langcliffe
Well-known member
We have added an album of Dales photographs dating back to about 1950 that once belonged to Albert Wilkinson.
Albert Wilkinson (1926-1989) was a keen caver in the late 1940s and early 1950s, caving in the Yorkshire Dales with an as yet unidentified group from the north Manchester area. The group included Elizabeth (Betty) Emmens whom he married in 1952. In 2019 his daughter Catherine kindly donated the album of caving photographs that originally belonged to her father. These provide an insight into the techniques and equipment in use at the time, as well showing some of the caves before they were as well trafficked as they are today. They were by no means casual cavers - one sequence of photographs shows a descent of Lost Johns' Cave to Lyle Cavern - no mean feat in the days of rope ladders, wet pitches, and bicycle lamps. The group was involved in a flooding incident in Lower Long Churn in September 1948 which appears in the CRO records.
We suspect that the photographs were taken in the period from post-war to 1952. It is not known who the photographer was, but they are of good quality. The hefty tripod used can be seen in one of the Long Churn surface shots.
The album may be found here: http://archives.bcra.org.uk/wilkinson.html
Albert Wilkinson (1926-1989) was a keen caver in the late 1940s and early 1950s, caving in the Yorkshire Dales with an as yet unidentified group from the north Manchester area. The group included Elizabeth (Betty) Emmens whom he married in 1952. In 2019 his daughter Catherine kindly donated the album of caving photographs that originally belonged to her father. These provide an insight into the techniques and equipment in use at the time, as well showing some of the caves before they were as well trafficked as they are today. They were by no means casual cavers - one sequence of photographs shows a descent of Lost Johns' Cave to Lyle Cavern - no mean feat in the days of rope ladders, wet pitches, and bicycle lamps. The group was involved in a flooding incident in Lower Long Churn in September 1948 which appears in the CRO records.
We suspect that the photographs were taken in the period from post-war to 1952. It is not known who the photographer was, but they are of good quality. The hefty tripod used can be seen in one of the Long Churn surface shots.
The album may be found here: http://archives.bcra.org.uk/wilkinson.html