. In 1914 the limit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2001 Deaths
This is a list of lists of deaths of notable people, organized by year. New deaths articles are added to their respective month (e.g., Deaths in ) and then linked below. 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 Earlier years ''Deaths in years earlier than this can usually be found in the main articles of the years.'' See also * Lists of deaths by day * Deaths by year (category) {{DEFAULTSORT:deaths by year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1909 Births
Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escapes death by fleeing across drift ice, ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * January 9 – The British Nimrod Expedition, ''Nimrod'' Expedition to the South Pole, led by Ernest Shackleton, arrives at the Farthest South, farthest south reached by any prior expedition, at 88°23' S, prior to turning back due to diminishing supplies. * January 11 – The International Joint Commission on US-Canada boundary waters is established. * January 16 – Members of the ''Nimrod'' Expedition claim to have found the magnetic South Pole (but the location recorded may be incorrect). * January 24 – The White Star Liner RMS Republic (1903), RMS ''Republic'' sinks the day after a collision with ''SS Florida'' off Nantucket. Almost all of the 1,500 passengers are rescued. * January 28 – The last United States t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caving In The United Kingdom
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 Highlands. Caving grew in popularity in the 1950s and 60s through participation in caving clubs. There are about 4,000 active cavers in the UK and nearly twenty times that number who attend instructor-led courses each year in caves around the country. In addition, many tourists visit show caves such as Wookey Hole Caves. Cave diving is a niche technical area of caving practised in the UK since the 1930s. This skill enables cavers to explore water-filled cave passages in Britain, and around the world. In recent years, British cave divers have been called on internationally for cave rescues and recoveries. History Before modern caving developed, John Beaumont wrote detailed descriptions of some Mendip caves in 1681, and in 1780 J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wells And Mendip Museum
The Wells and Mendip Museum is a museum in the city of Wells. It is a registered charity and an accredited member of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The exhibits include items of local history and archaeological finds. Building The museum is next to Wells Cathedral, and housed in the former Chancellors' House, with 15th-century origins, however most of the current fabric of the building is from the 17th and 18th centuries. The stone building has gabled roofs of Welsh slate. A small entrance hall provides access to a staircase hall leading to a salon in gothic revival style with a marble fireplace. The front of the building was remodelled around 1828 and the rear includes a 20th-century extension. It has been designated as a Grade II listed building. Museum history It was founded by Herbert E. Balch in 1893, to display his collection of local artefacts and memorabilia, and further exhibits have been added since. It is run by the Wells Natural History and Archaeolo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rebreather
A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantial unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. Oxygen is added to replenish the amount metabolised by the user. This differs from open-circuit breathing apparatus, where the exhaled gas is discharged directly into the environment. The purpose is to extend the breathing endurance of a limited gas supply, while also eliminating the bubbles otherwise produced by an open circuit system. The latter advantage over other systems is useful for covert military operations by frogmen, as well as for undisturbed observation of underwater wildlife. A rebreather is generally understood to be a portable apparatus carried by the user. The same technology on a vehicle or non-mobile installation is more likely to be referred to as a life-support system. Rebreather technology may be used where breathing gas supp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dry Suit
A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by underwater diving, divers, boating, boaters, List of water sports, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold or contaminated water. A dry suit normally protects the whole body except the head, hands, and possibly the feet. In Hazmat suit, hazmat configurations, however, all of these are covered as well. The main difference between dry suits and wetsuits is that dry suits are designed to prevent water from entering. This generally allows better insulation, making them more suitable for use in cold water. Dry suits can be uncomfortably hot in warm or hot air, and are typically more expensive and more complex to don. For divers, they add some degree of operational complexity and hazard as the suit must be inflated and deflated with changes in depth in order to minimize "#Suit squeeze, squeeze" on descent or uncontrolle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Locust Valley, New York
Locust Valley is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 3,406 at the 2010 census. History The rolling hills of the North Shore of Long Island were laid down as terminal moraines by the receding glaciers of the last ice age roughly 10,000 years ago. The Algonquian tribe that settled the area, spanning from Flushing to Setauket, called the area "hilly ground" or Matinecock and as a result the Algonquian Indians who settled there became known as the Matinecock Indians. In 1667, Captain John Underhill negotiated with the Matinecock Indians to purchase land for a settlement that he and his fellow colonists would call Buckram.''If You're Thinking Of Living In: Locust Valley'' By Todd Purdum ''The New York Times'' January 15, 1984 The town name lasted for nearly 200 years, until in 1856 the name was changed to Locust Valley based on the numbe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surface-supplied Diving
Surface-supplied diving is a mode of underwater diving using equipment supplied with breathing gas through a diver's umbilical from the surface, either from the shore or from a diving support vessel, sometimes indirectly via a diving bell. This is different from scuba diving, where the diver's breathing equipment is completely self-contained and there is no essential link to the surface. The primary advantages of conventional surface supplied diving are lower risk of drowning and considerably larger breathing gas supply than scuba, allowing longer working periods and safer decompression. Disadvantages are the absolute limitation on diver mobility imposed by the length of the umbilical, encumbrance by the umbilical, and high logistical and equipment costs compared with scuba. The disadvantages restrict use of this mode of diving to applications where the diver operates within a small area, which is common in commercial diving work. The copper helmeted free-flow standard di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wookey Hole Caves
Wookey Hole Caves () are a series of limestone caverns, a show cave and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills near Wells in Somerset, England. The River Axe flows through the cave. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for both biological and geological reasons. Wookey Hole cave is a "solutional cave", one that is formed by a process of weathering in which the natural acid in groundwater dissolves the rocks. Some water originates as rain that flows into streams on impervious rocks on the plateau before sinking at the limestone boundary into cave systems such as Swildon's Hole, Eastwater Cavern and St Cuthbert's Swallet; the rest is rain that percolates directly through the limestone. The temperature in the caves is a constant . The caves were used as dens by cave hyenas. The caves have been used by both modern humans and Neanderthals over a period spanning around 45,000 years, demonstrated by the discovery o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the River Frome, Somerset, Frome valley in the east, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Chew Valley and other tributaries of the River Avon (Bristol), Avon to the north. The highest point, at above sea level, is Beacon Batch which is the summit area atop Black Down, Somerset, Black Down. The hills gave their name to the former local government district of Mendip District, Mendip, which administered most of the local area until April 2023. The higher, western part of the hills, covering has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which gives it a level of protection comparable to a national park. The hills are largely formed from Carboniferous Limestone, which is quarried at several sites. Fraxinus, Ash–maple woodl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
