Been asked to post the following sad news.


From the CDG website

"We are sad to report the death of John Maneely whilst diving in the Source du Doubs, France on Sunday 28th September.

The Group's thoughts are with his family and his many friends in the caving community.

David Brock, on behalf of the CDG."

I am not too good at putting words to my thoughts but I will have a go.

I have known John since he turned up to a Somerset CDG meeting in Priddy around 3 years ago, where he then joined the Wessex Cave Club and although myself, Hellie, and Chris tried on numerous occasions to convert him to the BEC he stood his ground and stayed, however he was easily convinced to spend many a Friday & Saturday night drinking and playing games into the small hours at the Belfry.

John was heavily involved in the Wigmore project and his efforts and constant enthusiasm were a huge driving force to the exploration.  I will admit we often had a love / hate relationship down Wigmore where I would love to take pictures and he would hate having to dislodge my camera bag and model for hours on end.

A standing joke between the Wigmore divers was that John, Chris and Myself were brothers and as Duncan is SO old he was our Dad that would take us caving on the weekend.

I am going to miss John a great deal and it chokes me think back to last week when I was in the Hunters with him, and he was talking me through the dive he was going to do in the Source Du Doubs, to which he was so excited.

Seems funny but my happiest and final memory of John is when he came and sat next to me in the Hunters with Faggot and BEANS, he said "it's the future" I never knew you could have faggot and BEANS, always thought you had to have PEAS'S ......................

Rest in Peace my friend

Stu.

I was only recently introduced to John. Bru brought him along digging last week and we shared a beer afterwards. Really sad news and my thoughts are with his family.

John used his skills to get photographs for me and for his fellow cavers of places I would never contemplate going myself. I used a few of them at Hidden Earth this year. How very very sad this news is.

Stupot said:

Seems funny but my happiest and final memory of John is when he came and sat next to me in the Hunters with Faggot and BEANS, he said "it's the future" I never knew you could have faggot and BEANS, always thought you had to have PEAS'S ......................

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Like a chip of the old block - that's what I always have!

One of my lasting memories is John's uncharacteristic attention to personal hygeine - or at least it was uncharacteristic of a caver.  After our trip to the end of Wigmore Swallet on 7th June 2008, we thought we'd show our mud stained faces at the Mendip cavers' stomp taking place at Priddy Village Hall.  Not for John, who contrived to take a shower and still arrived sooner at the booze up than the rest of the gang.  This even extended to having a shower before he went caving on one occasion.

His grit and determination in Wigmore extended to doing a nine hour solo digging and banging trip to the end in June.  He wisely left the ongoing lead wide open until he'd been able to rig a handline down into it.  This turned out to be a good idea because we later had a hell of a job getting back out even with the aid of a rope.  Subsequently John ingeniously drilled a bolt hole and placed an artificial "ledge" to help climb out.

I'll miss you Son.

"Dad"

i really sadden by this news

i knew John through the wigmore crew! i spent hours listing to him and his brother and dad in the pubs of priddy telling me in detail all about the place and how it all going to go to Cheddar and plans!!! i danced with John a drunken parite several times and caved with him! i have many good memories of him.

One of my last memories of him is this.... sitting in the bec kitchen one slightly hung over morning with John trying to work out how to unroll a condom then suddenly him leaping over to the tap and filling it with water getting the thing soaked in side and out feeling well pleased with him self, i then poited out on slight floor in his plan as the condom was being used to carry b**g through sumps in wigmore to keep it dry  getting the condom soaked kinda defeats the point of this his face fell but John being resourse then stood there towel drying it i was in stitches!!

i huge lost to caving,

I will miss you

hellie x x

Very sad news

I knew john for 3 years through the wealdon and dived with him a couple of times.
To say I was shocked when I herd the news would be an under statement.

A lose to caving and any that had the pleasure of knowing him

You will be missed mate

Jase

I first went caving with John in Stoke Lane Slocker ? I didn?t really know him then but I?d given him my mobile number and out of the blue he called me up for a trip. We did Stoke on the Saturday and a carry down Wigmore on the Sunday. Right then I knew he was keen and ambitious by seeking me out and it wasn?t long until he joined the Wigmore team as the third ?Young Blood?.

As a relative new comer to caving I remember that he found Wigmore very strenuous on his first trip but it is testament to his abilities that he improved rapidly, to the point that he did a solo digging trip on the terminal choke. The last trip I did with him was one of the hardest I?ve done down there and we both came out knackered. His diving ability in the sumps was without question ? the rubic sump didn?t phase him even on his first dive there and he always seemed to come out with more air than anyone else.

