• Descent 302 is published on 15 February and it will soon be on its way to our subscribers.

    In the newsdesk, read a review of the underground events at Kendal Mountain Festival, plus tales of cannibalism and the Cavefish Asteroid.

    In regional news, we have three new connections in Ogof Agen Allwedd, a report on the iron mines of Anjou, an extension to Big Sink Cave in the Forest of Dean, a new dig in Yorkshire's Marble Steps Pot, student parties, an obituary for Tony Boycott, a tight find in the Peak District and a discovery in County Kerry with extensive formations.

    Click here for details of this edition

H E B Balch 1869-1958 The Father of Mendip Caving.

rhychydwr1

Active member
Rather than try an write an obituary which will not do justest to this great man, I will quote a few references:

PIONEER UNDER THE MENDIPS / Herbert Ernst Balch of Wells / A Short Biography by W I Stanton.  [Pub as] WCC Occ Pub Ser 1 No 1 Oct 1969  123 pp 34 plates 2 figs.  Balch was the author of numerous Mendip caving books.  SB 

WCC Jl (69)July 1958

etc.

Google: Herbert Ernest Balch
 
We are fortunate to have in the Caving Audio Archive a recording of the lecture given by Herbert Balch at the opening of the Axbridge Caving Group and Archaeological Society Museum in 1952. It was provided by Alan Gray of the Axbridge Caving Group. The quality is not great but it is still a thrill to hear the voice of the great man himself:

http://caving-library.org.uk/audio/playback-128.html
 
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