Recently there was long thread about the BCA. I can now post possible answers to some of the questions, such as "Why is the BCA still raising membership prices when there is a significant amount still left in its coffers?"
We now have photos in this thread depicting the main ways of negotiating Lancaster Hole entrance shaft used over the last 70+ years: iron ladder, rope ladder, electron ladder, and SRT. I think that is fabulous!
I have been corrected by someone who is just a little older but a lot more knowledgeable than I am, that the lady in the photograph was Christine Rawdin. My copy of the photograph is wrongly captioned. Apologies for having propagated an alternative truth.
This is an interesting read, it mentions the ladders being fitted (from railway signal boxs) ...
http://www.rrcpc.org.uk/easegill/text/Early_explore.htm