What happened to David Heap?

David Rose

Active member
I've been reading David Heap's book Potholing: Beneath the Northern Pennines, a classic and fascinating work published when he was a very young man in 1964.

A google search suggests he died in 2002. Does anyone happen to know what he did during the previous 38 years? Didi he carry on caving write any more books? 

 
Dave, I think the David Heap you want died in 1995. A Google search turned up these for me: http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/1st-july-1995/16/will-of-the-week and http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/6119313.Ex_head_s_legacy_pays_for_future/
The British Caving Library cataloguing (by no means complete) of articles suggest he ran school expeditions to Norway until at least 1969, wrote an article on Kendal CC trips there in 1988,  and may have caved in Tasmania some time up to 1990; an audio archive recording of Harry Long mentions him in the context of cave rescue in Yorkshire...
I'm sure someone connected to the KCC will know much more...
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
As per Martin's comment above, the Kendal members can almost certainly help.

But - a very useful source of information is the KCC 50 years journal (2007). This is actually dedicated to Dave Heap and contains a lot of information about him - in it he's described as the "architect of the club".

I knew Dave reasonably well myself. He was a was a heavy smoker and, tragically, he passed away at the age of only 53, from cancer. (I can't confirm the date but it was at least as long ago as the mid 1990s.)

The two things he's perhaps most remembered for are his classic Dales caving book "Potholing Beneath the Northern Pennines" (which, along with Gemmell and Myers' "Underground Adventure" inspired me so much in my early caving days) and the huge amount of energy he put into encouraging youngsters into caving, over a great many years.

I don't think Dave wrote any other caving books but I think you'll find he contributed good quality written material to the several KCC journals and Newsletters.

The journal mentioned above is a very fine publication in its own right anyway but anyone wanting to research Dave Heap's contribution to northern caving should probably buy it.

(If you want to do this, send me a PM and I can put you in touch with someone who can sort you out. I'm not a KCC member by the way, so my recommendation is genuine.)

 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
I've now arranged for David Rose to contact the Kendal member who can probably help the most.  (Good luck with your researches David.)
 

Jenny P

Active member
I can remember an Orpheus C.C. trip to northern Norway in, I think, 1967 when we met up with David and his schoolboys.  They were ensconced in the Local Village Hall up the valley from Mo I Rana and we were greeted by David, seated in an armchair, who hustled his lads into providing us all with tea and cake.  He'd really got it sussed and just clicked his fingers and the lads swung into action straight away - we were well impressed.

He was great fun and a true original.  OCC did co-operate with David's group and heard some hair-raising tales of their exploits in the north.  It seems one year they had the bright idea of going in winter, on the grounds that all the water in the caves would be frozen so they wouldn't get wet or have to wade.  They hadn't quite bargained for temperatures way below zero and had some very dodgy experiences - luckily he was well known to the locals in Dunderlandsdalen and they provided his group with somewhere warm to stay (they had, apparently, planned to camp!).

 

Keith Cocker

New member
I came across tis post by accident and I'm aware its quite old now. I'm not a caver but I knew Dave (as he was known to us) Heap quite well for a period. He was an exceptional man and had a very significant influence on me as he did many others. I was pupil at William Hulmes Grammar School in the 60's and early 70' and Dave came to the school as Head of the History Department round about 1966/7. He had previously taught at Ermysted's Grammar School in Skipton. He has started his career as a University Lecturer in History at a University in Australia (Flinders) but didn't enjoy University teaching and missed the UK - particularly its caving opportunities! He taught me History from when he joined WHGS until I left to take up a Scholarship in History at St Catharine's College Cambridge. St Catharine's was Daves old College from where he had graduated with a double first in History. He was a truly inspiring teacher. He was able to read character and treat pupils as individuals and with respect. He left WHGS in about 1973 to be Head of Handsworth Grammar School and then later he was Headmastyer of King Edwards School Lytham. I think he retire due to ill health in 1993 or so and pretty soon after died of cancer. He was a great loss to all who knew him and whose lives he touched. I met up with him periodically in later years and enjoyed his company with Beer and his spectacularly strong cigarettes! A wonderful man.
 

mikem

Well-known member
The Tasmanian David Heap is a different one: https://www.parktours.com.au/about/leaders/david-heap

http://www.ackma.org/journal/37/Human%20Impact%20on%20the%20Mount%20Cripps%20Karst%20-%20David%20Heap.pdf

The correct one may have done a radio programme in 1968 (10.30am):
https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/radio4/fm/1968-09-14

He was president of Cambridge Uni CC & led their Arctic Norway trip in 1961.
 

