early female cavers

[mikem]

Although Lewis Railton snuck in a mention earlier, his wife Marjorie hasn't so far (her 1973 obituary is in BCRA bulletin 2). I missed her in 1948, when I previously posted this link:

South Wales Caving Club

Peter Binns "with a number of others including Aubrey Glennie, Lewis Railton, and Marjorie Railton established an alternative speleological organisation in late 1946 / early 1947, the Cave Research Group, which was probably why he (and others) were expelled from the BSA in August 1947."

BCRA Online Archive

British Cave Research Association - Online Historical Archive: The Peter Binns collection

archives.bcra.org.uk

 

[mikem]

Molly Hall was in Tratman's 1937 lamb leer film, along with an unidentified female:

https://www.ubss.org.uk/resources/proceedings/vol18/UBSS_Proc_18_3_415-421.pdf

She also wrote (Kathleen) Marjorie Crook's (nee Willmore) obituary, who joined UBSS in 1919:

https://www.ubss.org.uk/resources/proceedings/vol18/UBSS_Proc_18_2_326-328.pdf

Both of them appear in photos published in UBSS 50th anniversary edition (although you can't see their faces in the closer ones, but Marjorie is in the group lunch alongside another unidentified female), also Miss M. Thorburn digging in reads cavern, with Mrs. Dina Portway Dobson and Miss D. Crelin in the lunch pic. A few more women are seated around the table, some named, some not - Miss N. Richards is named elsewhere as the first treasurer, the other is Miss Czaplicka, a Polish lecturer at the university:

https://www.ubss.wotcc.org.uk/resources/proceedings/vol12/UBSS_Proc_12_1_9-30.pdf

Marjorie Willmore also appears faceless in another article, with further details about her, Miss Czaplicka and Dorothy A.E. Garrod:

https://ubss.org.uk/resources/proceedings/vol27/UBSS_Proc_27_2_125-160.pdf

Thorburn and Garrod both published articles in the proceedings. Unfortunately their early logbooks were lost in the Blitz, but surviving one doesn't seem to give names very often.

 

[mikem]

At the Easter 1926 women's camp, K.M. Willmore, M. Harrington and B. Gulich are listed as leaders for digging activities etc (including concreting the tennis court!), but no numbers or other names given. They weren't able to stay at the hut when male students were present, so other arrangements had to be made then:

UBSS - A Brief History | University of Bristol Spelæological Society

ubss.org.uk

 

[Dolly]

Not quite pre-40's, but if, during your foray into the rich realms of female cavers, you happen to stumble upon any information about Leslie Alverston, please do give me a shout. The extent of my knowledge is that she was the first to set foot in Battlefield, White Scar Cave, in 1971 (not Hilda Guthrie); she dated Johnnie Russom, and that she may have emigrated to New Zealand at some point.

Leslie was a friend of mine and yes she was the first and indeed named the Battlefield. She was going out with John Russum at the time. She taught PE at Accrington College. She was only around for a few years but made her mark. I invited John to Sid’s farewell in October. He turned up and looked exactly the same as always. We talked about Leslie he reckoned she’d married a landowner, then he lost contact with her. If you want to read the account of the event in White Scar read my book “The Underground Adventures of a Rock Chick”. John Russum, John Southworth & Kenny Taylor all gave me their own accounts of that day.

 

[Pitlamp]

And Leslie is also the star of the Simpson Pot film:

 

[Tim Pickering]

Leslie was a friend of mine and yes she was the first and indeed named the Battlefield. She was going out with John Russum at the time. She taught PE at Accrington College. She was only around for a few years but made her mark. I invited John to Sid’s farewell in October. He turned up and looked exactly the same as always. We talked about Leslie he reckoned she’d married a landowner, then he lost contact with her. If you want to read the account of the event in White Scar read my book “The Underground Adventures of a Rock Chick”. John Russum, John Southworth & Kenny Taylor all gave me their own accounts of that day.

I'm guessing this is out of print? I can't seem to find it online.

 

[mikem]

Self published 10 years ago - red rose appear to have a copy...

 

[moletta]

Miss Bowden who caved as a friend of the Payne family married prominent YRC caver Ralph Stobart. She (and their child?) died in the influenza epidemic 1918.

Def. Dorothy Pilley who caved in 1919- didn't feel the love for caves that she found in climbing (see YRC journal Vol 4 no.14 1921) Also other early members of the Pinnacle Club went on a caving trip- 1924- made a suggestion that women should form a group to start caving as a women's only group as they did to climb independently. (Pinnacle Club journal No.1 1924)

UBSS (1919) and the Wessex Cave Club (1934) took women members from their inauguration.

 

[Dolly]

Self published 10 years ago - red rose appear to have a copy...

Most northern caving clubs have a copy.