I have no doubt that John would have continued to develop his dry caving skills along side his diving and I already had him on my list for a trip next summer, aid climbing beyond sumps in Spain, a skill he was keen to master. For him the great adventure that cave diving offers had only just begun and he wanted to experience as much as possible and learn as much as he could. With quiet determination he absorbed what he saw and applied himself ? when we started the Wigmore project he was a novice in many ways but by the end he was the one providing the drill (modified to fit in his rocket tube), snappers, thru-bolts and even having items made at work for the project. He seemed equally at home with a pair of 3?s in the cramped confines of Wigmore as the open passages of France with a rebreather, proving that it is possible to operate at both ends of the spectrum. I?m sure therefore that whilst we?ve lost a good friend, UK cave diving has lost a promising cave diver.

After the death of Tony Jarrett we all had a good reason to really go at the terminal choke in Wigmore ? now we have another reason.  RIP John

John at dive base in Wigmore Swallet shortly after a trip to the end.



Stu.

I first met John on a trip to Derbyshire where he joined us in Peak Cavern & later in the Year I dragged him into Stoke Lane for his first time during quite high water. He loved it so much returned during the next week for a Solo Trip!
I always thought of John when arranging my next trip & keen for him to join us. He joined me on my 40th & 41st Birthday Trips into Stoke, he being the man we knew would get us up to the God Box to which he did.
When we did Titan earlier this Year I?ll never forget John coming back from the top of the Main pitch saying ?f*** me that?s Big!? just as I completed the Entrance shaft, John Maneely worried, just the boost of confidence I needed.
John was an Excellent Caver who went from a Novice to a Respected Caver & friend to anyone lucky enough to cave with him in three short Years.
Expert without the Bravado
Mad John RIP   

John was good company, very solid and a top caving companion, who had that mix of kind patience and proficiency.  Although I had only met him this year he was regarded as one of the best sorts of person, and one that I hoped to get to know better.  So very sad.  My thoughts go out to his family and friends. 

Totally shocked by this news. Incredibly sad.

It seems odd to say that, cause I only met the guy once at last years H.E. but we shared a few pints together and my first and lasting impression was "what an incredibly nice bloke".

He mailed me a couple of weeks ago about something and we conversed. I was dissapointed at the time to find out he wasn't going to be at H.E. as he was away.

Heart felt condolences to his family and all those that knew him well.

R.I.P. John.

A big thank you from all of John's family for the kind words.    I know that John wouldn't want his accident to scare people off the sport, whatever the reasons behind it were.  Diving meant so much to John, it was his passion.

Totally stunned by this news.

I can't remember the first time I met John, but it was certainly before I did a Wigmore trip. Always gave a friendly smile and nod in the Hunters and one of those people who I wished I'd got to know better. 

We know the risks of what we do, but such a young life makes it seem all the more tragic.

My sincere condolences





 

Terribly sad news.  I feel very lucky to have known John.  A very understated and easy going guy, he also had great ability and enthusiasm for caving.

Last trip we did together was the other week at Thrupe Lane, he hadn't done anything in high atlas, so I thought we should have a go at visiting the Vultures Nest.  Theres me spannering away at these shonky spits thinking "um er, these look a bit rubbish, maybe we should just do something of eco bolts..." when John offers to take over, rigs it text book fashion in a flash and hey presto we're there crawling up behind something nasty in the attic.  We thought better of descending from the Vultures Nest bolts so I derigged and we dropped the 42m of Lateral Aven, John rigging again. Finally, back on the surface I was annoyed to notice that he wasn't even breathing hard on the carry out while I was a sweaty mess.  I went off for a rest, while John was off to Wigmore for another carry!

An incredibly strong and capable caver his acheivments were already pretty phenomenal and I'm sure he would have been a leading UK caver and diver.  I feel richer for having known him and gutted that hes gone.

Heartfelt condolences and respect to his family and all his friends.

Dear all,

I'm not a cave diver, but I've registered to thank you for all you messages of condolances.
John (Johno) was my oldest and best friend. We first met when we were both 8 years old. 25 years later we were still firm friends. Although our interests, pasions and geographical locations grew apart, we never did.
Johno was always on the go, resourceful and quietly determined. A trait you all seem to have recognised in him from the off. Waiting wasn't his strong suit and he was always on the go, he's probably packed more in to one glorious short life them some of us ever will.
For those of you who are on facebook, we've set up a group, for friends and those who shared John's life even if only for a few minutes, can upload photo's, express feeling of loss, shock and regret or can just quietly read the comments others have left.
If you search for a group entitled "Remembering Johno AKA Mike Raphone" you should find it. Mike Raphone is a silly nick name given to John way back in the mists of time when he was sported an Afro (Yep it was all his hair too, photo's of "it" are on the group page) like all silly nick names it stuck.