Mike O'Shea

New member
I was a pupil at William Hulme's Grammar School from 1971 to 1976 and Dave Heap (who was a history teacher there) used to run weekend caving trips to the Dales for anybody interested.

The trips were based at the school's accomodation at Hardraw and covered a wide area of the Dales, mostly at grades that would serve as an introduction to the sport or a challenge for those with some experience.

As previous posters have commented he was a heavy smoker and a real enthusiast for potholing. Although he was a strict disciplinarian (and not averse to dishing out corporal punishment on occasion) I look back on those trips as a transformative experience which gave me valuable life lessons in self reliance, resilience and mental strength.

I particularly remember one occasion when he was suffering with a heavy cold and asked me (age 14) to lead the others down Dow Cave. I ended up unable to find my way through the boulder choke near the end and after my carbide lamp died under a cascade of water I had to get the others to whistle and shout so I could gradually grope my way back out.

On another occasion we camped at ribblehead viaduct in January and it was that cold that our boiler suits (no wetsuits in those days) were frozen stiff in the morning. We didn't even have camping mats !

It was a different world back in the 70's as far as health and safety was concerned but the opportunities that Dave Heap gave us back then to stretch ourselves without micro management of the experience is something that I have valued all my life.

Of course, as a youth, you never really recognise the sacrifice of time and effort given by your elders but as time has passed there has been many times when I have looked back on those trips with great appreciation.

Thanks Dave !
 

Mike topham

New member
I was a pupil at William Hulme's Grammar School from 1971 to 1976 and Dave Heap (who was a history teacher there) used to run weekend caving trips to the Dales for anybody interested.

The trips were based at the school's accomodation at Hardraw and covered a wide area of the Dales, mostly at grades that would serve as an introduction to the sport or a challenge for those with some experience.

As previous posters have commented he was a heavy smoker and a real enthusiast for potholing. Although he was a strict disciplinarian (and not averse to dishing out corporal punishment on occasion) I look back on those trips as a transformative experience which gave me valuable life lessons in self reliance, resilience and mental strength.

I particularly remember one occasion when he was suffering with a heavy cold and asked me (age 14) to lead the others down Dow Cave. I ended up unable to find my way through the boulder choke near the end and after my carbide lamp died under a cascade of water I had to get the others to whistle and shout so I could gradually grope my way back out.

On another occasion we camped at ribblehead viaduct in January and it was that cold that our boiler suits (no wetsuits in those days) were frozen stiff in the morning. We didn't even have camping mats !

It was a different world back in the 70's as far as health and safety was concerned but the opportunities that Dave Heap gave us back then to stretch ourselves without micro management of the experience is something that I have valued all my life.

Of course, as a youth, you never really recognise the sacrifice of time and effort given by your elders but as time has passed there has been many times when I have looked back on those trips with great appreciation.

Thanks Dave !
I was a pupil at William Hulmes 1961-69
I caved with David Heap from 1965 and went to Norway where we discovered the Oxhulle system and Ragejavre Raige
Excuse spelling
I have photos
Email me for further details
Mike Topham
EarthBowelMovement!
 

