Interview by: Jim Rozzi
 
JOHN, WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO CAVE DIVING IN 1952?
 
I was a dry-caver in my college days 1948/1949. A lot of caves ended in pools of water (Cave diving was in its infancy in those days) Some had a wire going into the "sump." When I inquired as to what was at the other end I was told that divers had been through....... I couldn't become a diver fast enough!
 
TELL US ABOUT THAT FIRST CAVE DIVE. 
 
The first cave dive was at Keld Head, Kingsdale, North Yorkshire, England at August Bank Holiday in 1952 (31st. August). I had previously done some 5 hrs. underwater to get over any initial breathing reaction to holding a mouth- piece between my teeth. I was using a Siebe Gorman Amphibian MK.II--an unmodified Rebreather with a 6 cuft. Oxygen cylinder: this was used with a "Frogman" 2 -piece dry suit with a hood and a full-face mask, and bottom walking boots. I was escorted by a qualified diver, was on a rope, and was allowed to go in 50ft.!! .. the limit of the 1st dive. I believe my escort was Bill Davis. Two other new boys were taking turns, Ken Hurst and Phil Price. I was very engrossed during the dive, the viz was poor, bottom walking I could only see 2 ft. in front of my boots, rather disappointing after training in swimming pools and rivers with 15ft. viz I found that there was a very isolated feeling when not being able to see much! 
 

Above Left: Buxton at the age of 70 exploring deep caves (275’+) in the 1999 Bahamian Blue Holes Research Project.


Above Right: 1956, Buxton equipped with a military oxygen rebreather, leather dry suit and walking boots prepares to enter Wookey cave.

WHY DO YOU SIDEMOUNT?  
 

British divers slowly developed and adopted sidemounting because

A) Caves were small and B) they tended to be bedding plane shaped (low) and unsuitable for open water backmounts. (I should strongly emphasize that British cave divers have shallow pockets!! --Do-it-Yourself )
 

DO YOU NOTICE ANY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN SIDEMOUNT TECHNIQUES?  
 

Alot of British divers do not use buoyancy aids, especially in small tight caves, and add lead to the harness if needed. It should be emphasized that we do not meet many large, deep Sumps so small cylinders are often used. This is doubly convenient where the sump may be a long carry from daylight. By design we have redundant cylinders and valves. By tradition, British divers tend to carry "torches" on a helmet, the latter being both a hands-free carrying tool and a head protector. But to be honest the large battery with a hand-held head is gaining popularity, especially with divers doing more extreme dives. To be truthful, I have not met a lot of American sidemount divers since the diving I have done on the other side of the pond has been mainly in Wakulla and the Bahamas. British side mount harnesses are usually simple belt and braces with an attaching smaller width waist belt that goes through loops on the larger waist belt and on the cylinders. These are usually aligned along the leg, but there is a tendency to follow the American style with D rings near the kidneys. Nothing is new in this world--the whole set up was developed from an English open water harness that in turn was probably a copy of a Cousteau Aqualung harness. 

 
Right: 1961, Buxton equipped in an early rebreather and one of the first accounts of divers using wet suits in a cave.
 

IN OVER FORTY YEARS OF CAVE DIVING WHAT DIVES HAVE SPECIAL PLACES IN YOUR MEMORY?  
 
Firstly. Keld Head....1st. cave dive. Wookey Hole....Blue Green water! Bahamas Blue Holes...Deep, warm and good viz and Wakulla....Just awesome.
 
Cave diver and explorer John Buxton passed away at the age of 85 on the 14th of December, 2016.