Portsmouth Polytechnic Caving Club

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
Photo at Horton about 1969.

From left.

Tony Powell, Trevor Frankland ( killed in a car crash ), Liz ?, ??? Cliff Etherden ( seated ), Ted Popham, Gerry Swift, Pete Rose.



I did a fair bit of caving with Portsmouth Poly in Yorkshire and Derbyshire though I was far too dim to be a student. I still cave regularly with Pete Rose. Ted Popham is a member of Wessex CC and lives abroad. Trevor Frankland was killed an a car crash coming down to Mendip I think. The rest have hopefully lived full lives and are now happily retired.
 

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
Alum pot.



Me with the camera tin on the right 1968. LNRC.



Ted Popham. Yorkshire ??? Cant remember. Ahh yes. Straw Chamber, Easegill.



Trevor Frankland baling 1st Trouble Swildons c 1970.





 

langcliffe

Well-known member
The Old Ruminator said:
Photo at Horton about 1969.

From left.

Tony Powell, Trevor Frankland ( killed in a car crash ), Liz ?, ??? Cliff Etherden ( seated ), Ted Popham, Gerry Swift, Pete Rose.



I did a fair bit of caving with Portsmouth Poly in Yorkshire and Derbyshire though I was far too dim to be a student. I still cave regularly with Pete Rose. Ted Popham is a member of Wessex CC and lives abroad. Trevor Frankland was killed an a car crash coming down to Mendip I think. The rest have hopefully lived full lives and are now happily retired.

That looks like the same as this Gerry Swift in 1973:

gerry.jpg
 

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
In response to a PM from a relative I have found this image of Trevor Frankland c 1972 just before he died in a car crash. ( Diccan Pot )

 

mrodoc

Well-known member
He was on his way to a Cerberus meeting with Tony Powell. I recall everybody wondering why they hadn't arrived. And I have just spotted myself by the Colonnades. Scanning and enhancement of the originals by yours truly.
 

langcliffe

Well-known member
Gerry Swift was on the Venezuela '73 expedition. He died a few years ago from (I think) a lung-related problem. He was a great lad.

When we were in Venezuela, we were on our way for a week's holiday to Merida in the high Andes, and we parked late at night in a fairly random place in the foothills. At 6:30 in the morning Gerry opened up the tent, and said, "Time to get up, lads, there's going to be an avalanche in half an hour", to which he received an appropriate response. Twenty minutes later, he opened up the door and said, "Come on, lads, you don't have a lot of time". Five minutes later than that, we heard a tremendous cascade of rocks falling close by.

We had parked in a quarry below a twenty-metre high slope of stones, and a JCB above us was shovelling stone down the slope about fifty metres away. We moved fast.

Here's a picture of Gerry pulling camping gear up a 200 metre shaft:

img054-001.jpg
 
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