Thank you all once again for your kind words, I know his family are taking comfort in the amount of love there is for John all round the world.
Please pass this on to others who are in your "fraternity." When the funeral arrangements are known I'll send another message. John's family are determined that those who wish to say goodbye to him are afforded the opportunity to do so properly.

Russ

John was a great bloke, one of the most adventurous people I've ever come across.
A good person to cave with and also someone willing to put himself out for others, he was the person who I managed to talk into welding the gate at Bedlams and helping me on the GMS dig. We still use the tool he made for ramming down spoil and sandbags.

He was the person who gave me my first wetsuit and (with PaulF's help) encouraged me into the water.

He was also the person who found and recorded some previously unknown artefacts in a local underwater location - no we weren't supposed to be there but what the hell - I'm glad we did it. He helped to make the trip a very very successful one.

He also showed me that there is a solution to PaulF's horrendous snoring - on our last trip he brought along a pair of ear-plugs for me.

A good guy to sit in the pub with, and for general chit-chat on long journeys to Mendip, Wales and up North on caving trips.

In the few years he was around he made a big impression. Paul summed up very nicely just how seriously committed he was, and how much he achieved.

An awful thing to happen, he will be sadly missed.

From All John's friends at Brighton BSAC.

Born in1976, he attended Kings Manor School emerging with some academic success. He enjoyed his time in the Scouts, relishing the open air life and the company of his peers. He worked for several local companies, before being employed by Ricardo Engineering, Shoreham. He absorbed and retained knowledge at a prodigious rate, becoming a valuable employee, capable of working away from base on specialist projects around the world.

His interests were motorcycling and then scuba diving. He was trained locally and then joined Brighton BS-AC at the Sussex Yacht Club and became a reliable member, rebuilding parts of the dive boat engine and the club compressor. Ever restless he then moved on to becoming a ?regular? on BUCCANEER, gently encouraging us to discover ever more wreck sites and towards using a different dive gas to prolong and make our diving safer. He enjoyed several diving holidays with many friends, diving the Normandy shipwrecks and those around the Isles of Scilly.


The next stage was the training, purchase and use of a re-breather and that took him to more adventurous diving groups and other much deeper wrecks, mixing his own dive gases and happy to impart this and other knowledge to those who were interested.

Cave diving was the next passion, initially in the UK and then in France. Always returning to dive with his friends in the sea on a regular basis, whilst keeping us all agog with tales of further underground exploits and difficulties of ever deeper penetration, to discover what lay beyond.



As a person he was loyal, reliable, likeable, much loved and respected by all those whose lives he touched. Always ready to lend a helping hand, he was a joy to know. He was constantly seeking new horizons and kept a very large circle of friends of all ages and outlooks.


There is a saying that ?there are old divers and bold divers, but no old and bold divers?. But in this case, whilst he lived his life adventurously, he was always careful, entirely competent, he looked after his equipment well and understood exactly how it worked.

He will be very much missed by his friends and family.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS

John?s body arrived back in the UK earlier today.
His funeral will take place on Friday 17 Oct 2008 at Worthing Crematorium at 2:20pm. The service will be a humanist one.
This is an open invite, all those that knew John and wish to say goodbye are welcome.
There is no dress code for either the funeral or wake. Please dress however you deem appropriate, it?s more important to John?s family that you are comfortable than anything else.
There will be family flowers only. However, if you wish to make donations to the Diving Diseases Research Centre, you can do this by sending cheques to:

Tribes LTD
130 Broadwater Road
Worthing
West Sussex
BN14 8UH

Please mark your envelope C/O John Maneely.
The venue for the wake is yet to be confirmed. I?ll send out another post as soon as I know more details.

Lastly, please pass this on to anyone who may have known John and may want to attend.

Thanks

Russ

Thanks Russ,

I've forwarded the details to the Brighton BSAC. 

Like others who only came on the forum recently, I wish to say John was such a fantastic guy.  We dived with him in the sea here but had always said we'd join him in the Lot or Doubs for cave diving (it never happened....), I for one will find Doubs a difficult dive in future if I get the courage up to go again.  Such a competent and professional guy. 


Kelly