Peter Binns Collection

langcliffe

langcliffe

Well-known member
We have been delighted to receive a collection of material collected by Peter Binns (1917-2002) during his long caving career, and it includes some fascinating stuff. Peter started caving with the BSA in the early 1930s, and I knew him in the late 1960s as Chairman of the Cave Research Group.

It's going to take some time to sort out the material and make it available, but here are a few items to whet your appetite.

This is a photograph of BSA guys sorting out their tackle in their headquarters in Settle in about 1939:

ba.jpg

This is a photograph of Dome Pitch in Lost Johns' taken about 1937. Notice the two ladders - one is coming down from the Dome Alternative, a route which has a history of being regularly rediscovered by members of this forum and which was recently bolted by Sam:

lj.jpg

Finally, this is a picture of the winch taken in 1946:

gg.jpg
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
That's great Langcliffe, thanks for posting.

Here's a more recent picture of the same scene as the first one from you (in the run up to Christmas 2018).

I'll pretty sure Barbara Binns was Peter's sister. She became Barbara Butterworth when she married "Buzzer". They lived at Austwick, just along the road from where Jack Myers lived (at Suncroft). Barabara was an accomplished caver herself; I remember bumping into her in the GG system when she was in her late 70s. She was doing a solo trip somewhere.
 

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langcliffe

langcliffe

Well-known member
Pitlamp said:
I'll pretty sure Barbara Binns was Peter's sister. She became Barbara Butterworth when she married "Buzzer". They lived at Austwick, just along the road from where Jack Myers lived (at Suncroft). Barabara was an accomplished caver herself; I remember bumping into her in the GG system when she was in her late 70s. She was doing a solo trip somewhere.
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I think you mean 'Frank Butterfield', after whom Butterfield Passage is named in County Pot. Barbara features in Underground Adventure in the Hull Pot chapter. Peter Binns features in the section on Old Ing Cave.
 
M

mikem

Well-known member
Well, he sometimes gets it right:
https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=21646.msg275445#msg275445
 
M

mikem

Well-known member
Trevor Shaw's "biographical bibliography" includes Peter Binns (& Alfred Butterfield):
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=x_wAEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=peter+binns+caver&source=bl&ots=lR9suQauRw&sig=ACfU3U3kkMAkQ7X5ORpugtqf0s91g8o_PQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ19Ts363wAhUgaBUIHdozDRkQ6AEwBXoECA8QAg#v=onepage&q=peter%20binns%20caver&f=false
 
langcliffe

langcliffe

Well-known member
This is reputedly a photograph taken in South East Passage, Gaping Gill. It was taken in May 1939. It looks like it could be South East Passage, but I had never heard of a formation like this in there. If it is S.E. Passage I suspect that is in the section beyond New Hensler's.  Does it ring any bells with anyone?

se.jpg
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Hm, I've spent quite a bit of time in S E Passage and Far S E Passage lately; I don't recognise the passage as being there (with or without stalagmite.

Excellent photograph though. I wonder if the bloke in the picture realised what awful world event was about to unfold . . . .
 
langcliffe

langcliffe

Well-known member
The Peter Binns Collection has now been added to the BCRA Online Archive. Enjoy

https://archives.bcra.org.uk/binns.html
 
Alex

Alex

Well-known member
When I first saw this picture I was thinking of the passage just beyond the Colonnades in Lancaster hole, it could be mis labled?

I have been in the "hidden" section in GG, and I don't recall anything like this, just lots and lots of straws.
 
Martin Wright

Martin Wright

Member
Thanks for posting the link langcliffe. Love the old pictures of Greenclose, the NPC cottage, and there are some excellent cave pictures in the collection.
 
I

Inferus

New member
Alex said:
When I first saw this picture I was thinking of the passage just beyond the Colonnades in Lancaster hole, it could be mis labled?
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That would also mean it was mis-dated by many years as Lancaster wasn't discovered until just after the war (iirc).
 
langcliffe

langcliffe

Well-known member
Alex said:
When I first saw this picture I was thinking of the passage just beyond the Colonnades in Lancaster hole, it could be mis labled?

I have been in the "hidden" section in GG, and I don't recall anything like this, just lots and lots of straws.
Click to expand...

If by the "hidden" section of GG you are referring to Centenary Way, that wasn't entered until 1995.

I don't think that the photograph has been mislabelled, as it is the middle of a sequence all from that area of Gaping Gill. It's labelled South-East Passage, and I seem to recognise it as Far South-East Passage. The stal. has gone, but then so have many others - some by the hands of Binns himself, at the behest of Eli Simpson (see his journals).
 
andys

andys

Well-known member
langcliffe said:
The Peter Binns Collection has now been added to the BCRA Online Archive. Enjoy

https://archives.bcra.org.uk/binns.html
Click to expand...

Hi Langcliffe - there's a duplication of images in the Gaping Gill section - those titles No1 aven and No2 aven in South East Passage. Are we missing an image perhaps?
 
langcliffe

langcliffe

Well-known member
andys said:
langcliffe said:
The Peter Binns Collection has now been added to the BCRA Online Archive. Enjoy

https://archives.bcra.org.uk/binns.html
Click to expand...

Hi Langcliffe - there's a duplication of images in the Gaping Gill section - those titles No1 aven and No2 aven in South East Passage. Are we missing an image perhaps?
Click to expand...

Well spotted that man! I don't know what I would do without you guys. One digit wrong - now all sorted. Thank you, andys.
 
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