| Graham Balcombe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Francis Graham Balcombe 8 March 1907 Manchester |
| Died | 19 March 2000 |
| Occupation | Telecommunications engineer |
| Known for | Cave Diving |
| Spouse | Mavis |
Graham Balcombe (8 March 1907–19 March 2000)[1][2][3] born Francis Graham Balcombe in Manchester, was a pioneer of cave diving in the United Kingdom and a founder of the Cave Diving Group together with Jack Sheppard.
Sheppard and Balcombe both worked for the Post Office as 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. At the time, the limit of exploration was a flooded underwater passage or "syphon" (sump).
Various attempts were made pass this obstacle, at first using explosives and then by diving. Initial attempts were unsuccessful and Balcombe's attentions moved to Wookey hole where Standard Diving Dress was used to explore upstream from the limit of the Show Cave at Chamber 3 as far as the Seventh Chamber.[4]
During the Second World War, Balcombe was stationed in Harrogate, North Yorkshire where he continued to develop his diving equipment which was put to use at local sites such as Alum Pot, Keld Head and Goyden Pot. After the war Balcombe co-founded the Cave Diving Group in 1947. He ran operations from his base in London and remained involved in cave diving up to his retirement from the activity in 1957.
During his later life, Balcombe was made Honorary President of the Cave Diving Group, a role which he shared with Sheppard. His memoirs[5] were published posthumously in 2007.
References [link]
- ^ Cave Diving Group Newsletter 136:1 (2000)
- ^ Caves & Caving 88:9 / 89:28
- ^ Descent 154:20
- ^ Balcombe, F.G.; Powell, P.M.; The Log of the Wookey Hole Exploration Expedition 1935 private publication (1935)
- ^ Balcombe, Graham; A Glimmering in Darkness. Price, Duncan (Ed.), Cave Diving Group (2007) ISBN 978-0-901031-03-7
External links [link]
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Balcombe
Coordinates: 51°03′24″N 0°08′14″W / 51.0567°N 0.1371°W
Balcombe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. It lies 31 miles (50 km) south of London, 16 miles (26 km) north of Brighton, and 32 miles (51 km) east north east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Crawley to the north west and Haywards Heath to the south south east.
History
The name Balcombe may mean "Mining Place Camp". Bal is a Cornish word meaning a mining place as in Bal Maidens, and the same word may have existed in Ancient British Celtic. Although Coombe or Combe can mean a valley, it can also come from the Roman "camp". So possibly from its name Balcombe could have once been a Romano-British mining settlement.
South of Balcombe on the London to Brighton railway line is the Ouse Valley Viaduct. Designed and engineered by John Urpeth Rastrick (1780–1856) in consultation with the talented architect David Mocatta, it was completed in 1842. It is 100 feet (30 m) high and 500 yards long. It has 37 arches and was built with 11 million imported Dutch bricks.
Balcombe (disambiguation)
Balcombe may refer to:
