In memory of John Maneely who died in September 2008 whilst cave diving in France
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
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