Dudley Caving Club
Dudley Caving Club meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursday evening of every month at Ruiton Windmill. The club was originally called Dudley Cave Rescue Team and it was formed in 1966 as part of the Dudley Auxiliary Fire Service after a number of incidents in the underground limestone caverns around Dudley. In its early years it was called out on several occasions. Soon the activities of the team spread to mine and cave exploration throughout the UK. In the 1970s the majority of the limestone mines were filled in and so there was a much reduced need for the Club's services. The last callout was in 1975 when the Club was asked to carry out an extensive search of the remaining underground workings. This was to do with the infamous Leslie Whittle/Black Panther case. The windmill is 40 feet high, an abseil frame has been fitted to the roof and DMM resin-bonded hangers have been fitted to the outside wall. This makes the mill an ideal venue for electron ladder and SRT (Situation Reaction Test) practice - including rigging "Y" hangs, re-belays and deviations. There is also a 20 feet deep cellar under the mill making it an ideal place for the club to train. Cave and abandoned mine rescue in the Midlands is now covered by the Midlands Cave Rescue Organisation (MCRO), but the club has always maintained its rescue links and 18 members of Dudley Caving Club are also members of MCRO. Members of DCC assisted in a successful rescue in Snailbeach Mine, Shropshire on 16th November 2011 when a member of a party exploring the mine suffered an epileptic fit resulting in her falling from the top of a short ladder on the slope up from the 40 yard level. She complained of neck, back and pelvic pain and subsequently suffered a number of further fits. Once she was comfortable and stable in the stretcher, she was hauled 90 metres up Chapel Shaft to the surface In 1999 the name of the club was changed to Dudley Caving Club. The Club these days is a general caving club and members regularly visit all of the main caving regions in England and Wales: the Yorkshire Dales, Derbyshire, North and South Wales and the Mendips.
Dudley Caving Club
Dudley Caving Club meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursday evening of every month at Ruiton Windmill. The club was originally called Dudley Cave Rescue Team and it was formed in 1966 as part of the Dudley Auxiliary Fire Service after a number of incidents in the underground limestone caverns around Dudley. In its early years it was called out on several occasions. Soon the activities of the team spread to mine and cave exploration throughout the UK. In the 1970s the majority of the limestone mines were filled in and so there was a much reduced need for the Club's services. The last callout was in 1975 when the Club was asked to carry out an extensive search of the remaining underground workings. This was to do with the infamous Leslie Whittle/Black Panther case. The windmill is 40 feet high, an abseil frame has been fitted to the roof and DMM resin-bonded hangers have been fitted to the outside wall. This makes the mill an ideal venue for electron ladder and SRT (Situation Reaction Test) practice - including rigging "Y" hangs, re-belays and deviations. There is also a 20 feet deep cellar under the mill making it an ideal place for the club to train. Cave and abandoned mine rescue in the Midlands is now covered by the Midlands Cave Rescue Organisation (MCRO), but the club has always maintained its rescue links and 18 members of Dudley Caving Club are also members of MCRO. Members of DCC assisted in a successful rescue in Snailbeach Mine, Shropshire on 16th November 2011 when a member of a party exploring the mine suffered an epileptic fit resulting in her falling from the top of a short ladder on the slope up from the 40 yard level. She complained of neck, back and pelvic pain and subsequently suffered a number of further fits. Once she was comfortable and stable in the stretcher, she was hauled 90 metres up Chapel Shaft to the surface In 1999 the name of the club was changed to Dudley Caving Club. The Club these days is a general caving club and members regularly visit all of the main caving regions in England and Wales: the Yorkshire Dales, Derbyshire, North and South Wales and the Mendips.
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