Scottishtrog

New member
I was a pupil at William Hulmes 1961-69
I caved with David Heap from 1965 and went to Norway where we discovered the Oxhulle system and Ragejavre Raige
Excuse spelling
I have photos
Email me for further details
Mike Topham
EarthBowelMovement!
Dave Heap deserves a Wickipedia page! He was a remarkable person with many strings to his bow. These included (a) a leading caver who inspired expeditions to La Grotte de la Cigalere in the Pyrenees and to the Jaggejavre pothole in Arctic Norway. The latter still holds the record as the deepest through trip in Northern Europe (b) a remarkable academic, who rose to become Head of one of northern England's top grammar schools (c) an accomplished sailor who spent much time in his thirty foot sailing boat off Scotland's West coast (d) an eminent philatelist whose stamp collection when auctioned after his death attracted international interest (e) a more than competent mountaineer who counted many. many Scottish Monroes amongst his conquests (f) the author of the classic Potholing Beneath The Northern Pennines (g) a fanatical collector of fast motor cars (h)) an inspiration to hundreds of young people through his teaching and his potholing. After his death the outdoor centre at Ribblehead Station was named the David Heap Centre. Strangely Dave originated from the humblest of backgrounds; his father worked in a shoe factory in Kendal, his mother was a shop assistant, and the family home was a council house. He was educated as a day boy at nearby Heversham Grammar School where with other pupils he founded the Kendal Caving Club. At Cambridge University he took a double first in History and became President of the University of Cambridge Caving Club. Several eminent cavers, today such as cave diver Geoff Yeadon MBE, were first introduced to the world of speleology by Dave Heap. He was a classic example of how the post war education system allowed people to achieve their full potential, no matter what their background. His early death at 53 in the 1990s was a huge loss to many people.
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
I couldn't agree more, Scottishtrog - and yes; a Dave Heap Wiki page is an excellent idea.
 

gavinlees

New member
I came across tis post by accident and I'm aware its quite old now. I'm not a caver but I knew Dave (as he was known to us) Heap quite well for a period. He was an exceptional man and had a very significant influence on me as he did many others. I was pupil at William Hulmes Grammar School in the 60's and early 70' and Dave came to the school as Head of the History Department round about 1966/7. He had previously taught at Ermysted's Grammar School in Skipton. He has started his career as a University Lecturer in History at a University in Australia (Flinders) but didn't enjoy University teaching and missed the UK - particularly its caving opportunities! He taught me History from when he joined WHGS until I left to take up a Scholarship in History at St Catharine's College Cambridge. St Catharine's was Daves old College from where he had graduated with a double first in History. He was a truly inspiring teacher. He was able to read character and treat pupils as individuals and with respect. He left WHGS in about 1973 to be Head of Handsworth Grammar School and then later he was Headmastyer of King Edwards School Lytham. I think he retire due to ill health in 1993 or so and pretty soon after died of cancer. He was a great loss to all who knew him and whose lives he touched. I met up with him periodically in later years and enjoyed his company with Beer and his spectacularly strong cigarettes! A wonderful man.
Hello. I randomly looked up Mr Heap {Cantab} Headmaster. And have loads of respect for him. (KESVII pupil from aged 7 to 18). 'Rave Dave' 'Euriah' (no idea why we called him that as kids). Very respected headteacher as smaller kids and teenagers he had 'authority', taught Latin - and I still have my last report from him my mum kept, umpired cricket well, and as 16 yr olds if we were in trouble were asked to see him, were politely offered: "Cigarette chaps?". Caving: we went to Ribblehead. No idea that he funded/founded it...Old school hiking - we as kids were a nightmare and Mr Heap kicked us out of the minibus on the way back to Ribblehead - told to find our own way back to (the brilliant Ribblehead hostel). We deserved it and found our way back.
My last report: I read it with my mum (as she is 80 now) "Gavin occasionally shows some brilliance beneath is shambling adolescence". Too true. He was right.
I remember Mr Heap and Mr Lipscombe before him as Head Teachers at KES Lytham FY81DT as proper teachers. I got into trouble one weekend (1986 or so) and the first thing I had to do was go and see Mr Heap - he didn't ask nor was it required - it was the thing you had to do out of respect.
Mr Heap (Rave Dave) in my mind for no reason - I saw a schoolmate to bumped into him (he used to live in a semi detached house on nice a road called Kingsway - parallel to Clifton Drive just before Ansdell) and they had a conversation - Dave (Mr Heap) said he (and I may have got his wrong) was on a cruise/holiday/I'm too far gone. {I think it was bowel cancer from my understanding}. From the conversation with Bob my friend who randomly bumped into David (Dave!) he said it. Again - no one may read this but best to all. gavinleeslaw@gmail.com
 
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